Is alcohol the only drug...? (songs praising drugs

Subject: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: Joe_F
Date: 16 Dec 09 - 10:35 PM

As everybody knows, there are vast numbers of songs celebrating & accompanying the consumption of the various alcoholic beverages, as well as a fair number warning against it. But ethanol seems to be unique among psychoactive drugs in this respect. I have heard only a few songs about cocaine and opium, and they are not likely to tempt anyone. That may be because the consumption of cocaine is usually solitary, and opium puts you to sleep. On the other hand, smoking other than opium is usually a social activity, but who ever has heard of a smoking song? I have seen *poems* in praise of tobacco, but all the songs I have heard about it disparage it. Likewise hemp: its use in song seems to be confined to cockroaches.

What is special about ethanol?

If there are in fact any smoking songs, sniffing songs, pill-popping songs, or shooting-up songs, I would be interested in hearing about them.

[Some song titles in this thread have been converted to links by a Mudelf.]

Subject: Lyr Add: OUTSIDE OF A SMALL CIRCLE OF FRIENDS(Ochs
From: GUEST,999
Date: 16 Dec 09 - 10:39 PM

Outside Of A Small Circle Of Friends
By Phil Ochs


C                   D               C          D         
Look outside the window, there's a woman being grabbed
         C                Em         F                G
They've dragged her to the bushes and now she's being stabbed
E                                 Am
Maybe we should call the cops and try to stop the pain
      F         Am               Dm                G
But Monopoly is so much fun, I'd hate to blow the game
       C                Am       Eb
And I'm sure it wouldn't interest anybody
Cm                            F
Outside of a small circle of friends.

Riding down the highway, yes, my back is getting stiff
Thirteen cars are piled up, they're hanging on a cliff.
Maybe we should pull them back with our towing chain
But we gotta move and we might get sued and it looks like it's gonna rain
And I'm sure it wouldn't interest anybody
Outside of a small circle of friends.

Sweating in the ghetto with the (colored/Panthers) and the poor
The rats have joined the babies who are sleeping on the floor
Now wouldn't it be a riot if they really blew their tops?
But they got too much already and besides we got the cops
And I'm sure it wouldn't interest anybody
Outside of a small circle of friends.

Oh there's a dirty paper using sex to make a sale
The Supreme Court was so upset, they sent him off to jail.
Maybe we should help the fiend and take away his fine. (*)
But we're busy reading Playboy and the Sunday New York Times
And I'm sure it wouldn't interest anybody
Outside of a small circle of friends

Smoking marihuana is more fun than drinking beer,
But a friend of ours was captured and they gave him thirty years
Maybe we should raise our voices, ask somebody why
But demonstrations are a drag, besides we're much too high
And I'm sure it wouldn't interest anybody
Outside of a small circle of friends

Oh look outside the window, there's a woman being grabbed
They've dragged her to the bushes and now she's being stabbed
Maybe we should call the cops and try to stop the pain
But Monopoly is so much fun, I'd hate to blow the game
And I'm sure it wouldn't interest anybody
Outside of a small circle of friends

[ Additional verse, 1974 ]
Down in Santiago where they took away our mines
We cut off all their money so they robbed the storehouse blind
Now maybe we should ask some questions, maybe shed a tear
But I bet you a copper penny, it cannot happen here
And I'm sure it wouldn't interest anybody
Outside of a small circle of friends

Subject: Lyr Add: LUCY IN THE SKY WITH DIAMONDS (Beatles)
From: GUEST,999
Date: 16 Dec 09 - 10:46 PM

LUCY IN THE SKY WITH DIAMONDS
As recorded by The Beatles on "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" (1967)

1. Picture yourself in a boat on a river,
With tangerine trees and marmalade skies.
Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly,
A girl with kaleidoscope eyes.
Cellophane flowers of yellow and green,
Towering over your head.
Look for the girl with the sun in her eyes,
And she's gone.

CHORUS: Lucy in the sky with diamonds,
Lucy in the sky with diamonds,
Lucy in the sky with diamonds,
Ah... Ah...

2. Follow her down to a bridge by a fountain,
Where rocking horse people eat marshmallow pies.
Everyone smiles as you drift past the flowers,
That grow so incredibly high.
Newspaper taxis appear on the shore,
Waiting to take you away.
Climb in the back with your head in the clouds,
And you're gone. CHORUS

3. Picture yourself on a train in a station,
With plasticine porters with looking glass ties.
Suddenly someone is there at the turnstile,
The girl with kaleidoscope eyes. CHORUS REPEATED AND FADED.

Subject: Lyr Add: SAN MESCALITO (Sean Gagnier)
From: GUEST,999
Date: 16 Dec 09 - 10:49 PM

San Mescalito pray for me now por favor
I'm lost on the high range and feeling so strange
and I can't find the door
Lost in the strange way out on the range
Never been here before

I'm free as the dogs and I fly with the crows, na na na na na
I climb on the wind and talk to my friend
And I don't need my clothes

I raised up my head and looked at his face na na na na na
I felt I would die there were pieces of sky
where his eyes should have been.....         Sean Gagnier


I'd love to have the complete lyrics to this song. It is one of the best songs Sean ever wrote, and considering that his writing was excellent all the time, that says something.

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: GUEST,999
Date: 16 Dec 09 - 10:52 PM

I realize that the various drugs mentioned are not 'praised', but other drugs have also made their way into song lyrics.

Buffy Sainte-Marie's "Cod'ine" pronounced co-DINE.

Eric Clapton's "Cocaine".

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: GUEST,Maxwell
Date: 16 Dec 09 - 11:06 PM

Get Smart this season 99 and meet me in Saint Louis.

MAX

Subject: Lyr Add: FUMAR LA PIPA (Italian)
From: Callie
Date: 16 Dec 09 - 11:55 PM

Italian folk song:

Fumar La Pipa (Pipe Smoking)

"Fumar la pipa non e' peccato"
Mi ha disso Bortolo che mi ha insegnato
Fumero' sempre, fumero' ancor,
Son fumatore, son fumator.

Fumano i ricchi e gli operai
Son tanto pochi che non fumano mai
Fumero' sempre, fumero' ancor,
Son fumatore, son fumator.

"To smoke a pipe is not a sin"
So said Bortolo who taught me to smoke.
I will always smoke, I will keep smoking.
I'm a smoker! I'm a smoker!

Rich and poor smoke
Very few don't smoke at all
I will always smoke, I will keep smoking.
I'm a smoker! I'm a smoker!

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: iancarterb
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 12:23 AM

La Cucaracha

Free Mexican Airforce

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: beeliner
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 12:26 AM

"I'm a joker, I'm a smoker, I'm a midnight toker, Sure don't want to hurt no one." [The Joker - Steve Miller Band]

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: GUEST,999
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 12:40 AM

That is a great song. Used to crank the stereo to 10 for that.

The song title is "One Toke Over the Line". Brewer and Shipley.

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: GUEST
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 12:47 AM

There's a good bit of this stuff in records of the 1930s and 1940s, mostly blues and jazz releases. Enough of it that Stash Records, in the 70s, was able to put out at least half a dozen LP compilations of "Reefer Songs," "Viper Songs," "Pipe Spoon Pot and Jug," and the like. Nearly all of it is dope-oriented, and almost none of it is unfriendly.

Among the songs which come to mind:

Who Put the Benzedrine in Mrs Murphy's Ovaltine?

Reefer Man (Cab Calloway did this, and other similar pieces, including Kickin' the Gong Around, Minnie the Moocher, and The Man from Harlem, who brings joy to a dull nightclub by showing up with the Stuff)

If You're a Viper ("Dream about a reefer, five feet long/Mighty mezz but not too strong/You'll be high but not for long/If you're a viper")

Wacky Dust (Ella Fitzgerald)

The Stuff is Here (and It's Mellow)

Light Up

The "G" Man Got the "T" Man (and Gone)

Jerry the Junker

Weed Smoker's Dream

Dopey Joe (from Kokomo)

Stash also did a couple of excellent sex collections, Copulatin' Blues and AC/DC Blues (Gay Jazz Classics).

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: 12-stringer
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 12:50 AM

"Guest" at 12:47AM is the old 12-stringer, too senile to notice that his cookie needed a reset before posting.

