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"By the Way"
Single by Red Hot Chili Peppers from the album By the Way
B-side	"Time" "Teenager in Love"
Released	2002
Format	CD Single
Genre	Alternative rock
Length	3:36
Label	Warner Bros.
Producer	Rick Rubin
Red Hot Chili Peppers singles chronology
"Parallel Universe" (2000) "By The Way" (2002) "The Zephyr Song" (2002)

"By the Way" is the title track on the eighth studio album by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. It was released as the album's foremost single and eventually a music video was made as an accompaniment. The song was the band's sixth Modern Rock Tracks #1 hit and the first from the album.

The track is a popular and energetic number when played in concert, and always included in a live act albeit circumstances when they include only a small amount of songs (such as special performances) in their repertoire.

An electro house remix by Rene Amesz and Peter Gelderblom was released on the 5th of July, 2007, and became a popular track in clubs worldwide. The remix is also known as "Waiting For", which is a prominently featured lyric.

The frenetic video was directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, a couple who has collaborated with the band to create music videos on numerous other occasions. It is not a visual verbatim demonstration of the lyrical denotations, but rather a story all its own.

The video begins with Anthony Kiedis flagging down a cab. The cabdriver, on realization of who Kiedis is, puts a copy of the "By the Way" single in his CD player and begins to sing along with the song. Kiedis smiles mildly, but suddenly the driver begins to lip-synch the words wildy. Just then, the cabdriver goes crazy. Kiedis, who appears apprehensive when the cabbie begins to lock the car door and drive fervently and ardently throughout the city (all the while swerving between countless other vehicles and visiting various places), attempts to call someone, but the cabdriver manages to get his cellphone from him and throw it out the window. Keidis then attempts to page fellow band member Flea who is with John Frusciante eating at a café. At first, they are skeptical as to whether or not Kiedis is playing tricks or his message is indeed accurate; they ultimately dismiss it as a hoax. A subsequent page causes the two to hastily embark on a wild voyage to retrieve their comrade.

Eventually, Frusciante and Flea's vibrant orange Ford Bronco advances on the taxi cab and, when side by side, Kiedis, who does his own stunts, shatters the back-seat window, scrambles hurriedly out and soars, undamaged, into the back of the Bronco where the now reunited three-some turn precariously into another street before the cabdriver can pursue them to any further extent. The video ends with Chad Smith (the only band member not yet shown in the video) flagging down a taxi cab. He, ironically, gets into the same one; the cabdriver realizes his good fortune and speeds off.

Anthony Kiedis – The Making of: By the Way; Greatest Hits.

Contrary to the music video, the song's lyrics tells an ambiguous story of a girl named Dani. The story had been gradually developing throughout a 7 year time period, starting with "Californication", in which the lyrics refer to an unnamed "Teenage bride with a baby inside". This story was continued in "By the Way", and concluded in "Dani California".

CD single (2002)

1. "By The Way (Album)" – 3:35
2. "Time (Unreleased)" – 3:47
3. "Teenager In Love (Unreleased)" – 3:01

CD version 2 (2002)

1. "By The Way (Album)" – 3:35
2. "Search And Destroy (Live)" – 12:13
3. "What Is Soul? (Live)" – 3:58

CD version 3 (2002)

1. "By The Way (Album)"
2. "Time (Unreleased)"
3. "Search And Destroy (Live)"

7" single (2002)

1. "By The Way (Album)"
2. "Time (Unreleased)"

DVD single (2002) [1]

1. "By The Way" (Video) – 3:36; directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris
2. "Obsessive, Compulsive, Psychologically, Misarranged Cabdriver/Fan (aka the making of "By the Way")" – 13:45; directed by Byron Shaw and Bart Lipton for Brown & Serve
3. "By The Way" (Performance Version) – 3:36