In 2004, lead singer Anthony Kiedis released his autobiography, which was titled Scar Tissue. In the book, he explained some of the lyrics: "Sarcastic Mr. Know-it-all" is Dave Navarro, whom Anthony refers to as "the King of sarcasm." "With the birds I'll share this lonely view" was inspired by birds that Anthony saw while he was singing outside of Flea's house, and he also says that the line has to do with how he felt like an outsider, looking in. Anthony was introduced to pot when he was 12, but he first got high when he was 4. He was walking down the street with his dad, and his dad blew pot smoke in his face.

The video shows the band driving through a desert. It was directed by French director Stephane Sednaoui, who also directed the videos for "Around the World" and "Give it Away." In the video, the band members are all battered and bruised and the neck of John Frusciante's guitar is broken. Also, John is seen driving; the irony being that he can't actually drive.