Give It Away

The Red Hot Chili Peppers recorded "Give It Away" between April and June 1991 at The Mansion in Los Angeles, working with producer Rick Rubin. The track had begun taking shape months earlier, when guitarist John Frusciante and bassist Flea wrote the main riff and bassline during their time in a side project called H.A.T.E. with members of Fishbone. After that group disbanded, the pair decided the material would suit the Chili Peppers' upcoming record. When the band hit a wall trying to compose a bridge, they developed a method they called "face-offs": Flea and Frusciante each crafted a part separately, then reconvened to pick the better inclusion.

Vocalist Anthony Kiedis found his lyrics the moment he heard Flea's bass part, which covered the whole length of the instrument's neck. He began chanting "give it away, give it away, give it away now", a phrase he had been saving for the new album. The refrain drew on an experience from the early 1980s with his former girlfriend, punk singer Nina Hagen, who had once insisted he keep a jacket he admired, telling him that giving things away made the world a better place. The verses touched on his friend River Phoenix, Bob Marley, and themes of fertility and lust.

Warner Bros. Records released the song as the lead single from Blood Sugar Sex Magik in October 1991, and it reached number one on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks, the band's first chart-topper. It became their first UK top ten hit in February 1994, peaking at number nine. The single won a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance With Vocals in 1992.