Wet Sand

This is probably my favorite song of all time, and it saddens me that almost everyone here has missed the point. Here's my take.

This song is about struggle, about Anthony's lifelong struggle to follow his dreams, figure everything out and, and make an impact, even while acknowledging that it is all ultimately meaningless.

It's all in the final lines:

"You don't form in the wet sand. You don't form at all. I do."

Anthony has struggled throughout the years to overcome addiction, conquer the world through music, and find meaning in everything. It all amounts to a very small, temporary impact -- making a form in wet sand. Ultimately, the ocean of life washes everything away, but through his work, struggle, and searching, he has made a tiny impact in the universe, which is what he strives for, and what, ultimately, he is proud of, even if nobody else understands it.

Here's a thorough breakdown, verse by verse:

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"My shadow side, so amplified..."

His "sunny" vs "shadow" side is a key motif throughout the song, representing the "sunny" side as a normal, happy, aesthetically driven life. His "shadow side" is a darker, more interpretive, and ultimately more ambitious element to his personality. The entire song is set up as a contrast between these two outlooks.

"Elementry son, but it's so..."

What he's saying is that, the keys to happiness are really easy to grasp, and we learn them early in life. It's "elementary" to overcome his sadness and return to the sunny side of life. However, the second part -- "But it's so..." -- indicates that there is something to this shadowy side of his personality, something that keeps drawing him back, something more important than happiness.

"My love affair with everywhere was innocent, why do you care?"

Anthony has recognized this early on in his life, and I think the key is that the "shadow side" is what caused him to be so curious about the world. When we live in our shadow life, we are motivated to explore, to struggle, to make changes, to overcome whatever it is that's bothering us. What he's saying here is that, throughout his life, people have told him to be happy, to overcome this sadness of his, but he doesn't want to. He wants to explore, it's part of his being. It's innocent -- why do you care?

"My what a good day for a walk outside I like to get to know you little better baby God knows that I really tried"

I think this is where most people's interpretation of the song go awry, because they think he's talking about a woman. Not at all. He is addressing life itself (or the world, perhaps). Even through the mountain of struggle he's been through to know life, he still wants to know her a little better. He's not done with his search yet, a motif played out throughout the rest of the song.

"I'd like to say we did it for the better of..."

This line is an exact counterpart to the earlier lyric of "elementry son, but it's so...". In both of these cases, he's seeking a justification for why he puts himself through all of this, but he doesn't know. He trails off, because he feels like there's some reason, but it is impossible to say what it is. He'd like to say it's for the betterment of something, but he has lost all real reasons to continue going down this path.

"The disrepair of Norma Jean..."

I don't get the Norma Jean reference, unfortunately, maybe somebody can fill in.

"I thought about it and I brought it out I'm motivated by the lack of doubt I'm consecrated but I'm not devout"

This is the turning point of the song. Anthony has given a lot of thought to this, and he's bringing out his shadowy side again, because he's not done searching. He is also entirely confident in this, nobody is going to change his mind. "Consecrated but not devout" is yet another reinforcement that while he's definitely touched upon truths you might consider sacred, he has not yet understood the true nature of God.

As a sidenote, this is the only explicit religious verbage in this song, so I don't think this song is about religion, but I do think religion is a particularly poignant way to express the dilemma that Anthony is facing. God is, inherently, unknowable by humans, but part of living a religious / spiritual life is to seek to understand him constantly, despite knowing it is ultimately fruitless.

"Right on the verge just one more dose I'm travelling from coast to coast My theory isn't perfect but it's close I'm almost there why should I care My heart is hurting when I share Someone open up Let it show"

Again, these verses just reinforce the previous themes of continuing to search for the perfect truth, even though his theory is "close". It still hurts for him to open up to his shadowy side, and it still doesn't make any sense why he should keep doing this to himself.

The last line of this verse is particularly sad, and I think hits home with what Anthony thinks is upset about in regards to other people He has gone through all of this pain and struggle, all of this searching, and he lays it out for everybody to see through his work. It's very hard for him to do this. What he's saying is, why can't anybody else open up the way I do? He's practically begging for somebody else to understand, empathize, and have the courage to show the world.

Also, this sets up the final verse in an important way. Throughout all of this, Anthony has drawn a line between himself and his goals and what he sees everyone else doing -- pursuing happiness, fame, comfort, and fulfillment. It's easy to live a happy life, and the more that Anthony abandons that, the more he feels (rightfully, in my opinion) angry and confused that he's the only person who gets it. He feels that everyone else is missing an important piece to the puzzle, and he wants to feel that his struggle was worth it, even if it's a tiny, tiny thing. Which brings us to the final verse:

"You don't form in the wet sand. You don't form at all. I do."

This is a powerful, profound, incredible statement, and it's no coincidence that this is both the title of the song and the apex of the intensity of the song.

He's saying that, at the end of the day, the "sunny" way of living life means absolutely nothing. Your life will be remembered by nobody. You don't form in the wet sand. You don't form at all. Anywhere, in any medium.

Anthony, however, does. He makes a tiny, tiny dent in the universe. People will remember him long after he is dead, and even though this doesn't ultimately matter, as humanity will die out and our bodies will be washed away into the cosmic ocean, ultimately, his life had meaning, he made something, and he's proud of it and wouldn't have it any other way.

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Final notes, what follows is just my opinion. I think that this song could only have been written by Anthony Keidis and performed by RHCP, and the fact that Stadium Arcadium was such a great album is a testament to that fact.

Most bands that you know of had a good run, put out some albums, and then faded away back into the sunny, comfortable side of life. Not RHCP. They have rocked, kicked ass, and struggled, for over 20 years, and they still kick ass. I can't think of any bands that have maintained such a strong musical and lyrical skill and remained such a potent cultural influence for as long as they have.

I think that this song only could have been written now, after 20 years of striving to make the best music. In short, Anthony and the rest of the band earned this song. The message would not have been nearly as powerful if it was from anybody else. And in a way, in terms of RHCP's overall musicography, I think that this song explains the mentality behind why they have continued to succeed and thrive where lesser musicians (nay, lesser people) would have been content to give up long a go.

Kudos to Kiedis, RHCP, and everyone out there who choose to continue to struggle, search for truth, and do good, even though comfort and ease is right around the corner.