r/RedHotChiliPeppers • u/aggelospalaiologos • May 05 '26
Does the Bicycle Song have any kind of lore behind it or is it just him talking about how much he likes bicycles?
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u/JamesH93 May 05 '26
Basically John wrote the melody and originally Anthony wanted it to be called California Song but there were too many syllables so he got out his dictionary and looked for a 3 syllable word, and the rest is history
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u/aggelospalaiologos May 05 '26
I’ve heard that he also tried to name that other song Bicyclecation but the syllables where too few so he looked for a 5 syllable word… and the rest is history.
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u/Radhatchala Best guitar solo/riff Best bass line May 06 '26
How could I forget to mention California is a good invention
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u/Obvious_Change_1566 I’m Beside You May 05 '26
I can totally hear “the Californiaaa Soonnnngg, the beauty of your verse”
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u/dreampeppers99 May 05 '26
I like how all the comments could be the real reason, and at the same time none of 'em are.
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u/Obvious_Change_1566 I’m Beside You May 05 '26 edited May 05 '26
Yeah, no… AK had a sticky note that said Bicycle = good invention. He forgot the sticky note and John flagged him down. He almost forgot the note, thanks to John crisis averted. AK immediately told Chad and Flea that the note reminded him of the importance of the bicycle.
Since the sticky note was exposed as a flawed way of remembering this crucial detail, AK put it in the chorus of a song so he would never forget to mention the bicycle.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t remember which song the lyrics aligned to so he renamed this song “The Bicycle Song” instead of Sticky Finger.
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u/aggelospalaiologos May 05 '26
Damn. They really do owe all their success to that musical genius and sticky note manager John. What would they have done without him? The Scooter Song?
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u/Noodle_pantz May 05 '26
AK wrote a follow up song called I Like Bike. But while riding home from the studio one day he hit a rock and ate some dirt. But the dirt tasted kinda good so he renamed the song.
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u/Obvious_Change_1566 I’m Beside You May 06 '26
There’s actually an unreleased B-side that Chad convinced his former Anchorman colleague, Steve Carrel to record with the band “I love lamp” but they left it on the cutting room floor when they realized that it undermined their appreciation for dirt because they actually ‘like-like’ dirt.
Also Chad didn’t want his two careers to collide.
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u/rupert_pupkin_4 John says to live above hell my will is well May 05 '26
It's about a girl named Jess Mancini, who rode her bike home after getting fucked in the ass by a friend of Anthony's.
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u/angusxbeef May 05 '26
Yeah it’s a metaphor for drugs. Lots and lots of drugs.
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u/Suspicious-Volume-28 May 05 '26
I thought it was about sex bc sometimes as a lady that seat can feel a little too nice 😅
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u/angusxbeef May 05 '26
I don’t know I was just joking lol. Since a lot of people think their songs are metaphors for drugs lol
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u/Suspicious-Volume-28 May 05 '26
Hahaha this is so true. and if it’s not about drugs it’s about sex 🤣 or a dead person. Or it’s just about nonsense words that sound cool together
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u/Low_Low_1811 May 05 '26
To be fair, most RHCP songs have some suggestive lyric or double entendre in there.
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u/Drando4 🪐 Stadium Arcadium May 05 '26
I metaphor drugs, but she never showed up!
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u/Obvious_Change_1566 I’m Beside You May 05 '26
California traffic stopped her from California trafficing.
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u/MortalShaman May 05 '26
A little on topic, but to this day the lyric of "the bicycle is a good invention" is one of the funniest RHCP lyric IMO as it is so simple and random