Peak
76
Weeks
12
Score
449
Chart Year
1992
The music video for "Give It Away" was made by French fashion photographer and director Stéphane Sednaoui. Kiedis wanted the video to be visually distinct and readily identifiable but disliked much of the material Warner Bros. sent for him to choose from: "I started viewing reels and reels and reels of video directors but nothing looked good to me. Everything was the same, boring, homogenized, contrived shit."[30] Upon finding Sednaoui's reel, however, the singer said it was "like nothing else. It was slower and poetic, shot in black and white. It seemed like authentic art, not something shot for MTV."[30] He and Flea met with Sednaoui to talk about the video, for which the director proposed a "very desolated [and] very graphic landscape," while heavily focusing on the band members with little to no outside influence.[31] It was decided that the video would be filmed in black and white while Sednaoui took the idea of painting the band members with silver acrylic from previous photo shoots[clarification needed] he had done. The photographer recalls that he was "amazed by what [the band] gave me because they went far far far beyond what I was expecting and I think that's one of my best experiences in that regard".[31] The overall mood of the video was intended to be a personification of the song, upbeat and lively.[10] Sednaoui experimented with a variety of cinematography techniques including wide-angle lenses, shots from below the subjects, superimposition, vertically cut screens displaying different angles of the same shot, reverse film effects, multiple lighting situations and flashy clothing to convey his concept. Frusciante noted the feeling of the video to be extremely vibrant and over-the-top: "When it was us just painting ourselves silver and wearing these big silver boots and stuff, I mean it felt like glam rock or something."[31] The video begins with a wide-angle shot of Flea in a desert setting wearing pants with several gold-colored horns protruding from each leg. The bassist is standing in a meditative stance and brings his arms together above his head when the music begins to play. The video then transitions between a variety of shots edited together that consist of the four band members standing with their eyes closed; the band dancing around in a dimly lit setting; a ground view of Frusciante playing a reflective silver Fender Stratocaster in between his legs while wearing pants made up entirely of small pieces of mirror; the band members moving around with full makeup on; and the band members dancing frenziedly. Kiedis adopted a deliberately outlandish wardrobe which incorporated gold lipstick, revealing mesh shorts and bright silver boots.[31] During the backwards guitar solo, Frusciante was filmed waving a large aluminum ribbon; Kiedis was initially apprehensive about Sednaoui's desire for the guitarist to do so, believing he would tell the director "'Fuck you and take that dancing ribbon and shove it up your French ass, buddy' but [Frusciante] gladly went off and made love to the air with this dancing ribbon. He would have danced around for hours with that thing."[14] The footage was edited in reverse to complement the solo. While some of the scenes were planned with a storyboard, much of it was improvised or made up on the spot over the two-day shoot.[31] During a particular scene Kiedis began to move his tongue flamboyantly to dramatically accentuate the lyrics, which Sednaoui believed was extremely beneficial to the exuberant nature of the video.[31] Where the video begins in what appears to be the daytime, it concludes at dusk with silhouettes of the band members running into the setting sun. The video—which cost an estimated $140,000 to produce—was completed while Kiedis and Frusciante were on a promotional trip through Europe in support of Blood Sugar Sex Magik.[32] When the vocalist first saw it, he was "more hysterically ecstatic about that piece of visual footage than anything [the band had] ever done."[15] Warner Bros. executives, however, were worried that the content would be "too weird" or "too artsy" for the general public and favored a more traditional premise in contrast to the experimental approach Sednaoui took.[15] The video was ultimately released on September 4, 1991,[33] without being edited by the record label;[why?] since then it has been widely credited as being a considerable factor in the Red Hot Chili Peppers' success and greatly increased their international popularity.[34] Journalist Jeff Apter noted the video's "funky brew of goofy looks, a subtle invasive hook, Flea's spindly fingered baseline and Kiedis's crotch-hugging shorts made the clip essential viewing across MTV throughout the last few months of 1991."[34] Steve Huey of AllMusic wrote in his review of the song that "MTV jumped all over the visually distinctive video."[3] Nominated for three awards—"Best Alternative Video", "Breakthrough Video", and "Best Art Direction"—at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards, it won the latter two
In a VH1 Behind the Music special the band explained that this song, which sounds like it has no meaning, is about the theory, "The more you give, the more you receive, so why not give it all away?" >> Lead singer Anthony Kiedis drew inspiration for this song from the German singer Nina Hagen when he came across one of her jackets that he liked. She insisted he take it, explaining that giving stuff away creates good energy. Kiedis and Hagen had a brief affair in 1983. "Give It Away" was the first single from Red Hot Chili Peppers' fifth album, Blood Sugar Sex Magik. It was their first song to crack the Hot 100, placing at #73. It was also a #1 hit on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. The song contains all the band's trademark energy but is more refined than their previous tunes. You can chalk this up to producer Rick Rubin, who instead of trying to change their sound, simply made it better. Rubin had worked with Beastie Boys, Slayer, and Run-DMC, so he was accustomed to artists with distinct musical palettes. This verse refers to the actor River Phoenix, a good friend of RHCP guitarist John Frusciante who died of a drug overdose in 1993: There's a river born to be a giver Keep you warm, don't let you shiver His heart is never gonna wither Come on, everybody, time to deliver After River's death, the Peppers wrote a tribute song to him called "Transcending," which appears on their next album, One Hot Minute. >> We counted: Anthony Kiedis sings "Give It Away" 68 times in this song. Report this ad