If You Have to Ask

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For other uses, see If You Have to Ask (disambiguation).

"If You Have to Ask"
Single by Red Hot Chili Peppers
from the album Blood Sugar Sex Magik
Released	1993
Format	CD
Recorded	1991
Genre	Rock, Funk
Label	Warner Bros. Records
Producer(s)	Rick Rubin
Red Hot Chili Peppers singles chronology
"Behind The Sun" (1993)	"If You Have to Ask" (1993)	"Soul To Squeeze" (1993)

"If You Have to Ask" Is the second song on the Red Hot Chili Peppers album Blood Sugar Sex Magik. In 1993 it became the fifth and final single released from that album, complete with an accompanying music video which features Arik Marshall, who acted as a brief replacement for guitarist John Frusciante following his departure from the band. The video merely consists of live footage of the band performing the song, overdubbed with the original album track.

It is a moderatley paced song with a relaxed and funky bassline, fairly simple guitar, a vaguely shuffle-style drum line, and low rapped vocals with a duet chorus. The song's two verses consist of low rapped nonsense and wordplay. The song's chorus then explains this by saying "If you have to ask, you'll never know".

At the end of the song, after John Frusciante plays his solo, the production crew and band can be heard applauding Frusciante's flawless playing throughout the song. No attempts were made to re-record the song without the applause or edit it out, as with all of the unintended sounds on the album, it was decided that they added to the music.

[edit] Track list

CD single (1993)

1. "If You Have to Ask (Edit)"
2. "If You Have to Ask (Disco Krisco Mix)"
3. "If You Have to Ask (Scott And Garth Mix)"
4. "Give It Away (In Progress From Funky Monks Video)"

12" single (1993)

1. "If You Have to Ask (Disco Krisco Mix)"
2. "If You Have to Ask (Album)"
3. "If You Have to Ask (Friday Night Fever Blister Mix)"
4. "Give It Away (In Progress From Funky Monks Video)"

Red Hot Chili Peppers
Anthony Kiedis | John Frusciante | Flea | Chad Smith
Hillel Slovak | Dave Navarro | Cliff Martinez | Jack Sherman | Arik Marshall | Jesse Tobias | D.H. Peligro| Jack Irons
Discography
Studio albums: Red Hot Chili Peppers | Freaky Styley | The Uplift Mofo Party Plan | Mother's Milk | Blood Sugar Sex Magik | One Hot Minute | Californication | By the Way | Stadium Arcadium
Lives and compilations: The Abbey Road E.P. | What Hits!? | Live Rare Remix Box | Out in L.A. | Under the Covers: Essential Red Hot Chili Peppers | Greatest Hits | Live in Hyde Park
Singles: True Men Don't Kill Coyotes | Get Up and Jump | Jungle Man | American Ghost Dance | Catholic School Girls Rule | Hollywood (Africa) | Fight Like a Brave | Me & My Friends | Knock Me Down | Higher Ground | Taste the Pain | Show Me Your Soul | Give It Away | Under the Bridge | Suck My Kiss | Breaking the Girl | Behind The Sun | If You Have to Ask | Soul to Squeeze | Warped | My Friends | Aeroplane | Coffee Shop | Shallow Be Thy Game | Love Rollercoaster | Scar Tissue | Around the World | Otherside | Californication | Road Trippin' | Parallel Universe | By the Way | The Zephyr Song | Can't Stop | Dosed | Universally Speaking | Fortune Faded | Dani California | Tell Me Baby | Snow ((Hey Oh)) | Hump de Bump | Desecration Smile
Other Pages: Videography | Songs
Related articles
Chain Reaction | What Is This? | Jane's Addiction | Pearl Jam | Fear | The Mars Volta | Dani
Categories: Red Hot Chili Peppers | Red Hot Chili Peppers Songs
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