"Around the World" is a song by American rock band

Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates elements of alternative rock, funk ...

, appearing as the opening track on their seventh studio album ''Californication'' (1999). The song was released as the album's second single on August 23, 1999. The single peaked at number seven on the ''Billboard''

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...

and number 16 on the

Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in ...

. In 2007, the song was heavily edited and used as a new soundtrack for the Rockin' California Screamin' ride at

Disney California Adventure Disney California Adventure Park, commonly referred to as California Adventure or by its acronym DCA, is a theme park located at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Park ...

, as part of their "Rockin' Both Parks" campaign. The song was also used as the opening theme for the 2010 live-action film adaptation of ''

Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his experimental and lo-fi style, and became known for creating musical colla ...

''. In 2011, a live version was one of the thirty songs by thirty different artists featured on the ''

Songs for Japan ''Songs for Japan'' is a charity compilation album created to benefit relief efforts for the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. A collaborative project between the music industry's "big four" record labels ( EMI, Sony, Universal, and Warner), ...

'' charity album.

Meaning

Anthony Kiedis Anthony Kiedis ( ; born November 1, 1962) is an American singer and songwriter. He is a founding member and lead vocalist of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. Kiedis and his fellow band members were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of F ...

has stated that in the lyrics for the verses he is telling about his journeys and his experiences on them, about being a member of the

and living an extreme life. He also noted that

Roberto Benigni Roberto Remigio Benigni (; born 27 October 1952) is an Italian actor, comedian, screenwriter and director. He gained international recognition for writing, directing and starring in the Holocaust comedy-drama film ''Life Is Beautiful'' (1997), f ...

's film ''

Life Is Beautiful ''Life Is Beautiful'' ( it, La vita è bella, ) is a 1997 Italian comedy drama film directed by and starring Roberto Benigni, who co-wrote the film with Vincenzo Cerami. Benigni plays Guido Orefice, a Jewish Italian bookshop owner, who emplo ...

'' was a lyrical inspiration.

John Frusciante John Anthony Frusciante (; born March 5, 1970) is an American musician, best known as the guitarist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers across three stints since 1988. He has released 11 solo albums and 7 EPs, ranging in style from acoustic guitar to e ...

came up with the music for the song while playing at his house and told the other band members they would have to hear it but he had to play it with somebody because of its deceptive downbeat.

Chad Smith Chad Gaylord Smith (born October 25, 1961) is an American musician who has been the drummer of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers since 1988. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012. Smith is also the drummer of the ...

kept time on the hi-hat while Frusciante played. Band members liked the outcome and

Flea Flea, the common name for the order Siphonaptera, includes 2,500 species of small flightless insects that live as external parasites of mammals and birds. Fleas live by ingesting the blood of their hosts. Adult fleas grow to about long, ...

came up with his

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

part. The different final chorus originates from a request from Flea's daughter. While writing the album in Flea's garage his daughter would listen to their songs. At the time of writing, Kiedis was struggling to come up with lyrics for the songs, so just filled in with scat. When a final draft of the album was made and Flea's daughter listened to the final version, she was disappointed that the scat had been removed. So, on the final version of the song in the last chorus, the original scatting vocal was used instead. When recording the song

played a '66

Fender Jaguar The Fender Jaguar is an electric guitar by Fender Musical Instruments characterized by an offset-waist body, a relatively unusual switching system with two separate circuits for lead and rhythm, and a short-scale 24" neck. Owing some roots to ...

which he had borrowed from their engineer Jim Scott. He played it through two Marshalls: a JTM 45 and a 100-watt SuperBass. Frusciante told that he liked Jaguars because of their "real cool cheap sound". Flea played on a Modulus Flea Bass (Silver Flake) on the song. He also uses the Modulus in the music video.

Music video

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...

was made for the song and was released on September 14, 1999. The video was directed by

Stéphane Sednaoui Stéphane Sednaoui () is a French director, photographer, film producer and actor. Over the years, Sednaoui has redefined his artistic approach to focus on his fine-art and cinematographic projects. New and existing work have been exhibited ...

, who had previously made videos for other Chili Peppers songs such as "

Breaking the Girl "Breaking the Girl" is a song by American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers from their fifth studio album, ''Blood Sugar Sex Magik'' (1991). It was released as the fourth single from their studio album in August 1992 and is a melodic ballad that re ...

", "

Scar Tissue Scar tissue may refer to: Medicine * Scar, an area of fibrous tissue that replaces normal skin after injury * Granulation tissue, a product of healing in major wounds Film and television * ''Scar Tissue'' (1975 film), or ''Wanted: Babysitter'' ...

" and " Give It Away". The latter in particular, with its unique, chaotic visual style, is similar to "Around the World"; Sednaoui used similar visual techniques in the video for R.E.M.'s song " Lotus". The video was featured on an episode of

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

's '' Making the Video''.

Live performances

"Around the World" has remained a constant staple on the band's tours since 1999, making it one of their top ten most performed songs. The band

Mr. Bungle Mr. Bungle is an American experimental rock band formed in Eureka, California in 1985. Having gone through many incarnations throughout their career, the band is best known for music created during their most experimental era. During this time, ...

performed a mock version of the song in 1999, as part of a

halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observan ...

concert

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...

ing Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Track listings

CD 1 # "Around the World" – 3:58 # " Parallel Universe" (demo) – 5:33 # "Teatro Jam" – 3:06 CD 2 # "Around the World" – 3:59 # " Me and My Friends" (live) – 3:08 # " Yertle Trilogy" (live) – 7:10 Maxi-single # "Around the World" – 3:58 # "Parallel Universe" (demo) – 5:33 # "Teatro Jam" – 3:06 # "Me and My Friends" (live) – 3:08 * All live tracks were recorded in

Södra Teatern Södra Teatern is a theatre in Stockholm, Sweden. It is located at Mosebacke torg on Södermalm in Stockholm. The venue is the oldest theatre in Stockholm and is situated in the heart of the city. History Södra Teatern is one of Sweden's old ...

, Stockholm (1999)

Personnel

Red Hot Chili Peppers *

– lead vocals *

– guitar, backing vocals *

– bass *

– drums, shaker, wood block Additional personnel *

Greg Kurstin Gregory Allen Kurstin (born May 14, 1969) is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2017 and 2018, and written and produced four songs ...

– keyboard

Charts

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Around The World (Red Hot Chili Peppers Song) 1999 singles 1999 songs Music videos directed by Stéphane Sednaoui Red Hot Chili Peppers songs Song recordings produced by Rick Rubin Songs written by Anthony Kiedis Songs written by Chad Smith Songs written by Flea (musician) Songs written by John Frusciante