Songwriting involves a blend of emotion, storytelling, and also creativity. It's even said that to write a good song, a songwriter must put his/her heart and soul into it.
This is the reason why songs can have great lyrics, and that some can also have scarily accurate statements.
And this is exactly what happens on social media.
Californication is a 1999 hit song from the American rock band the Red Hot Chili Peppers from their album that shares the same name. It was placed high on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, high on the UK Singles Chart, and was the number one song on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks and Modern Rock Tracks charts.
The song was so popular, that it is still considered the band's best song.
When some users picked up the fact that some of the lyrics in Californication somehow described 2024, many started telling that it was a prophecy.
Psychic spies from China try to steal your mind's elation
And little girls from Sweden dream of silver screen quotation
And if you want these kind of dreams it's Californication
It's the edge of the world and all of Western civilization
The sun may rise in the East, at least it settled in a final location
It's understood that Hollywood sells Californication
Pay your surgeon very well to break the spell of aging
Celebrity skin, is this your chin, or is that war you're waging?
First born unicorn
Hardcore soft porn
Dream of Californication
Dream of Californication
Dream of Californication
Dream of Californication
Marry me, girl, be my fairy to the world, be my very own constellation
A teenage bride with a baby inside getting high on information
And buy me a star on the boulevard, it's Californication
Space may be the final frontier, but it's made in a Hollywood basement
And Cobain, can you hear the spheres singing songs off Station To Station?
And Alderaan's not far away, it's Californication
Born and raised by those who praise control of population
Well, everybody's been there and I don't mean on vacation
First born unicorn
Hardcore soft porn
Dream of Californication
Dream of Californication
Dream of Californication
Dream of Californication
Destruction leads to a very rough road, but it also breeds creation
And earthquakes are to a girl's guitar, they're just another good vibration
And tidal waves couldn't save the world from Californication
Pay your surgeon very well to break the spell of aging
Sicker than the rest, there is no test, but this is what you're craving
First born unicorn
Hardcore soft porn
Dream of Californication
Dream of Californication
Dream of Californication
Dream of Californication
Because netizens started sharing the same thoughts, in a slew of videos shared on social media, predominantly on TikTok, many users suggest that the band's frontman Anthony Kiedis and his merry band had somehow predicted the future.
"It is rather alarming how accurate the Red Hot Chili Peppers 'Californication' lyrics predicted society in 2024," a user pointed out.
"I remember when it came out. Didn't think anything of the lyrics. Until I listened to it again about four months ago! !" another user said.
"Psychic spies from China try to steal your mind’s elation," Kiedis sings, which could easily be a prophecy of the myriad mental health crisis that seems to be evolving thanks to the existence of TikTok, which many citizens in the U.S. believe is a Chinese-run espionage and psychological warfare tool.
Another set of lyrics that are freaking people out seems to be aimed at Greta Thunberg, the Swedish celebrity climate change.
The 2003-born activist shot up to fame when she was arrested during protests, and was detained twice by Dutch police during a climate protest in The Hague, Netherlands. She also made headlines after a photo of her was digitally manipulated to inflate the size of her breasts
“Little girls from Sweden dream of silver screen quotation,” the song's lyrics seemingly predicted.
"The sun may rise in the East, at least it settled in a final location," refers to the global warming, which is something climate movement focused on when pressuring governments and industry to take action addressing the causes and impacts of climate change.
After this, the lyrics kind of fall into serious conspiracy theory and practices that were already around in the 1990s.
For example, the line “pay your surgeon very well to break the spell of aging,” is not a prediction, and that
"Space may be the final frontier but it’s made in a Hollywood basement,” is another lyric that is far from a prediction.
It's worth noting that the music video for Californication, which was directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, was inspired by an open world video game, and that on YouTube, the music video is the group's most watched video, having officially reached a billion views on December 2022.