I Could Have Lied

This is what Anthony had to say:

'One day I called and left a message on her answering machine, then went off. When I came back, there was a response on my machine. "Hey, Anthony, this is Sinead, I’m moving out of Los Angeles tomorrow, and I don’t want you to call me or come by before I leave. Good-bye." I was shattered. It had gone overnight from "Can’t wait to see you again" to "Don’t call and don’t come by," I didn’t know who to turn to, so I called up John. He was irate that she could treat me like that, and he suggested that I write about it and we’d get together later that night and create a song. It had been raining for two days straight when I sat down at my dining room table, put Jimi Hendrix’s version of "All Along the Watchtower" on continual rotation for inspiration, and started writing some lyrics about what had just happened to me. I drove over to John’s house around midnight. He was like a mad scientist, empathizing with me, but absolutely possessed with the idea of finishing this song. So we worked and worked and stayed up all night, listening to that pouring rain. We finally finished the song at five in the morning and, cassette in hand, rushed out to drive through this rainstorm of rainstorms, straight to Sinead’s house. It was her last night there, and I didn’t knock, I just bundled up the tape and shoved it through her mail slot. She left town the next day. The years went by, and our record came out, and life moved on. There were tragedies and triumphs and successes and failures and people died and people had babies and I always wondered what it would be like if I ever saw that girl again.’ — Anthony Kiedis

I agree with those who think it is about him opening up to his girlfriend and telling her that he loves here, and scaring her away in the process. "showed her and i told her how she struck me, but i fucked up now" is the part that seals it. He's talking about how he told her how she made him feel, that monumental four letter word, and how she got scared and ran away. He could have lied, could have kept it to himself, waited until he could see that maybe she felt the same way, but he jumped the gun. His reasoning for it is that his face could never show what is not real, his eyes could never "keep their cool" he couldn't hide it.

I think its about him loving someone and the person who he loves doesnt love him back. And he poured his heart out in everything he did for her...to impress her but she never told him thank you or did anything for him so hes just kinda taking it...saying he doesnt care he will put up with it until she realizes hes a good person.

i think this song is about rejection, when someone tells someone how they feel about them but she doesnt want to know about it. he is honest and sincere but she turns him away. he "could have lied" about how he feels and the kind of person he is but he is punished because of who he is.

i don't know, what do you think, could you help me?

It's about him going out with an Irish actress superstar (I can't remember her name) and one day, she left him a note, saying goodbye and that she was leaving town. I think before that, he told her the truth about something, and and she left him. He could of lied and everything would've been fine.

By the way, the guitar riff at about 2:00 is one of the most awesome guitar riffs I have ever heard.

Love this song! I heard Anthony wrote it as a poem first about the abrubt end to his fling/relationship with Sinead O'Connor then it became a song.

This song is about Sinead O'Connor

In the context of what i'm living right now, this interpretation seems to make sense:

He used to love this girl but the feelings have run dry. He was debating whether to let her go, and in his heart he knew that was what he had to do. He eventually told her truth, and she left him. She still loved him and he still had a connection to her so it obviously hurt them both, but its what he had to do.

So basically about telling someone its over.

i love this song its so beuatiful and all emotions mix together into a mash of love peace harmony joy depression sadness anger ect...... my views on this awsomely origional song is that its about a bald punk girl anthony loved who he was with for about 2 weeks i think then she was leaving and anthony wrote the lyics for the start of a beuatiful song and rushed round to see john fruscante at like 2 in the moring recording and making this song and finishing it that same moring and posting it through this punk girls letter box . anthony dosnt no if she go that tape he saw her a while later in a car park but couldnt bring him self to ask her did she get his tape?? i think she did and thats what in my opinion this wonderful song is all about . ive always listerned to red hot chili peppers and always will since the age of like 3 iam now 14 nd iam now 14 and still love and made a vowe to only listern to there lovely true meaningd music. love and world peace remanes forver lots of lov from xxxfliflecxxx