Overall, "One Hot Minute" lyrically confronted the dark, melancholy and remorseful feelings Kiedis kept to himself. Many of the songs were written at a time when he was hiding his resumed addiction. "Warped" directly faced Kiedis's distraught moods as a hysterical cry for help: "My tendency for dependency is offending me/It's upending me/I'm pretending to be strong and free from my dependency/It's warping me." He also felt disappointed that "no one had suspected that I'd slipped from my more than five years of sobriety." The track itself was composed of heavy guitar riffs and echoing vocals which attempted to convey a distressed state. "Aeroplane", the album's third single, was more upbeat than many of the album's songs; but it still contained various references to Kiedis's personal issues: "Looking into my own eyes/I can't find the love I want/Someone better slap me before I start to rust/before I start to decompose." The song also featured Flea's daughter Clara and her kindergarten class singing backing vocals on the last verse. Additionally, "Pea" is targeted at "the guys who beat the shit out of me at the Mayfair on Franklin & Bronson".