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: GUEST
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 12:57 AM

No need for a name on music threads. I'm the other one

---

No, we expect a consistent name in every message.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: GUEST,Allan C
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 02:34 AM

Golden Brown by The Stranglers

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: Crow Sister (off with the fairies)
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 03:37 AM

In praise of drugs? Lots of pop/rock songs reference drugs directly or indirectly.

'I Get a Kick Outa You' by Cole Porter, isn't exactly 'in praise of' cocaine but I love it for the jolly treatment.

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: Amergin
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 03:42 AM

Lucy in the Sky with diamonds is NOT a reference to drugs....

Shel Silverstein wrote a song called I Got Stoned and I Missed It....

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: mandotim
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 04:03 AM

John Prine; 'Illegal Smile'.

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: GUEST,Ed
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 04:05 AM

Caravan: And I Wish I Were Stoned

Subject: Lyr Add: BANANAS (Man)
From: Jack Blandiver
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 04:08 AM

Bananas by The Manband is fairly unambiguous in its subject matter:


BANANAS
As recorded by Man on "Be Good to Yourself Once a Day" (2009)

I like to eat to bananas, 'cos they got no bones;
I like marijuana, 'cos it gets me stoned.

Put a seed into the ground
Wait for the sun to come around,
Nurture it with love and care,
Give it sun and rain and air.

There, oh there
There, oh
You gotta let it grow,
Let it grow.

Come on wait for it to sprout,
then you get your rizlas out...

A fine song it is too; the studio version on Be Good to Yourself... is one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever recorded. Skin one up & have a listen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2W9hwwdr8L0

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: bubblyrat
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 04:34 AM

The Rolling Stones and something about "Brown Sugar" ??

Donovan and "Candy Man" ??

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: Weasel
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 04:44 AM

Ebeneezer Goode?

Cheers,

Weasel

Subject: Lyr Add: TAKE A WHIFF ON ME + TELL IT TO ME
From: Ruth Archer
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 04:53 AM

Two similar songs which celebrate cocaine, but also acknowledge that it'll get you in the end. I think cocaine songs were more common when the drug was legal.



Take a Whiff on Me - Leadbelly

Walked up Ellum and I come down Main
Tryin' to bum a nickle, just to buy cocaine
Ho, ho, honey take a whiff on me.

(Cho):
Take a whiff on me, take a whiff on me
And everybody, take a whiff on me.
Ho, ho, honey take a whiff on me.

Went to Mr. Lehman's on a lope
Sign in the window said: "No more coke".
Ho, ho, honey take a whiff on me.

(Cho):

Goin' up State Street, comin' down Main
Lookin' for the woman that uses cocaine.
Ho, ho, honey take a whiff on me.

(Cho):

I'se got a nickle, you'se got a dime...
You buy the coke and I'll buy the wine.
Ho, ho, honey take a whiff on me.

(Cho):

The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice
Takes a brown-skinned woman, for my particular use.
Ho, ho, honey take a whiff on me.

(Cho):

Cocaine's for horses and not for men
Doctors sat t'will kill you but they don't say when.
Ho, ho, honey take a whiff on me.

(Cho):

Whiff-a-ree and whiff-a-rye
Gonna keep on a whiffin' boys, 'till I die.
Ho, ho, honey take a whiff on me.



Tell it to Me

Well I'm ridin' down Fifth Street, I'm comin' down Main
I tried to bum a nickel for to buy cocaine
Cocaine's gonna kill my honey dead

Chorus:
Now won't you tell it to me
Tell it to me
Drink the corn liquor let the cocaine be
Cocaine's gonna kill my honey dead

I sniff cocaine before I die
I'd be sniffin' cocaine if it took my life
Cocaine's gonna kill my honey dead

(Chorus)

Now I sniff cocaine, I sniff it in the wind
The doc he says it'll kill me but he can't say when
Cocaine's gonna kill my honey dead

(Chorus)

All them rounders that think they're tough
But they feed their women on the beer and the snuff
Cocaine's gonna kill my honey dead


Some more recent examples:


top 10 cocaine songs of all time (apparently)

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 04:56 AM

Tom Lehrer: The Old Dope Peddler

Jeremy Taylor: The Pot Song

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: GUEST,Chaz Brewer
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 05:11 AM

Oh well that's alright then. Let's praise it and celebrate it! Let's take a plant and breed it to produce so much THC that the kids of this generation can blow their minds and run the world when they 'grow up', that we are trying so hard to preserve with our taxes. Why are we doing that?

CB

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: Will Fly
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 05:13 AM

Clapton's "Cocaine"

JJ Cale wrote it. :-)

Subject: Lyr Add: CHAMPAGNE DON'T HURT..(Jerry Jeff Walker)
From: Tug the Cox
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 05:53 AM

[Variants in the 3rd and 4th choruses are marked with boldface.]

CHAMPAGNE DON'T HURT ME, BABY
As recorded by Jerry Jeff Walker on “Cowboy Boots and Bathin’ Suits” (1998)

CHORUS: Champagne don't hurt me, baby.
Cocaine don't drive me crazy.
Ain't nobody's business but mine.
Way down in Costa Rica,
Smoke my hash and drink my liquor.
Ain't nobody's business but mine.

1. Got the good life down in Belize.
They let folks do just as they please.
Ain't nobody’s business but mine.
Got a hammock strung between two trees.
Got a jug of Dom and a big ol' spleef
And it ain't nobody business but mine. CHORUS

[instrumental break]

2. It ain't nobody 's business, kid,
Who in the world I do business with.
Ain't nobody's business but mine.
Ain't nobody's business, sonny,
Where in the world I spend my money.
Ain't nobody's business but mine.

CHORUS: Champagne don't drive me crazy.
Cocaine don't make me lazy.
Ain't nobody's business but mine.
Said, way down in Costa Rica,
Smoke my hash and drink my liquor.
Ain't nobody's business but mine.

[instrumental break]

3. You drink your whisky, drink your wine,
Those narco boys will treat you fine.
It ain't nobody's business but mine.
Smoke that pot or smoke that hash,
They'll find out where the good stuff's stashed.
And it ain't nobody's business but mine.

CHORUS: Champagne don't hurt me, baby.
Cocaine don't make me crazy.
Ain't nobody's business but mine.
Yeah, way down in Costa Rica,
Smoke my hash and drink my liquor,
Ain't nobody business but mine.
Ain't nobody business but mine.

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 06:28 AM

Steve Earle's 'Copperhead Road' evolves from distilling moonshine to growing pot.

DeG

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: kendall
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 06:29 AM

As I recall, even the original Jimmy Rodgers, the singing brakeman, sang about cocaine back in the 20s.

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: Young Buchan
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 06:34 AM

Down came bonny Jeannie, came tripping downstairs.
Glenlogie

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: Vic Smith
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 07:06 AM

Victoria Spivey & Lonnie Johnson - Dope Head Blues (1926)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chsOLR2jzuc

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: GUEST,bankley
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 07:31 AM

Heroin --- Velvet Underground
Junker's Blues --- Champion Jack Dupree
Casey Jones --- Grateful Dead
Oxycontin Blues --- Steve Earle
Cheap Beer Joint --- David Wilcox (Teddy Bears)
Riverboat Fantasy --- David Wilcox (Teddy Bears)
Sam Stone --- John Prine
(I'll Never Smoke) Weed with Willie (Again) --- Toby Keith

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: GUEST,Jack Campin
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 07:32 AM

"Ime prezakias", a rembetika song made famous by Rosa Eskenazi (or Roza Eshkenazy), is in praise of heroin (or some other white powder, but I think heroin is the most likely for the place and time).

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: Ruth Archer
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 07:37 AM

"Steve Earle's 'Copperhead Road' evolves from distilling moonshine to growing pot."

So does Hayseed Dixie's Kirby Hill.

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: melodeonboy
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 07:50 AM

"Roll Your Own" , "Semi-Truck" (reference to "bennies"), "Down to Seeds and Stems Again Blues" - Commander Cody

"Roll Another Number" - Neil Young and Crazy Horse

"If You're A Viper" - I don't know who did that one!

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: GUEST,Mike of Hessle
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 08:09 AM

Sometime back in the 60's or 70's I remember seeing a guy on the Folk-scene called Mike Absalom. He sang a song called 'Hector the Dope Sniffing Hound.'

