"Under the Bridge" and the Effects of Drugs

Many musicians either actively use drugs or are very sympathetic to those who do. However, occasionally a musician will write a song about the destructive nature of substance abuse. "Under the Bridge" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers is a description of the sense of loss that often accompanies drug addiction. The song was written by the band's vocalist Anthony Kiedis, who was addicted to drugs for much of the band's early career but was able to quit using a few years before the song was composed. Since his band mates "Flea" Balzary and John Frusciante still smoked marijuana, Kiedis felt as if he was growing apart from his friends (Wikipedia). Lines such as "Sometimes I feel like my only friend is the city I live in" and "It's had to believe that I'm all alone" describe both the relationships he lost while he was using drugs and the ones that he is losing now that he can not be a part of his band's culture. With this song Kiedis illustrates how drug addiction is not only damaging physically and emotionally, but also socially. Addiction led to the destruction of many of his relationships, even when he was not the one using drugs. The line "Under the bridge downtown is where I drew some blood... (and) forgot about my love" (LyricsFreak) is a perfect description of his situation.