Scar tissue that I wish you saw
Sarcastic mister know-it-all
Close your eyes and I'll kiss you, 'cause
With the birds I'll share

With the birds I'll share this lonely viewin'
With the birds I'll share this lonely viewin'

Push me up against the wall
Young Kentucky girl in a push-up bra
Fallin' all over myself
To lick your heart and taste your health 'cause

With the birds I'll share this lonely viewin'
With the birds I'll share this lonely viewin'
With the birds I'll share this lonely view

Blood loss in a bathroom stall
A southern girl with a scarlet drawl
I wave goodbye to ma and pa
'Cause with the birds I'll share

With the birds I'll share this lonely viewin'
With the birds I'll share this lonely viewin'

Soft spoken with a broken jaw
Step outside but not to brawl and
Autumn's sweet, we call it fall
I'll make it to the moon if I have to crawl and

With the birds I'll share this lonely viewin'
With the birds I'll share this lonely viewin'
With the birds I'll share this lonely view

Scar tissue that I wish you saw
Sarcastic mister know-it-all
Close your eyes and I'll kiss you, 'cause
With the birds I'll share

With the birds I'll share this lonely viewin'
With the birds I'll share this lonely viewin'
With the birds I'll share this lonely view


Lyrics submitted by The Marine, edited by corim, lilnasx

Scar Tissue Lyrics as written by John Anthony Frusciante Michael Peter Balzary

Lyrics © Hipgnosis Songs Group

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Scar Tissue song meanings
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  • +28
    General Comment

    my interpretation comes completly from personal belief and experiance i am 17 years old and straight out of rehab for a 3 year addiction to herion and perscription pain killers this song hits the heart for me i believe the first line (scar tissue that i wish you saw) represtents his wish for people to see what he has been through due to his addiction and when you shoot up it leaves scar tissue a physical reminder permantetly attached to your apperance to show someone means its real and it has happened. the second line (sarcastic mister know it all) is his way of feeling towards the still suffering addict im the same way sometimes when it comes to my friends that still use i pretend to know it all including everything that has to do with using and getting clean. the third line (close your eyes and ill kiss you ) meaning dont judge me for my past or my scars and ill love you always. the bridge (with the birds ill share this lonely view) represents the feeling of lonliness and emptyness while using its all most like looking down at the world and seeing everything but not really feeling it any emotions what soever numbness. (push me up against the wall young kentucky girl in a push up bra) is when he falls in love with this girl. (falling all over myself) i think represents his self obsession that comes along with being an addict and most addicts believe that to be truely close to someone your love has to do what you do (to lick your heart) and she appearently wasnt an addict at the time but he wanted her abstinence( to taste your health). (blood loss in a bathroom stall southern girl with a scarlet drawl) stands for the first time she shot up must have been in a bathroom cuz the bathroom is the junkies best friend a scarlet drawl is to see the blood seep into the needle like a fountain from the vain its a beautiful but evil thing. her loss of innocence is to (say goodbye to Ma and Pa). (soft spoken with a broken jaw) he wants her to quit but cant say much considering he does it to. he has to leave her so maybe shell go back to the way she was but he doesnt want to fight or hurt her (step outside but not to brawl). Herion is so sweet it is the most incredible feeling imagine someone covering your body with warm honey starting at you head and you feel it trickle down to your toes but it is a down fall of life it can destroy everything you have and everything you are( autums sweet but we call it fall). a true junkie will do anything and everything to get their fix (ill make it to the moon if i have to crawl) like i said mostly all of this is from personal experiance but from the words of one recovering addict to another this is what this song represents in my own words.

    fornow17on October 18, 2012   Link
  • +14
    General Comment

    ...hands down, one of the best driving songs ever.

    epochblueon April 29, 2002   Link
  • +6
    General Comment

    i dunno - i may be soooo wrong - but i always thought it was about self harm - right from the first time i heard it!

    Its about lonelyness - how people are never there - how sometimes people do feel sooo alone - like there is no1 around. But i dunno - i just get the impression it is self harm - because it is lonelyness..........