Thin it went someting like -

Hector the Dope Snifffing Hound
Used to be seen around town
With Inspectors and Pigs
He was one of the bigs
But a bark from that nark sent you down.

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: Bob the Postman
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 08:15 AM

Re 999 at 17 Dec 09 - 12:40 AM, "joker, smoker, midnight toker" is actually from Steve Miller's "The Joker", not Brewer and Shipley "Over The Line". You probably cranked them both to 10.

On CBC Radio I once heard a WW II transcription of a radio show produced for playing to the troops in Europe. The announcer introduced an instrumental as follows "And now, here's a young Coloured boy from Montreal who can really tickle those ivories. It's Oscar Peterson with his rendition of 'If You're A Viper'." Way to slip one past the man.

Subject: Lyr Add: DON'T BOGART ME (Fraternity of Man)
From: Crow Sister (off with the fairies)
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 08:25 AM

Fraternity of Man's 'Don't Bogart Me' is a funny track (of Easy Rider fame):

DON’T BOGART ME aka DON’T BOGART THAT JOINT
As recorded by The Fraternity of Man on “Easy Rider (Music from the Soundtrack)” (1966)

CHORUS: Don't bogart that joint, my friend.
Pass it over to me.
Don't bogart that joint, my friend.
Pass it over to me.

1. Roll another one
Just like the other one.
You've been hanging on to it
And I sure would like a hit. CHORUS

[Instrumental break]

2. Ro-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-oll another one
Just like the other one.
That one's just ‘bout burnt to the end,
So come on and be a real friend. CHORUS TWICE

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: erosconpollo
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 08:27 AM

Along Comes Mary - not only a song about marijuana but a pop hit

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: clueless don
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 08:55 AM

Bill Danoff, probably best known for his song "Afternoon Delight" from his days with the Starland Vocal Band, was earlier in a group called Fat City. He wrote a song called "The Fat City High School Fight Song". The first few lines (to the best of my memory) were

Thank God, for marijuana
'cause its the cheapest thing to buy.
Thank God, for marijuana
'cause it's what made the city high (the City High!)

Don

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: Bob the Postman
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 08:55 AM

Glue-sniffing Anahuac by The Austin Lounge Lizards.

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: beeliner
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 09:09 AM

"If You're a Viper" aka "Youse a Viper" or "Viper's Drag" was by Fats Waller. There's an excellent version by the Manhattan Transfer on their album "Jukin'"

"I Heard" by the Mills Brothers is certainly one of the most cryptic.

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: Leadfingers
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 09:32 AM

And surely caffeine is a drug: [A Proper Cup of Coffee]

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: GUEST,John from Elsie`s Band
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 10:40 AM

One of the songs in our repertoire is "Tobacco's But an Indian Weed".
But, the sentiments of the song point out the pitfalls of smoking rather than putting tobacco on a pedestal.

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: Leadfingers
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 12:13 PM

As does 'A Merry Progress to London' - The HIGH cost of tobacco use .

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: Mavis Enderby
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 12:53 PM

Champagne and Reefer - Muddy Waters [lyrics]

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: PHJim
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 01:01 PM

GUEST,bankley suggested some songs that certainly don't praise drugs.
Heroin, as sung by the Velvet Underground, may qualify, but it sure doesn't make me want to try it.
Sam Stone is anything but a song praising drugs. It's an anti-drug song if I ever heard one.
Oxycontin Blues isn't a praise of Oxycontin either.

Some of these songs mentioned by other folks also don't answer the request of the original poster. Buffy St.Marie's Codine is not a praise of the drug, nor is Cocaine. It's not too hard to find songs that mention drugs or even songs that are about drugs, but the original poster wanted songs that PRAISE drugs.

It seems to me that I recall a James Taylor song, before he got sober, called Mescalito. It was a song praising the drug and his backing musicians made him put a disclaimer in the liner notes stating that the other musicians on the album did not necessarily agree with the sentiments expressed in the lyrics of that song.

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: PHJim
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 01:06 PM

John Hartford also recorded a song, early in his career, that prised marijuana called Granny Wontcha Smoke Some Marijuana. I recall going to see him a few years before he passed and someone yelled out a request for that song. John said, "No, that's a terrible song."

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: pdq
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 01:16 PM

John Hartford, with help from Doug and Rodney Dillard, did a song called "Two Hits and the Joint Turned Brown".

Sorta neo-Reggae, I suppose. Pretty funny.

Subject: Lyr Add: TOBACCO IS LIKE LOVE
From: KathyW
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 01:33 PM

What about "Tobacco is like Love"?

You can find it on John Townley's album "A Chesapeake Sailor's Companion":
http://www.amazon.com/Chesapeake-Sailors-Companion-Townley-Press/dp/B00005EBJM/r (pops)

"TOBACCO IS LIKE LOVE" by Tobias Hume

Tobacco, tobacco,
Sing sweetly for tobacco!
Tobacco is like love, o love it.
For you see I will prove it.

Love maketh lean the fat men's tumour,
So doth tobacco.
Love still dries up the wanton humour,
So doth tobacco.
Love makes men sail from shore to shore,
So doth tobacco.
'Tis fond love often makes men poor
So doth tobacco.
Love makes men scorn all coward fears,
So doth tobacco.
Love often sets men by the ears,
So doth tobacco.

Tobacco, tobacco,
Sing sweetly for tobacco!
Tobacco is like love, o love it.
For you see I will prove it.

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: Mavis Enderby
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 02:18 PM

"Love maketh lean the fat men's tumour, so doth tobacco" must be about the most ironic lyric I've ever seen!

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: KB in Iowa
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 02:24 PM

'That Acapulco Gold' by Rainy Daze.

Came out in 1967.

It got some radio play before The Man figured out what it was about and had it pulled from the airwaves. Got to #70 on the Billboard charts.

(submitted once sans cookie)

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: GUEST,Guest
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 03:33 PM

<quote>
No, we expect a consistent name in every message.
</quote>
The make the bloody field mandatory!

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: Joe_F
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 05:53 PM

The examples give so far seem to confirm my original impression: There are of course songs that mention other drugs incidentally, and songs that describe how wretched they make people, but there are no dope songs anything like "Landlord, fill the flowing bowl" or "Chevaliers de la table ronde", which encourage people to drink as an aid to conviviality & merriment. Are there perhaps marijuana songs in Arabic? I ask because I once read that the Koran forbids the taxation of hemp on the ground that it is cruel to tax things that console the poor.

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: GUEST
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 06:27 PM

Dr. Hook's "Freaker's Ball" album has a few songs about stuff including the classic "I Got Stoned and I Missed It".

Neil Young's "The Needle and the Damage Done" and the album "Tonites' the Nite"

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: GUEST,celticblues5
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 07:03 PM

The fabulous Julia Lee had twin recordings of "Sweet Lotus Blossom" & "Sweet Marijuana" (same song, just substituted one phrase for the other, depending, I suppose on the audience at any particular time, "(sweet) lotus blossom" being marginally more obscure as to its meaning).

Soothe me with your caress,
Sweet lotus blossom
Lotus blossom
Help me in my distress
Sweet lotus blossom
Please do

Now you alone can bring my lover back to me
Even though I know it's just a fantasy
And then, knock me clear out
Sweet lotus blossom
Please do.....


