By the Way Lyrics
Standing in line to see the show tonight
And there's a light on, heavy glow
By the way, I tried to say
I'd be there waiting for
Dani, the girl, is singing songs to me
Beneath the marquee, overload
[Verse 1]
Steak knife, card shark
Con job, boot cut
Skin that flick, she's such a little DJ
Get there quick by street but not the freeway
Turn that trick to make a little leeway
Beat that nic, but not the way that we play
Dogtown, blood bath
Rib cage, soft tail
[Chorus]
Standing in line to see the show tonight
And there's a light on, heavy glow
By the way, I tried to say
I'd be there waiting for
[Verse 2]
Black jack, dope dick
Pawn shop, quick pick
Kiss that dyke, I know you want to hold one
Not on strike but I'm about to bowl one
Bite that mic, I know you never stole one
Girls that like a story, so I told one
Song bird, main line
Cash back, hard top
Standing in line to see the show tonight
And there's a light on, heavy glow
By the way, I tried to say
I'd be there waiting for
Dani, the girl, is singing songs to me
Beneath the marquee, oversold
By the way, I tried to say
I'd be there waiting for
[Bridge]
Ooh, ah, guess you never meant it
Ooh, ah, guess you never meant it
Ooh, ah, guess you never meant it
Ooh, ah, guess you never meant it
Ooh, ah, guess you never meant it
Ooh, ah, guess you never meant it
Ooh, ah, guess you never meant it
Ooh, ah
[Chorus]
Standing in line to see the show tonight
And there's a light on, heavy glow
By the way, I tried to say
I'd be there waiting for
Dani, the girl, is singing songs to me
Beneath the marquee, oversold
By the way, I tried to say
I know you from before
About
As the title track from the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ eighth studio album, “By the Way” reflects the underlying theme of the record—Anthony Kiedis’ love life, and the emotions expressed when one falls in love. To the band’s surprise, their management chose it as the lead single. Guitarist John Frusciante explained,
It wasn’t really our decision to put that song out first, but our managers thought it was an exciting song and their enthusiasm convinced us. I guess they thought that it combined the wild part of our sound with the melodic part of our sound.
The single was an astounding success, leading the US Alternative Rock charts for 14 weeks and reaching the top 10 in various countries (including #1 in Italy and #2 in the UK). Kiedis commented,
I thought that single was an über-bombastic assault of non-commercialism. For it to be so well received was shocking to me, but thrilling at the same time.
The music video, inspired by the Mexican film Amores Perros, sees Anthony Kiedis get kidnapped by a taxi driver. It has a sequel-of-sorts in “Universally Speaking.”
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
Yes. “By the Way” was certified 2x platinum by the RIAA on August 2, 2012.
- 1.By the Way
- 4.Dosed
- 7.Can’t Stop
- 9.Midnight
- 11.Cabron
- 12.Tear
- 13.On Mercury
- 14.Minor Thing
- 15.Warm Tape
- 16.Venice Queen