Red Hot Chili Peppers - My Friends - Lyrics Meaning

This song is the second single from the Red Hot Chili Peppers' sixth studio album that was released in 1996 which is titled, One Hot Minute. The song is about reaching out to friends that are having a rough time and letting them know that they are not alone. The lead singer, Anthony Kiedis, wrote the song during a tough period for the band that saw fellow band member and bass player, Flea, endure a difficult divorce. Kiedis has said that the line, "To give your love no matter what" perfectly encapsulates the meaning of the song and he heard it while watching a children's beauty pageant interview from one of the contestants who had a very hard life up to that point.

The chorus of the song is a declaration from one friend to everyone he loves that when you have nowhere to turn and no one else to lean on, I am there for you. Kiedis tells his friends he cannot say anything to make their pain go away, but he will be there for them to help them through "this emptiness". Kiedis wants his friends to know it is okay to be sad, it is a completely normal emotion when you are facing difficult situations in your life. In the second verse, he says his ex-girlfriend was in jail and that they wanted "...give her seven years for being sad". That line is meant to indicate how society in general is not sympathetic to sadness and depression, but when you have no one else, you can call your friends.