Then there was Bessie Smith --- ["Gimme a Pigfoot"]

.....Give the piano player a drink because he's bringin' me down
He's got rhythm, yeah!
When he stomps his feet, he sends me right off to sleep
Check all your razors and your guns
We gonna be rasslin' when the wagon comes
I wanna pigfoot and a bottle of beer
Send me 'cause I don't care
Slay me 'cause I don't care
Gimme a reefer and a gang o' gin
Slay me, 'cause I'm in my sin
Slay me 'cause I'm full of gin
Check all your razors and your guns
Do the
shim-sham shimmy
till the risin' sun


A compilation, "Reefer Songs," lists:
1. Reefer Man - Don Redman And His Orchestra
2. The Man From Harlem - Cab Calloway And His Orchestra
3. Here Comes The Man With The Jive - Stuff Smith And His Onyx Club Boys
4. If You're A Viper - Bob Howard And His Boys
5. Texas Tea Party - Benny Goodman And His Orchestra, With Jack Teagarden
6. Light Up - Buster Bailey's Rhythm Busters
7. Jack I'm Mellow - Trixie Smith
8. Sweet Marijuana Brown - Barney Bigard Sextet
9. Viper Mad - Sidney Bechet With Noble Sissie's Swingers
10. The Weed Smoker's Dream (Why Don't You Do Right) - Harlem Hamfats
11. The G Man Got The T Man - Cee Pee Johnson And His Band
12. All The Jive Is Gone - Andy Kirk And His Twelve Clouds Of Joy
13. The Stuff Is Here - Georgia White
14. Wacky Dust - Chick Webb And His Orchestra, With Ella Fitzgerald
15. Who Put The Benzedrine In Mrs Murphy Ovaltine? - Harry 'The Hipster' Gibson
16. Jerry The Junker - Clarence Williams And His Washboard band
17. Reefer Song - Fats Waller
18. Lotus Blossom (Sweet Marijuana) - Julia Lee And Her Boy Friends
19. Willie The Chimney Sweeper - Ernest Rodgers
20. Weeds - Bea Foote
21. Save The Roach For Me - Buck Washington
22. Knockin Myself Out - Lil Greene
23. Minnie The Moocher - Cab Calloway And His Cotton Club Orchestra


And here's another compilation of substance songs -
http://isohunt.com/torrent_details/114485209/Teens+Lyrics?tab=summary

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: GUEST
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 07:48 PM

So...Joe F.

Your niece needed a term paper before the winter recess?

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: Amergin
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 07:52 PM

Peter Tosh did Legalise It.

Subject: Lyr Add: TOBACCO'S BUT AN INDIAN WEED
From: autoharper
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 08:39 PM

Perhaps the oldest one is "Tobacco's But An Indian Weed"
attributed to Thomas D'Urfey, around 1719. Often mistaken as a song about the dangers of lung disease, the song uses tobacco smoking as a metaphor for the the transient nature of existence. Larry Hanks recorded an excellent version of this song on his "Tying a Knot in the Devil's Tail" CD.

1.        To-bacco's but an Indian weed,
        Grows green at morn, cut down at eve
        It shows our de-cay,
        We are but clay;
        Think of this when you smoke to-bacco!

2.        The pipe that is so lily white,
        Wherein so many take delight,
        It's broken with a touch,
        Man's life is such
        Think of this when you take tobacco!

3.        The pipe that is so foul within,
        It shows man's soul is stained with sin
        It doth require
        To be purred with fire;
        Think of this when you smoke tobacco!

4.        The dust that from the pipe doth fall,
        It shows we are nothing but dust at all
        For we came from the dust,
        And return we must;
        Think of this when you smoke tobacco!

5.        The ashes that are left behind,
        Do serve to put us all in mind
        That unto dust
        Return we must;
        Think of this when you take tobacco!

6.        The smoke that does so high ascend,
        Shows that man's life must have an end
        The vapor's gone,
        Man's life is done;
       Think of this when you take tobacco!

-Adam Miller

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: Amergin
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 08:52 PM

I also do not think Velvet Underground's Heroin was in praise of the drug.

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: Artful Codger
Date: 17 Dec 09 - 11:31 PM

"Come, Sirrah Jack, Ho!" is a madrigal about the pleasures of smoking. "It is very, very good; 'tis very good!"

k.d. lang did a concept album Drag on the theme of smoking.

Pipes and tobacco figure as simple pleasures in a fair number of songs, though I can't think of a song with a refrain like "So puff, boys, puff! And see that you do not cough!"

The Captain Matchbox Whoopie Band's album Smoke Dreams was apparently recorded while they were smoking something else.

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: Roughyed
Date: 18 Dec 09 - 01:11 AM

What about Dylan's Rainy Day Women #s 12 and 34? That encourages people to get stoned, I don't think he meant alcohol and it sounds like a party. I seem to remember a band from the 6os called I think David Peel and the Lowere East Street who did a whole marijuana themed album - my memory of the tracks is a bit vague for some strange reason

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: MGM·Lion
Date: 18 Dec 09 - 02:14 AM

See thread - Lyr req: Cocaine Bill & Morphine Sue:- Nov 06-Jan 07.

Certainly song, well recalled from my long-ago youth & student & soccer-playing days, about drugs, tho not exactly in praise: last verse as I remember it went — 'This story only goes to show There ain't no sense in sniffing snow'.

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: MGM·Lion
Date: 18 Dec 09 - 02:45 AM

Oddly, this song, Cocaine Bill... doesn't seem to be in Digitrad under any title I can formulate. But it was also cited, quoting as under, by GuestGARGOYLE in long & full post of 17 Nov 01 on thread 'Rugby Football Songs":

"And his heart would be hard indeed who was not moved by the tragety of Morphine Bill and Cocaine Sue who after killing themselves with drugs (Honey have a sniff on me) were buried side by side."-
quoting Michael Green's Book of 'More Rugby Songs' 1967.

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: Roughyed
Date: 18 Dec 09 - 03:07 AM

Try looking under Cocaine Lil. One of the little known side effects seems to be a sex change....

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 18 Dec 09 - 03:47 AM

In the first post, Joe F asks What is special about ethanol?

For the nickel tour of a history of alcoholic beverages, the slide show at Eight ancient drinks uncorked by science might be of interest.

(If you click on the "print this" button at the bottom of any page you can look at all nine slides on one page.)

Now, back to the music.

John

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: MGM·Lion
Date: 18 Dec 09 - 04:52 AM

Thanks, Roughyed. But, tho a good song, Cocaine Lil is not the same one as Cocaine Bill.

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: MGM·Lion
Date: 18 Dec 09 - 05:12 AM

I know, btw, that it is absurd to seek a definitive version of any traditional song -- but out of interest, who knows it as "Cocaine Bill & Morphine Sue", & who, v.v., as "Morphine Bill & Cocaine Sue"?

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: Mr Red
Date: 18 Dec 09 - 05:32 AM

Paregoric thread 1
Paregoric thread 2
see threads for lyrics & explanation.

House of the rising sun is implies it is part of the story (pick your version)
Goodnight Irene is not exactly in praise of drugs, but......

And isn't there a Cockayne Overture in Elgar's tune list? Or was it a symphony? & a village in Yorkshire - 'appen soh!

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: meself
Date: 18 Dec 09 - 11:29 AM

And the winner is: "Let's Go Get Stoned" (not the Ray Charles version, but the Amboy Dukes').

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: Bettynh
Date: 18 Dec 09 - 12:34 PM

It's specific to its time, but Tom Paxton's "Talking Vietnam Potluck Blues" brings a smile (We have met the enemy and he has been smashed!)

Arlo Guthrie's "Coming into Los Angeles"

The Short Sisters' "Coffee"

Christine Lavin's "Chocolate Covered Expresso Beans"

Shel Silverstein's "Have Another Espresso"

Mississippi John Hurt's "Coffee Blues" isn't about coffee, but it's a great song.

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: Bettynh
Date: 18 Dec 09 - 01:12 PM

To be complete, on the negative side of non-alcoholic drugs:

"Hurt", written by Trent Reznor, but owned by Johnny Cash

"Cocaine Blues" owned by Dave Van Ronk, though I doubt he wrote it.

Tom Paxton's "Cindy's Cryin' (But It Ain't No Use)"

Kris Kristofferson's "Sugar Man"

Neil Young's "The Needle and the Damage Done'

The Velvet Undergroound's "I'm Waiting for the Man"

Van Morrison's "Blow in Your Nose" and "Nose in your Blow"

Rosalie Sorrel's "L.A. Nights"

Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit"

Subject: Lyr Add: THAT ACAPULCO GOLD
From: KB in Iowa
Date: 18 Dec 09 - 01:22 PM

"The examples give so far seem to confirm my original impression"

Well, Joe F. 'That Acapulco Gold' that I mentioned earlier is most definitely celebrating pot smoking.

