Lyric discussion by bensomy21 

Cover art for God lyrics by John Frusciante

Like a lot of John Frusciante's songs, the main theme is spirituality. Influenced by Buddhism concepts.

"God" isn't referring to the christian god or any known God. "God" in this song is John's way of explaining a few of his beliefs and ideas about what "God" is. To him anyway..

In this song most def and others the spiritual side is very Buddhism influenced, but he obviously has his own philosophy on life/death or "religious views", as he's even stated in interviews. Even though a Buddhist wouldn't refer to what this song refers to as "God" it is very basically their version "God", life/death, creation etc.

Here's a few of examples in this song:

"You know that I try to repair and repay As life goes by a thousand times It gets a little better"

"You can do what you want or so you think But till you stop all your thoughts You are tied to your surroundings"

  • By stopping all your thoughts he means to meditate (not die). In Buddhism meditating stops all your thoughts and brings your mind to it's calm, natural state (true nature). Through stopping your thoughts you come to the realization of the Buddhist philosophy "Emptiness" (another John Frusciante song!). Emptiness has a lot to do with everything around us constantly changing, nothing lasting forever and everything in the universe being impermanent and is therefore "empty". By comprehending these ideas it allows you to stop being "tied to your surroundings".
  • Emptiness: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%9A%C5%ABnyat%C4%81
  • Meditation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vipassan%C4%81#Practice

"I hear all your prayers because I'm each one of you"

" When the fog spreads out in the rainy season It comes from my insides When the thunderous lighting strikes down You're seeing your real I"

  • These lyrics seem to imply that God isn't separate from all of us and that we aren't detached from one and other either. We are connected through our deep consciousnesses or soul (Buddha Nature) that we all have inside. This is what he sees as "God".These ideas relate to the Buddhist belief about all Sentient beings', along with nature effecting each other and being one in the same. The other lyrics imply that we are part of nature. The thunderous lighting coming from my (John's) insides and as the fog spreads, it reveals your (our, humans) true self. -Buddah Nature: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddha_Nature

I hope all of that makes scene. A lot of it is very hard to explain with words. Only from recently studying Buddhism have a lot of his lyrics started making a bit more sense to me.