Scar Tissue

Album

Who Needs Guitars Anyway?

Label

Warner Bros. Records

Genre

Rock

Composer(s)

Anthony Kiedis;Chad Gaylord Smith;John Anthony Frusciante;Michael Peter Balzary

Entered Chart

Jun 5, 1999

Peak Date

Oct 2, 1999

Released

Unknown

Recorded

Unknown

Catalog #

Warner Bros. 16913

B-Side

"Gong Li"

The music video for "Scar Tissue" was directed by Stéphane Sednaoui, who also directed the video for "Give It Away". The opening shot is of John Frusciante driving down a strip of desert highway, a metaphor for Frusciante's return to the band (he does not drive in real life). But the four of them are battered, beaten and bandaged. They are traveling in a rusty wreck and playing broken instruments on the comeback trail. The video ends after an emotional thirty second Frusciante guitar solo at the moment of sunset, with John tossing the broken, stringless guitar from the car. The car Frusciante pretended to drive for the video was a 1967 Pontiac Catalina convertible. A very similar concept was considered, then scrapped, for the earlier "Soul to Squeeze" video. Prior to the video shoot, Kiedis had his hair cut and bleached his brown hair to platinum blond, a look he kept throughout the promotion and tour for Californication. It was filmed in California's Mojave Desert.

In 2004, lead singer Anthony Kiedis released his autobiography, which was titled Scar Tissue. In the book, he explained some of the lyrics: "Sarcastic Mr. Know-it-all" is Dave Navarro, whom Anthony refers to as "the King of sarcasm." "With the birds I'll share this lonely view" was inspired by birds that Anthony saw while he was singing outside of Flea's house, and he also says that the line has to do with how he felt like an outsider, looking in. Anthony was introduced to pot when he was 12, but he first got high when he was 4. He was walking down the street with his dad, and his dad blew pot smoke in his face. >> The video shows the band driving through a desert. It was directed by French director Stephane Sednaoui, who also directed the videos for "Around the World" and "Give It Away." In the video, the band members are all battered and bruised and the neck of John Frusciante's guitar is broken. Also, John is seen driving; the irony being that he can't actually drive. This won a Grammy for Best Rock Song. >> This spent a record 16 weeks at #1 on the Billboard Modern Rock chart. The line, "Close your eyes and I'll kiss you 'cause," Anthony Kiedis is referring to guitarist Dave Navarro, and how in the music video for "Warped" (off the One Hot Minute album), they both kiss at the end of the video. >> A string quartet version (performed by the Vitamin String Quartet) was used in the 2020 movie The King of Staten Island.

Scar tissue that I wish you saw
Sarcastic mister know-it-all
Close your eyes and I'll kiss you, 'cause
With the birds I'll share

With the birds I'll share this lonely viewin'
With the birds I'll share this lonely viewin'

Push me up against the wall
Young Kentucky girl in a push-up bra
Fallin' all over myself
To lick your heart and taste your health 'cause

With the birds I'll share this lonely viewin'
With the birds I'll share this lonely viewin'
With the birds I'll share this lonely view

Blood loss in a bathroom stall
A southern girl with a scarlet drawl
I wave goodbye to ma and pa
'Cause with the birds I'll share

With the birds I'll share this lonely viewin'
With the birds I'll share this lonely viewin'

Soft spoken with a broken jaw
Step outside but not to brawl and
Autumn's sweet, we call it fall
I'll make it to the moon if I have to crawl and

With the birds I'll share this lonely viewin'
With the birds I'll share this lonely viewin'
With the birds I'll share this lonely view

Scar tissue that I wish you saw
Sarcastic mister know-it-all
Close your eyes and I'll kiss you, 'cause
With the birds I'll share

With the birds I'll share this lonely viewin'
With the birds I'll share this lonely viewin'
With the birds I'll share this lonely view