Me and Martha took a honeymoon,
Below the border 'neath the silvery moon,
She was eighteen and I was twenty-two,
Now we're just a-doin' what the old folks do

We're goin' south, south, to get that
Acapulco Gold
Ain't nothin' it can't fix,
Old dogs can learn new tricks,
When the streets are lined with bricks
Of Acapulco Gold

We 'bout decided against the whole thing
But then we thought we really ought to swing
Heard that the southland held the key,
To cure them cotton pickin' sniffles and sneeze

refrain

Zig zag, white or wheat any'll do
Hey diddle diddle twenty three skidoo
Me and Martha sure had fun
Now there's Acapulco Gold for everyone


BTW, someone mentioned 'Let's Go Get Stoned' but that is clearly about alcohol. He even mentions buying a bottle of gin.

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: pdq
Date: 18 Dec 09 - 01:55 PM

If someone is looking for the song "Cocaine Bill and Morphine Sue", they will probably find it under the title "Take A Whiff On Me". Dates back to at least Lead Belly.

An odd hybrid of booze and pot songs is Loggins and Messina's "Don't Sing Anything Pretty After Whiskey". Pro-pot, anti-whiskey.

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: MGM·Lion
Date: 18 Dec 09 - 02:19 PM

Thanks pdq - but Take A Whiff On Me in DigiTrad is not the same song, tho shares a few floaters.

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: pdq
Date: 18 Dec 09 - 02:35 PM

Yes, the "Take A Whiff On Me" in the DigiTrad is different.

Perhaps you would like to download the Greenbriar Boys version from Amazon.com. It will cost 99¢ US.

The correct title of the Loggins and Messina song I mentioned is simply "Whiskey".

Subject: Lyr Add: COCAINE HABIT BLUES (Memphis Jug Band)
From: KB in Iowa
Date: 18 Dec 09 - 03:19 PM

The Memphis Jug Band recorded 'Cocaine Habit Blues' in 1930. The refrain is Hey, hey, honey, take a whiff on me.

They are not praising cocaine.


Cocaine habit's mighty bad.
It's the worst old habit that I ever had.
Hey, hey, honey, take a whiff on me.

I went to Mr Beaman's in a lope.
Saw a sign on the window says no more dope.
Hey, hey, honey, take a whiff on me.

If you don't believe cocaine is good,
Ask Alma Rose at Minglewood.
Hey, hey, honey, take a whiff on me.

I love my whiskey, and I love my gin,
But the way I love my coke is a doggone sin.
Hey, hey, honey, take a whiff on me.

[instrumental break]

Since cocaine went out of style,
You can catch 'em shootin' needles all the while.
Hey, hey, honey, take a whiff on me.

It takes a little coke to give me ease.
Strut your stuff long as you please.
Hey, hey, honey, take a whiff on me.

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: meself
Date: 18 Dec 09 - 04:19 PM

"BTW, someone mentioned 'Let's Go Get Stoned' but that is clearly about alcohol."

And I (someone) quote:

"I'll call up my dealer on the way home and say,
"'Let's go get stoned.'"

?

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: Joe_F
Date: 18 Dec 09 - 06:50 PM

As *some* people on this thread have pointed out, *most* people on it are ignoring what I asked about: Why alcohol has inspired so many songs *in praise of it* (and often for singing while consuming it) in comparison with other popular drugs. Evidently I am almost the only one who considers that an interesting question.

I cannot imagine anyone feeling sentimental about cocaine or morphine on hearing or singing "Cocaine Lil and Morphine Sue".

Thank you, KB in Iowa & celticblues5, for actual responses. I'll have a look at those.

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: Amergin
Date: 18 Dec 09 - 07:48 PM

Hmmm well you also did say and I quote: "If there are in fact any smoking songs, sniffing songs, pill-popping songs, or shooting-up songs, I would be interested in hearing about them."

Or did you not mean it that way?

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: Genie
Date: 18 Dec 09 - 08:31 PM

Well, I can think of at least one song that adds a couple of other drugs to its paean:

"Willin'" (The " ... weed, whites and wine ... " song.)

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: mkebenn
Date: 19 Dec 09 - 12:07 PM

Unless I missed it, "Mr Tamborine Man", don't know what intoxicant is referred to, but I always took "play a song for me" as a request to buy something. Definitely positive, though. Mike

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: MGM·Lion
Date: 19 Dec 09 - 01:09 PM

Now I have always taken 'Hey, Mr Tambourine Man, play a song for me' to mean 'Hey, Mr Tambourine Man, play a song for me'.

Sorry sorry sorry — how innocent can you get!!!???

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: mkebenn
Date: 19 Dec 09 - 02:16 PM

Mike,It might be me, but "let me dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand wavin free" and "let me forget about today untill tomorrow" sounds like a bender to me. Maybe I'm the one who's bent. Mike

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: Genie
Date: 19 Dec 09 - 02:34 PM

MtheGM, I've always thought "Puff, The Magic Dragon" was about a kid's imaginary playmate.

Still do, in fact.

Maybe we're both terminally naive?? ; D

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: mkebenn
Date: 19 Dec 09 - 02:44 PM

Genie, Paul Stookey always said it was not a drug song. I believe him. Same with Lucy in the Sky. Now, White Rabbit, 'nouther story. Mike

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: Genie
Date: 19 Dec 09 - 03:49 PM

Yes, "Lucy" was inspired by a Julian Lennon's description of his own painting, according to his dad.
From Wikipedia (at the moment) :
"At the time of its release, the Beatles claimed that the inspiration for the song came from a drawing by John Lennon's son, Julian, which Julian called "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds". The song sparked controversy when released, including being banned by the BBC because of the supposed reference to the drug LSD,[1] with the letters of the title spelling Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. Lennon would later deny the reference during an interview with Rolling Stone. Although John Lennon throughout his life denied that the title and content of the song had to do with LSD,[2] on June 2, 2004, McCartney admitted to BBC that it was "pretty obvious" that the song was inspired by LSD.[3]"

So it's possible that the child's painting inspired a song with both the painting itself and Julian's title being recognized by McCartney (and maybe Lennon too) as having a strong double meaning.

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: Genie
Date: 19 Dec 09 - 03:55 PM

And it was Peter Yarrow, not Paul Stookey, who co-wrote "Puff," based on a 1959 poem by Leonard Lipton.

Wikipedia on Puff, The Magic Dragon

[[Leonard Lipton, a 19-year-old Cornell University student ... was inspired by an Ogden Nash poem titled "Custard the Dragon," about a "realio, trulio little pet dragon."
Lipton was friends with Peter Yarrow's housemate when they were all students at Cornell. He used Yarrow's typewriter to get the poem out of his head. He then forgot about it until years later, when a friend called and told him Yarrow was looking for him, to give him credit for the lyrics. On making contact Yarrow gave Lipton half the songwriting credit, and he still gets royalties from the song.]]

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: GUEST,guest
Date: 20 Dec 09 - 02:08 PM

Genie, correct on 'Lucy in the Sky'. How about 'Doctor Robert' by the same popular combo. ?

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: Paul Burke
Date: 21 Dec 09 - 04:45 AM

North Country Maid:

I bet if I pleased I could manage with E's,
For where bonny lasses are, pushers will come,
But the lad that I wed must be North Country bread*
And he'll carry me back to my North Country home,

Where the coke and the hash and the bonny LSD
Are all going cheap in my North Country.



* Wi' nowt tekken out

Subject: Lyr Add: EBENEEZER GOODE (The Shamen)
From: Trevor
Date: 21 Dec 09 - 05:54 AM

A great philosopher once wrote
"Naughty, naughty, very naughty"
Ha ha ha ha ha

There's a guy in the place
He's got a bittersweet face
And he goes by the name of Ebeneezer Goode
His friends call him Eezer
And he is the main geezer
And he'll vibe about the place Like no other man could

He's refined, sublime,
He makes you feel fine
Though very much maligned and misunderstood
But if you know Eezer
He's a real crowd pleaser
He's ever so good, he's Ebeneezer Goode

You can see that he's mischievious,
Mysterious and devious
As he circulates amongst the people in the place
But once you know he's fun
And something of a genius
He gives a grin that grows around From face to face to face

Backwards and then forwards,
Forwards and then backwards
Eezer is the geezer who loves to muscle in
That's about the time the crowd
All shout the name of Eezer
As he's gotcha in the corner, Laughing by the bass bin

Eezer Goode, Eezer Goode
He's Ebeneezer Goode
Eezer Goode, Eezer Goode
He's Ebeneezer Goode
Eezer Goode, Eezer Goode
He's Ebeneezer Goode
Eezer Goode, Eezer Goode
He's Ebeneezer Goode

Has anybody got any veras?
Lovely
Ya ha ha ha ha
Ya ha ha ha ha
A great philosopher once wrote
"Naughty, naughty, very naughty"
Ha ha ha ha ha

Ebeneezer Goode, leading light of the scene
Know what I mean - see He created the vibe,
He takes you for a ride and as if by design
The party ignites like he's comin' alive

He takes you to the top,
Shakes you all around
Then back down, you know as he gets mellow
Then as smooth as the groove
That is making you move
He glides into your mind with a sunny "Hello!"

