Going Inside

"You don't throw your life away Going Inside You get to know who's watching you And who besides you resides In your body Where you're slow"

this song is definitely about getting away from the world.. When times are tough, people tend to "go inside" themselves to find comfort. A lot of times this is viewed negatively, as if it means the person is anti-social, an outcast, a recluse, or what have you.

However; John seems to be preaching how this shouldn't be seen as such.. And how the process of "going inside" when times are rough can actually benefit you; in the sense that, at no other time would you necessarily find out what you're REALLY made of..

"Where you go doesn't matter Cuz there will come a time When time goes out the window And you'll learn to drive out of focus I'm you and if anything unfolds It's supposed to"

Here I think John is trying to say that when a person is on their death bed ("when time goes out the window"), all that really matters is knowing who you are; and what you ultimately think of your life. And basically that you shouldn't base your life's accomplishments on what you COULD or SHOULD have done.. but to look at your life relative to yours only and not hopes or dreams or expectations put on you by others.

"You don't throw your time away sitting still I'm in a chain of memories It's my will And I had to consult some figures of my past And I know someone after me Will go right back I'm not telling a view I've got this night to unglue I moved this fight away By doing things there's no reason to do"

Here I believe John is making amends with not living up to his full potential ("you don't throw your time away standing still"). But through it all, finding joy in the potential he did reach; seeing his accomplishments for what they meant to him.

This could definitely be about something completely different too.. But that's the beauty of Frusciante's work.. so abstract, so cryptic.. It's a lot of fun to try and decipher his music. John is extremely underrated as a lyricist and a singer.

This song is about him experiencing higher dimensions/beings from "going inside", he understands the idea of eternity/timelessness, and there will be a time when "time" will no longer be a boundary. "Figures of my past" refers to his spiritual experiences with voices in his head and spirits that influenced him greatly. Heroin is likely the gateway to the spiritual realm for him. One must realize inorder to seek higher dimensions, one must look inside rather than out. He knows all these "escapes" from reality and philosophical ideas won't get him anywhere in this life, but at the same time he sees lightly in this life, the importance of "driving out of focus" as the key to eternity while resisting to focus solely on earthly experiences.

This song is about him experiencing higher dimensions/beings from "going inside", he understands the idea of eternity/timelessness, and there will be a time when "time" will no longer be a boundary. "Figures of my past" refers to his spiritual experiences with voices in his head and spirits that influenced him greatly. Heroin is likely the gateway to the spiritual realm for him. One must realize inorder to seek higher dimensions, one must look inside rather than out. He knows all these "escapes" from reality and philosophical ideas won't get him anywhere in this life, but at the same time he sees lightly in this life, the importance of "driving out of focus" as the key to eternity while resisting to focus solely on earthly experiences.

This is a really good song.. John is so underrated! he needs some more credit for being a guitarist and a singer.

John is fucking awesome on this song. I love how it was recorded, and I love the guitar, and I love this song! John IS Indie rock!

i would say that this is john frusciante explaning why he became a heroin adict(going inside) or about being a herion adict or both. thats my guess

this is such a cool song with a great video.john is totally underrated i agree

I think this song is just a musing on life. It feels like looking inside John's mind. I don't think we could say it better than he does.

john has to live in the shadow of the red hot, which is ok because he remains "underground" which is better for his fans. i love this song, there's so many things he says that look just like a reflection of me.

i think its about living in the outside world where like lovekiedis menioned "underground" its sort of like the way he wants to live but wants people to know him in their own beautiful way.