The video was directed by the French photographer Stephane Sednaoui, who also did "Scar Tissue." Very artistic, it captured the band's manic energy by showing them in a desert landscape, covered in silver paint as they danced and performed. It was something only the Red Hot Chili Peppers could have pulled off, and it elevated them to MTV elite, as they became known for their innovative videos. The obvious hit from the album is the ballad "Under The Bridge," but "Give It Away" was more appropriate as the first single because it's more typical of their sound. "Under The Bridge" was the next single, and it was a monster, going to #2 in the US and sticking around on playlists for months. Red Hot Chili Peppers performed this song at the Super Bowl halftime show in 2014 at MetLife Stadium Stadium in New Jersey (this was the game when the Seattle Seahawks blew out the Denver Broncos, 43-8). The headliner of the show was Bruno Mars, who started in on the song before the Peppers appeared. Mars and his band stayed on stage the song, and after a video interlude, closed the show with their track "Just The Way You Are." This features the band's friend Pete Weiss on the juice harp, also known as a Jew's harp. >> Weird Al Yankovic parodied this song. His version is called "Bedrock Anthem," and is about the cartoon The Flintstones. It starts out with a parody of the beginning of the Chili Peppers "Under The Bridge" (their other massive hit at the time), and goes into a spoof of this song. Weird Al's music video was a spoof of the "Under the Bridge" and "Give it Away" videos that all began with the Bee Girl from Blind Melon's "No Rain" video. >> The group performed "Give It Away" on The Simpsons in the episode where Krusty hosted a comeback special. They were instructed to change the lyrics of "What I've got, I got to get and put it in you" to "What I'd like, is I'd like to hug and kiss you." This was a reference to the time that Ed Sullivan asked Jim Morrison to change the words of "Light My Fire" when appearing on his show. >> Matt Pinfield, an influential radio station programmer who later hosted 120 Minutes on MTV, told Songfacts: "That video is a work of art. It was another way to introduce another one of the most important records of the 1990s. I remember there was one radio programmer telling the record label that the song wasn't a hit and shouldn't be a single. Which obviously, proved to be way wrong." "Give It Away" won the Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance at the 1993 ceremony, beating out "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana and "Jeremy" by Pearl Jam. It was the first Grammy win for Red Hot Chili Peppers. The Blood Sugar Sex Magik album was a breakthrough for the band, but the subsequent tour almost destroyed them. After it ended in October 1992, Flea got chronic fatigue syndrome and his drug use became a problem. The band took a lot of time off while his health improved and he got off drugs. Their next album, One Hot Minute, didn't appear until 1995.
Oh, oh What I got, you got to give it to your mama What I got, you've got to give it to your papa What I got, you got to give it to your daughter You do a little dance and then you drink a little water What I got, you gotta get it put it in you What I got, you gotta get it put it in you What I got, you gotta get it put it in you Reeling with the feeling, don't stop, continue I realize I don't wanna be a miser Confide with sly you'll be the wiser Young blood is the lovin' upriser How come everybody wanna keep it like the Kaiser? Give it away, give it away, give it away now Give it away, give it away, give it away now Give it away, give it away, give it away now I can't tell if I'm a kingpin or a pauper Greedy little people in a sea of distress Keep your more to receive your less Unimpressed by material excess Love is free, love me, say, "Hell yes" Low brow but I rock a little know how No time for the piggies or the hoosegow Get smart, get down with the pow wow Never been a better time than right now Bob Marley, poet and a prophet Bob Marley, taught me how to off it Bob Marley walkin' like he talk it Goodness me, can't you see I'm gonna cough it? Give it away, give it away, give it away now Give it away, give it away, give it away now Give it away, give it away, give it away now Oh, oh yeah Give it away, give it away, give it away now Give it away, give it away, give it away now Give it away, give it away, give it away now I can't tell if I'm a kingpin or a pauper Lucky me swimmin' in my ability Dancin' down on life with agility Come and drink it up from my fertility Blessed with a bucket of lucky mobility My mom, I love her 'cause she love me Long gone are the times when she scrub me Feelin' good, my brother gonna hug me Drinkin' my juice, young love chug-a-lug me Ah, there's a river born to be a giver Keep you warm won't let you shiver His heart is never gonna wither Come on, everybody, time to deliver Give it away, give it away, give it away now Give it away, give it away, give it away now Give it away, give it away, give it away now I can't tell if I'm a kingpin or a pauper What I got, you got to give it to your mama What I got, you've got to give it to your papa What I got, you got to give it to your daughter You do a little dance and then you drink a little water What I got, you gotta get it put it in you What I got, you gotta get it put it in you What I got, you gotta get it put it in you Reeling with the feeling, don't stop, continue I realize I don't wanna be a miser Confide with sly you'll be the wiser Young blood is the lovin' upriser How come everybody wanna keep it like the Kaiser? Give it away, give it away, give it away now Give it away, give it away, give it away now Give it away, give it away, give it away now Give it away, give it away, give it away now Give it away now Give it away now Give it away now Give it away now Give it away now Give it away now Give it away now Give it away now Give it away now Give it away now Give it away now Give it away now Give it away now Give it away now Give it away now Give it away now Give it away now Give it away now Give it away now Give it away now Give it away now
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mar 1, 1969 | 99 | 27 |
| 2 | Mar 8, 1969 | 95 | 31 |
| 4 | Mar 22, 1969 | 99 | 27 |
| 5 | Mar 29, 1969 | 89 | 37 |
| 6 | Apr 5, 1969 | 89 | 37 |
| 7 | Apr 12, 1969 | 88 | 38 |
| 1 | Dec 21, 1991 | 93 | 33 |
| 2 | Dec 28, 1991 | 93 | 33 |
| 3 | Jan 4, 1992 | 87 | 39 |
| 4 | Jan 11, 1992 | 76 | 50 |
| 5 | Jan 18, 1992 | 85 | 41 |
| 6 | Jan 25, 1992 | 95 | 31 |