A gentleman of leisure,
He's there for your pleasure
But go easy on old Eezer; he's the love you could lose
Extraordinary fellow,
Like Mr. Punchinello
He's the kind of geezer who must never be abused

When you're in town
And Ebeneezer is around
You can sense a presence In the sound of the crowd
He gets them all at it,
The party starts rocking
The people get excited it's time to shout loud

Eezer Goode, Eezer Goode
He's Ebeneezer Goode
Eezer Goode, Eezer Goode
He's Ebeneezer Goode
Eezer Goode, Eezer Goode
He's Ebeneezer Goode
Eezer Goode, Eezer Goode
He's Ebeneezer Goode

Ya ha ha ha
Ya ha ha ha
Ha ha ha ha

Ha ha ha ha
Wicked

Eezer Goode, Eezer Goode
He's Ebeneezer Goode
Eezer Goode, Eezer Goode
He's Ebeneezer Goode
Eezer Goode, Eezer Goode
He's Ebeneezer Goode
Eezer Goode, Eezer Goode
He's Ebeneezer Goode

He's Ebeneezer Goode
He's Ebeneezer Goode
Eezer Goode, Eezer Goode
Eezer Goode, Eezer Goode
He's Ebeneezer Goode

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: Smokey.
Date: 21 Dec 09 - 10:26 PM

"So tell me old ship-mates, I'm taking a trip mates"

(with apologies to John Conolly)

Subject: Lyr Add: LET'S GO GET STONED (Ray Charles)
From: KB in Iowa
Date: 22 Dec 09 - 02:21 PM

"Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: meself - PM
Date: 18 Dec 09 - 04:19 PM

"BTW, someone mentioned 'Let's Go Get Stoned' but that is clearly about alcohol."

And I (someone) quote:

"I'll call up my dealer on the way home and say,
"'Let's go get stoned.'"

?"

Perhaps I should have been more specific. I was responding to a mention of Ray Charles singing 'Let's Go Get Stoned' I have a version recorded by Ray Charles in 1966 which does not contain the line you quote. I also have a version by The Coasters from 1965 that is almost identical to the one Ray Charles recorded the next year. Maybe they took out the drug references so it could be played on the radio.

Here are the lyrics to the 1966 Ray Charles version. It hit #31 on the Billboard charts.

Let's go get stoned
Let's go get stoned
When your baby won't let you in
Got a few pennies, a bottle of gin
Just call your buddy on the telephone
Let's go get stoned

Let's go get stoned
Let's go get stoned
When you work so hard all the day long
And everything you do seems to go wrong
Just drop by my place on your way home
Let's go get stoned

It ain't no harm
You're takin just a taste
But don't blow your cool
and start messing up the place
It ain't no harm you're faking just a nip
But make sure you don't fall down bust your lip
Let's go get stoned
Let's go get stoned

Where did you get that quote?

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: meself
Date: 22 Dec 09 - 04:37 PM

I mentioned in my original post that I was NOT referencing the "Ray Charles version" but rather the Amboy Dukes' version, which was probably a re-make, so to speak, although it was "the original" to my ears.

The Amboy Dukes were a 'hard rock' group from Detroit, I believe. I don't know how well known they were outside of the Detroit area (I lived in Windsor). Anyway, there was no doubt about what kind of 'stoned' they were singing about. I'm afraid I can't recall any more of their lyrics, but that line about calling up the dealer on the way home stuck in my head.

They would have recorded that in the early '70s. Don't know if there's any info. about it or them on the 'net. Will see what I can find later, if I get time.

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: Art Thieme
Date: 22 Dec 09 - 07:33 PM

I must submit a nomination for an intoxicant song topic that exceeds all the others, quantity-wise, by millions and millions --- possibly billions.


songa about love.

Art

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: Mark Ross
Date: 22 Dec 09 - 09:49 PM

"There's a fire in the hemp fields, the smoke it fills the sky,
In every town for miles around people are getting high,
God bless that careless field hand who went and kindled the blaze,
the cat is gone, turn the countryside on and we'll all be stoned for days."

written by Andy Kent after he read a news story about burning fields of hemp in Kentucky. I think it was recorded by Charlie Brown on his album
TETON TEA PARTY(?). I believe it was released on Folkways.

Mark Ross

Subject: Lyr Add: JUMPIN' OFF THE WAGON (Darryl Worley)
From: wysiwyg
Date: 03 Jan 10 - 12:31 PM

(I believe Worley wrote this but not 100% sure-- ~S~)


JUMPIN' OFF THE WAGON
As recorded by Darryl Worley on "Here and Now" (2006)

1. I got drunk in Raleigh and I played too long.
Word got back to Nashville 'fore I got back home.
The record label said, "Boy, you better straighten up your act."
The lawyers told me, "Son, that's what the contracts say."
So I got good and sober and I stayed that way,
But still, you couldn't find a Worley record on the rack.
I did ev'rything they asked me to do,
But still, they went an' cut me loose.

CHORUS: But I ain't bawlin'.
I'm through crawlin'.
I got lots of other people callin'.
No more naggin'.
I ain't braggin',
But my boot heels they ain't draggin'.
I ain't fallin'.
Hell, I'm jumpin' off the wagon.

2. I'm already feelin' more like my old self.
That double shot of Dickel was a lot of help.
From here on out, I'm just doin' my own thing.
There's somethin' to be said about just feelin' good.
I'm goin' with my guts, so baby, knock on wood.
If this don't work, I've only got myself to blame.
I ain't into lookin' back.
I ain't ever got nowhere like that.

CHORUS, BREAK, CHORUS, ending with:
I ain't jivin'--
Yea, I'm divin' off the wagon.


Lyrics corrected from here: http://www.cowboylyrics.com/lyrics/worley-darryl/jumping-off-the-wagon-19151.html

Dickel: http://www.dickel.com: Experience the George Dickel Distillery and you'll discover why we are the best-kept secret in Tennessee

SH

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: Joe_F
Date: 03 Jan 10 - 06:35 PM

The preceding seems to have strayed into the wrong thread.

Subject: Lyr Add: MAKE A WISH (Coming Home Again) (Ingram)
From: wysiwyg
Date: 03 Jan 10 - 09:47 PM

Didn't find any alcohol-only threads, so I put it here because (A) it's a great song (ignore it if you prefer), and (B) this is MUDCAT where our business is to post good songs in a findable fashion. :~) And that's why the last one was posted here, too; ignore it if you prefer.

Here's another good one. Ignore this one too if you prefer. :~)

Ingram sounds (and is not "trying" to sound) like a young and equally-innovative John Prine. The label he's on is an upstart, Indie-type, songwriter-based label-- doing "country" songs without the Nashville writing formula. Ingram explains that "Daddy Juice" as mentioned in the lyric is the stuff in his garage's beverage fridge, and that he wrote this while nervously waiting for his son to be born, as good advice to young men. It's equally about leaving-- and coming home wiser.