    "Scar tissue the I wish you saw - Sarcastic Mister know it all" --- kinda like he/she is cutting - because of this person - wishing they could see what their doing to them

    "Blood loss in a bathroom stall - Sounthern girl with a scarlet drawl" ---- cutting in the bathroom - bleeding - having nowhere to go - stuck in a world - with what feel like 4 walls.....

    "Wave goodbye to ma and pa 'cause...." ------ this maybe the end - things have got to much - cant take it any more.

    "I'll make it to the moon if i have to crawl" ------ they will be free - away from everything - kinda like there mision to get there.

    "With the bird I'll share - this loney view..." ------ there is no1 esle there - all alone - looking at things but knowing cant be a part of it

    So yeah - i am not sure though - maybe its just me.......being stupid - and completly getting the wrong end of the stick !

    What do u think.....................? Can you see this loney view - or is that just me................?

    x x x x x x x x x x x x

    PuddleDuckFreakon May 23, 2002   Link
  • +6
    General Comment

    It's late afternoon. I'm walking home. The sun is hot and golden, so I can almost feel my shoulders burning. The air smells like summer. And then, Scar Tissue starts playing on my iPod.

    It's go time.

    Artemis17on March 20, 2010   Link
  • +5
    General Comment

    I don't think this song is about self harm at all! Here's my interpretation of the song:

    Push me up against the wall Young kentucky girl in a push-up bra Fallin' all over myself To lick your heart and taste your health --Anthony doesnt feel as young as he used to be; he tries to get rid of this with this young, healthy girl to make himself feel better

    Blood loss in a bathroom stall Sounthern girl with a scarlet drawl Wave goodbye to ma and pa --a young girl who has just had her first period, she's growing up and now the time is moving closer when she has to leave her parents and make it on her own.

    Soft spoken with a broken jaw Step outside but not to brawl Autumn's sweet we call it fall I'll make it to the moon if i have to crawl --often when people get older, they're not as quick to get loud and violent-they tend to think before they act, that describes the first three lines, but I'm not sure what the fourth one means

    Scar tissue the I wish you saw Sarcastic Mister know it all close your eyes and I'll kiss you cause' With the bird I'll share This loney view --he wishes that people would see that he isnt really as tough as he appears to be, perhaps 'sarcastic mister know it all' is a description of himself, or at least the image of himself that everyone seems to have he just wants to have someone to love (close your eyes and I'll kiss you) and lastly, he feels lonely--he feels that no one on earth can understand him-the birds that fly high in the sky, who see everything from a totally different perspective are the only ones who really know his pain.

    Overall, I think this song is about how anthony is getting older, he's sad because he still hasn't found anyone who he really connects with and who really understands him. He's also worried, because he thinks that he wont find that person in time, possibly because of his false image of toughness of him that he's put out, he wants people to know that he's only human and wants to be loved just like everyone else.

    --was that a long enough description for ya?? It took a loooooong time thinking about this song for me to think that up--it could be totally wrong of course, but that's just what I think this song is about, so lemme know what you people think about it

    incubus zealoton June 08, 2003   Link
  • +3
    My Interpretation

    This is what I get from these lyrics:

    This song is definitely about loneliness. "Scar tissue the I wish you saw - Sarcastic Mister know it all" --- Cutting: You wish that you could share the fact that you cut, but your too scared to show someone because it will change their view upon you. Sarcastic Mister know it all maybe means that he feels that he will be judged for what he does if it is self-injury. Maybe he is speaking of a doctor? 'Close your eyes and I'll kiss you cause, with the birds I'll share this lonely view"- I think this means cheap sex or meaningless sex. I think he's speaking of just shutting his eyes and imagining that this person will care for him.. because he feels he's cared about by no one and the only one who knows or cares about his problems are himself. "Push me up against the wall young Kentucky girl in a push-up bra fallin' all over myself to lick your heart and taste your health"- I think this part is about him seeing a girl who is trying to impress everyone and on the outside she looks happy and beautiful. But he knows on the inside she is broken just the same as he is. He is maybe saying that he wishes that he could look good and happy on the outside like she can. Or maybe he is implying he wants to do what she does( which possibly may be cutting) so that he may find some relief. "Blood loss in a bathroom stall - Southern girl with a scarlet drawl" I think this is about the same girl and like I said before, she tries her hardest to impress the people around her and she has it together on the outside, but on the inside she is broken on the inside, hince why she goes to the bathroom to be alone and relieve her pain by self- injury. "Wave goodbye to ma and pa 'cause...." I think this is either about that the girl being suicidal and thinking it is the end for her, or that during childhood she relied on her parents, but she now feels her problems are too much to share with anyone, especially her parents so she is waving goodbye to them because she feels like she is beyond help or does not need their help. "Soft spoken with a broken jaw step outside but not to brawl" I think this means that he feels like he cannot tell anyone about his pain, so he steps outside to think; again by himself. "Autumn's sweet we call it fall"- I think he means that Autumn sounds sweet because of the name but really it means the end of warmth, sun and growth so he calls it fall, because he's knows what pain he feels and inside its not masked by a sweet name. "I'll make it to the moon if i have to crawl" This person is determined to make it out of whatever situation they are in without the help of anyone, no matter what measures they have to take to do so. "With the birds I'll share - this lonely view" I think this means that he is only going to share his problems with the birds, meaning nobody else.

    Tell me what you think please!

    kelseyjustice8095on January 19, 2012   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    I think it's about how he does these things but while he's doing them, he's lonely. Like, you can be feel so far away from what is happening like it's not even you experiencing it. Almost as if you're on auto pilot watching it go by and you're not really there and so "with the birds I will share this lonely view".

    captnnollieon March 15, 2010   Link
  • +2
    Song Meaning

    Scar Tissue represents the hardships that Kiedis had gone through in his life up until that point. for example his drug addictions and broken relationships. (his drug addictions are scar tissue , scar tissue which can be opened up easily just like a real scar tissue on your body.) the song came to kiedis while the band were working on material at flea's home in the Hollywood hills. Kiedis stood looking across a lonely ravine with the birds flying overhead hence (with the bird's ill share this lonely view.) In Kiedis' autobiography scar tissue he writes of an encounter backstage with a beautiful young girl from Kentucky. he thought she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen but she was a high school girl with a boyfriend and if I remember rightly nothing happened between the two despite a young kiedis wanting it to. This is the meaning for 'young Kentucky girl in a push up bra' 'sarcastic mr know it all' is a reference to the chilli peppers old guitarist Dave Navarro who Kiedis thought of as the king of sarcasm. 'Make it to the moon if I have to crawl' is a reference to his heroin addiction which made him desperate to get high ( the heroin is the moon and he wants it no matter what and if getting the heroin represented a journey from earth to the moon then he would crawl if he had to, that's how desperate he was for a fix.

    sonnybillman97on November 23, 2013   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    This song reminds me of my best friend, and myself. I never had many friends but the one that I did was amazing. I often described her as "the best thing in my life". I had a bit of a crush on her for a while, which was when I started questioning my sexuality. I never told her about it because I knew she would never like me in that way- she likes boys. I settled with just being her best friend because spending time with her as friends was better than telling her that I had stronger feelings for her and then not being able to see her at all. After a few years of this, when I came out to her, she told me that she could never be okay with it. She said that homosexuality is unnatural and goes against her religion. I never told her how badly her words hurt me. To this day we are still friends, but nothing has been the same since then. I think of her every time I hear this song, especially because I often describe her (in the most affectionate way possible) as a "sarcastic mister know-it-all". The line "blood loss in a bathroom stall" hits hard because I used to have a lot of hatred toward myself and took it out in very negative ways. I was doing much better by the time I was ready to come out but my best friend shunning me the way she did nearly made me want to relapse. After hearing that, I felt extremely lonely because she was the one person I could be myself around. I remember going on walks and ranting out loud to myself on quiet roads where the only ones who could hear me were the birds (hence "with the birds I'll share this lonely view"). "I'll make it to the moon if I have to crawl" reminds me of myself; the road to self-acceptance is long and slow, but I'm well on my way there and I'm confident that I'll make it someday.

    Lilyoreilleyon March 19, 2015   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    This is just a kickass song.....its one of my top five peppers songs.

    Teesothoon August 07, 2002   Link

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