These Are the Ways

"These Are The Ways" finds Anthony Kiedis detailing his perspective on life in the USA. Rather than heaping judgment on the American people's capacity for excess and materialism, the Red Hot Chili Peppers singer comes from a place of acceptance. These are the ways when you come from America The sights, the sounds, the smells These are the ways when you come from America I don't want to die and she's gonna take good care of ya I just wan to thrive and there's gonna be hysteria Nonetheless, Kiedis wonders whether he and his fellow Americans could back off a little from their huge consumption. Take me inside Twenty-three windows and it's gonna be a long ride All had enough? Have we all had too much? Kiedis told Apple Music: "We might be bloated, we might be overloaded with more than we can handle, and let's just take a step back and rethink it just a little bit. But it's not 'this is wrong and that's right.' It's just 'this is who we've become.'"

"These Are The Ways" originated with an arrangement and melody that guitarist John Frusciante brought in one day. "I'm never able to recreate his melodies perfectly - he's just on a different melodic level- so I usually put it through a simplification machine," Kiedis explained to Apple Music. "I didn't overthink it. It was the first idea that came to my mind when I heard that arrangement, which is very bombastic and almost like a huge classical orchestra, exploding and then going way back."

The Chilli Peppers released "These Are the Ways" on March 31, 2022 as the second single from Unlimited Love. They debuted the track live the following day on Jimmy Kimmel Live.