~S~

===

MAKE A WISH (Coming Home Again)
Jack Ingram

1. Stare out at the horizon
Start the car and call the road your friend
Tell the girls and the Lord above
You'll think fondly and call back now and then
Head out of the city
Go find what they brought you down here for
Take that shiny penny
That daddy gave you from the day that you were born and

CHORUS
Make a wish
Dreams come true
Go on sail the ocean blue
Ride a highway like the wind
Drink the good times down like sin
Go on, take that car
And drive so far [that]
It looks like you're comin' home again

2. Stare up at the moonlight
And threaten every star: "It won't be long,"
You tell 'em; "This is the very last night
I look to you to make sense of it all."
Then head into the city
Electric lights that shine from dusk till dawn
Take that rusty penny
Throw it in the air and then move along and

CHORUS

Bridge:
You can't go back but you can come back 'round
Let the world know as you roll through town

REPRISED CHORUS
Chorus plus:
Yeah take that car
And drive so far
It looks like you're comin' home again

© BEAT UP FORD PUBLISHING

Album: This Is It
Songwriter(s): Jack Ingram
Release Date: March 3, 2007
Label: Big Machine

Lyric corrected due to better transcription from source: http://www.cowboylyrics.com/lyrics/ingram-jack/make-a-wish-coming-home-again-20993.html

SH

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: wysiwyg
Date: 03 Jan 10 - 10:02 PM

Ingram's euphemistic 5-letter song: http://www.roughstock.com/cowpie/songs/j/jack-ingram/love-you

The video: http://www.cmt.com/videos/jack-ingram/434980/love-you-rhapsody-original.jhtml

I think you'll see and hear a little Prine there. :~)

And I'll have whatever he's smoking!

~S~

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: Clontarf83
Date: 03 Jan 10 - 10:54 PM

Jonathan Edwards' first album had a great song about Mary H called Shanty

Gonna lay around the shanty momma
and put a good buzz on

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: wysiwyg
Date: 03 Jan 10 - 11:54 PM

I know that song! I often sing that line but no one knows what it is except me! :~)

~S~

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: Clontarf83
Date: 04 Jan 10 - 12:10 AM

:) *winks*

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: GUEST
Date: 16 Jan 10 - 11:18 AM

The Amboy Dukes featured a young Ted Nugent on guitar, the self same pinko-baiting, meat-loving, squirrel hunting, gun toting, survivalist teetotaller. "Hey, i just thought those pipes were for tobacco!!"

anyways

Morphine and EyeHateGod have both recorded odes to opiates

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: GUEST,lenrubyr
Date: 20 Mar 10 - 01:51 AM

zztop
humble pie,thirty days in the hole

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: 10r
Date: 20 Mar 10 - 02:54 AM

Great list- I think everyone had
what I thought of, except 2 songs, both
recorded by the New Riders of the Purple Sage,
but I think at least one was written by someone else:
Henry (to many lines to include about marijuana)
and
Panama Red (On his white horse Mescalito ....)

Subject: Lyr Add: SEEDS AND STEMS (AGAIN) (Commander Cody)
From: bseed(charleskratz)
Date: 20 Mar 10 - 07:31 AM

I don't think anyone mentioned this--


SEEDS AND STEMS (AGAIN)
As recorded by Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen on "Lost in the Ozone" (1971)

Well, I'm sittin' alone Saturday night watchin' the late late show
A bottle of wine, some cigarettes, I got no place to go,
But I saw your other man today; he was wearin' my brand-new shoes,
And I'm down to seeds and stems again, too.

Well, I saw my old friend Bob today from up in Bowlin' Green.
He had the prettiest little gal that I've ever seen,
But I couldn't hide my tears at all, 'cause she looked just like you,
And I'm down to seeds and stems again, too.

Now everybody tells me there's other ways to get by.
They don't seem to understand I'm too far gone to try.
Now, these lonely memories, they're all I can't lose,
And I'm down to seeds and stems again, too.

Well, my dog died just yesterday and left me all alone
The finance company drive by today and repossessed my home
But that's just a drop in the bucket, gal, compared to losin' you,
And I'm down to seeds and stems again, too.
Got the "Down to Seeds and Stems Again" blues.


Charles

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: pdq
Date: 20 Mar 10 - 11:19 AM

The New Riders of the Purple Sage seemed like a continuous advertisement for pot, with songs like..

Panama Red
Henry
Charlie's Garden
Sutter's Mill*
Important Exportin' Man
Kick in the Head
Lonesome L.A. Cowboy

*the "gold" at Sutter's Mill ain't from the creek

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: Stringsinger
Date: 20 Mar 10 - 02:24 PM

No tengo tequila
No tengo Reyel
No tengo marijuana
Goddamit to hell

Mexicano lament
to the tune of Wild Rover

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: GUEST,lazy sunday
Date: 21 Mar 10 - 07:42 AM

Lou Reed's Perfect Day? Also agree to all those mentioning Ebeneezer Goode - there are LOADS of joyfully pro-E songs from the heyday of 80s/90s rave, many of which managed to sneak some pretty blatant drug references onto Radio 1 &c, because the drug slang around E was still unfamiliar. Later, Pulp's Sorted for Es and Whizz? We are getting massively far away from folk music! But an awful lot of drugs are fairly recent innovations, and even cocaine and co wouldn't have been anywhere near as commonly taken by ordinary people as alcohol, at least in northern Europe.

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: Suffet
Date: 21 Mar 10 - 08:16 AM

In 2001 we had a thread called Weed Songs which was about marijuana songs.

--- Steve

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: Michael
Date: 21 Mar 10 - 05:34 PM

As The Casuals sang
"What am I supposed to do with a girl on ketamine?"

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: GUEST,Tiggywinkle
Date: 22 Mar 10 - 06:41 AM

Gotta quibble about the Rolling Stones' "Brown Sugar" that somebody mentioned--*not* a drug song, but a (very blatant)song about sex with black girls.

As far as "positive" songs about non-alcohol drugs, I thought of one or two that haven't been mentioned yet.

The Ramones--"I Wanna Be Sedated"
About, well, sedatives...!

Jim Stafford--"Wildwood Weed"
"We thought it was kinda handy, take a trip and never leave the farm!"

Tom Petty-- "Mary Jane's Last Dance"
Silly me, I thought this one was about a girl but my kids assure me to the contrary. It doesn't strike me as a particularly cheery song, but its message is certainly more on the pro-pot than the con-pot side of things.

Pink Floyd--"Comfortably Numb"
Again, whether or not this is pro-drug is debatable. The narrator is being drugged out of his gills by a doctor so he can make it through the next show. I think it sounds more negative, but the narrator claims to be "comfortable."

Jefferson Airplane--"Go Ask Alice" (Also known as "White Rabbit")
I am going to respectfully disagree with the person who classified this as a con-drug song. Sorry, but the ending line: "Feed your head!" in context cannot be heard as anything other than a ringing endorsement.

I could probably dredge up a few (quite a few!) more, given my fondness for the music of the 60s & 70s when I'm not listening to folk songs and sea shanties. But I'll just mention a couple of things: the late and much lamented Bob Kotta's "Tequila in the Jar" contains the line "Marijuana no fumar" but I have also heard it sung "marijuana si fumar." And am I the only one who remembers that Donovan's "Mellow Yellow" sparked a fad for smoking banana peels, in the belief that they would get you high?

As to why alcohol is so celebrated in song, as opposed to other substances, I see a couple of factors at play. One is simply that booze has been around longer. That's not to say that our caveman ancestors weren't out smoking the meadow or snacking on the local mushrooms--they may well have been. But there is evidence that our Neolithic ancestors were brewing or fermenting alcoholic beverages. The ancient Egyptians certainly were. By the Middle Ages, ale or wine were common features at mealtimes, and in many places that is still the case. The same cannot be said for other recreational drugs.

Along with that--and related to it--is simply the fact that alcohol is much more socially acceptable. Obviously, if music of any genre concerned itself only with things that are legal, our musical traditions would be much less interesting and fun! Still, alcohol use (and abuse) being a part of daily life for the last 6,000--9,000 years it would probably be more surprising if it *didn't* show up in song. Even before things like opium and marijuana and cocaine were made illegal, they were much less commonly or openly used. And I think that may have something to do with why those substances turn up less frequently in songs, and especially less often in a positive light.

That's my 15 minute, off-the-cuff take on it, anyway. YMMV.

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: Joe_F
Date: 22 Mar 10 - 04:28 PM

I wonder if perhaps there were opium songs in India & China, or hemp songs in the Middle East.

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: GUEST,Guest
Date: 17 Dec 10 - 07:13 AM

Tiggywinkle's right about 'Brown Sugar'. When he wrote it Mick originally called it 'Black Pussy' which don't exactly allow room for argument. How 'bout Bowie/Mott the Hoople 'All The Young Dudes' 'carry the 'ludes' ?

Subject: Lyr Add: NICOTINE BLUES (Martin Winsor)
From: Newport Boy
Date: 17 Dec 10 - 10:48 AM

A while back I posted Martin's Nicotine Blues.

Nicotine Blues, by Martin Winsor (about 1960)

I wake up in the morning no damn good
I lie there in the bed just like a block of wood
I fumble for the matches, light that morning fag
There ain't nothing like that first sweet drag

Chorus
Nicotine, nicotine
I'm just a slave to that nicotine
You can keep your liquor and your Benzedrine
I'm just a slave to that nicotine

About every hour or so I get that yen
Gotta stop everything and have a smoke again
Looks like I was born the type
That just lays around and smokes my pipe

Some folks like that old Virginia grown
Smoke tailor-mades or they roll their own
You can do what you like to that Indian weed
Me, I would even chew the seed

Don't go much on that old opium
Hashish only leaves me feeling numb
But if you want to see me swing on a star
Feed me up with a fat cigar

Every night before I go to bed
A certain thought passes through my head
I know it's no use my counting sheep
If I don't have a smoke I just can't sleep.


I can't remember where I got this from, but I noted it down about 1961.


Phil

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: Gibb Sahib
Date: 17 Dec 10 - 03:52 PM

Likewise hemp: its use in song seems to be confined to cockroaches.

Apparently you've never listened to any reggae. :-) There are scores and more of songs about the herb, ganja, collie weed, sensimilla, sensi, chalice pipes, spliffs, etc etc.

What may be interesting is that many are not simply 'praising' the drug --i.e. as per one of the above ideas that some songs praise while others deride. These songs are not saying (like typical alcohol songs), 'Hurrah! Let's go get some pot/booze. It will be really fun.' Rather, the herb signifies (in part) a sort of resistance. I don't use ganja, but I can still vibe with the subversive tone of many of the songs.

This one has an especially militant feel:

Black Uhuru - Stalk of Sinsemilla

The narrator has "a stalk of sensimilla growing in his backyard." It's really a defiant statement.

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: Joe_F
Date: 17 Dec 10 - 05:58 PM

Sahib: Interesting indeed. I suppose the song you have linked to is in English, but, between the dialect and most recent singers' habit of drowning themselves out with their instruments, I can't understand a word. Is it written out somewhere?

However, from your comment I infer that the songs you mention are from places where the stuff is illegal, so that praising it has subversive effect, and not from places where it is or was part of the dominant culture, as in Jamaica or parts of the Middle East. Did the Jamaican cane cutters have songs about how useful it was in getting thru a day's work?

An amusing song in which *coffee* is treated as subversive (I suppose with some satirical intent) is "Eyes of Night Owls" by Bob Kanefsky.

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: GUEST,999
Date: 17 Dec 10 - 06:11 PM

Listen to Phil Ochs` Circle of Friends.

Subject: Lyr Add: THE FREE MEXICAN AIRFORCE (Peter Rowan)
From: Spleen Cringe
Date: 17 Dec 10 - 06:40 PM

The Free Mexican Airforce
By: Peter Rowan (w/ Flaco Jiminez)
        
In the Morenos Mountains campesinos are planting their fields
While the ghost of Zapata rides a horse that can still outrun the wheel
There, free in the sky high above, nearly clear out of sight
It's the Free Mexican Air Force flyin' tonight

In the City of Angels, a cowboy is cooling his heels
Remembering that God gave us herbs and the fruits of the fields
But a criminal law that makes outlaws of those seeking light
Made the Free Mexican Air Force -- Mescalito riding his white horse --
Yeah, the Free Mexican Air Force is flyin' tonight!
Flying so high - yi - hiyeeeee! ...

How strange that an innocent herb causes money to burn
They'll jail you or kill you for making those rich fat cats squirm
They're the fools who make rules with no difference between wrong or right
That's why the Free Mexican Air Force is flyin' tonight

Uncle Sam in his misery put a nix on the fields of Guerrero
Sayin', "Shoot down all gringos and wetbacks who dare wear sombreros!"
Either run for your life, surrender, or stand up and fight --
Or join the Free Mexican Air Force -- Mescalito riding his white horse --
Yeah, the Free Mexican Air Force is flying tonight!
Flying so high - yi - hiyeeeee! ...

(instrumental bridge)

It is not marijuana destroying the minds of the young
But confusion continued for power and greed in all forms
Well, the borders of evil will fall to the smugglers of light!
We're the Free Mexican Air Force and we're flyin' tonight!

In San Antonio, they tell me that power and money are one
They can buy us or sell you to keep you afraid, on the run
But no one can stop us! My vision is clearly in sight!
And the Free Mexican Air Force -- Mescalito riding his white horse --
Yeah, the Free Mexican Air Force is flyin' tonight!
Flying so high - yi - hiyeeeee! ...

Some were smoking colitas while other were loading their guns
Blowing smoke from their six-shooters, spinning their barrels for fun
Contrabandistas, banditos alike --
We're the Free Mexican Air Force and we're flyin' tonight!

High in the hills we are harvesting sweet sensimillia
Yeah, the law wants it all 'cause they know that the wild weed can free ya
And freedom for us is a prison for the rulers of might!
That's why the Free Mexican Air Force -- Mescalito riding his white horse --
Yeah, the Free Texican Air Force is flyin' tonight!
Flyin' so high- yi- yee...

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: Jeri
Date: 17 Dec 10 - 06:54 PM


Free Mexican Air Force on YouTube.

I first heard the song in 1978 in the Armadillo World Headquarters. (From the sound system, not live.)

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: fox4zero
Date: 17 Dec 10 - 08:41 PM

Stash Records issued a number of albums concerning coke and other
intoxicants, including an entire album about "Jake" the alcoholic
extract of Jamaica ginger. However, Jake songs usually did not
extol Jake, but rather damned it for the paralysis caused by a
substitute used instead of ethyl alcohol.
Larry

Subject: Lyr Add: SINSEMILLA (Black Uhuru)
From: Gibb Sahib
Date: 18 Dec 10 - 03:01 AM

Marijuana is illegal in Jamaica. The Rasta culture, which speaks largely to displaced/disenfranchised, embraces it as a sort of article of faith, as it were. It is of symbolic significance, and the government recognizing it as illegal is, from that perspective, just one more way that they *don't* recognize the Rasta (and by extension, the poor and "culturally conscious" generally) as legitimate. From their perspective, a good and useful drug, moreover one that is important to their religion/spirituality, is kept illegal for the dual reasons of greed and because it is associated with "undesirables." A big part of the Rastas' critique is that this quality of supposed undesirableness is that which is the African, the Black, etc. versus the Colonizer. So, the attack on marijuana is an attack on their culture, etc.

Here's a try at the lyrics for Black Uhuru's "Sinsemilla":

I've got a stalk of Sinsemilla grooming in my backyard

Don't cut down the collie tree
Cause it make the best tea for me
I've seen doctor say it is naturally
One thing must start to believe a lot of fool
To survive and go through in Babylon

Yes I've walked the streets and seen children downtown
Begging everyone they see, and it hurt me
It can't be right for what this world do for the youth
The little herb I'm selling; they want to capture me
I and I don't cherish wickedness, because it's non-profit to I and I

Anything that is non-profit, I and I don't take for it
Fussies, fussies all over I and I
No need to fret, for I and I shall [??]

There is red house over yonder full of marijuana
[??] sitting on corner chatting it with informer

Free the herb, little herb
Heal the nation, heal the sick
Sell, sell that collie herb
You could be rich, have everything you would want in life
Some of us going on like it don't want a thing in life
So we go round like worm, no no
I'd rather to sell stalk of sensimilla

people touch what [??] for marijuana


Here's a recent song with a similar strident tone:
Bun Di Ganja

Herb tree grow like flowers a me yard
Till dem say why Papa Chezi a di real herb lord!
Say me burn de ganja, burn de ganja, burn de ganja real hard

Bad t'ings 'appen a me can't [bad a] bawl
And me say me can't take de botheration, no not at all
Say me burn de ganja, burn de ganja, burn de ganja real hard

Mi got herb inna mi chalice pipe, herb inna mi tea
Herb inna mi system; chemically free
Organically, medically, proven to be
De perfect solution fi all malady
Mi seh indoor, outdoor
Tell di farmer: plant more
Legalize the herb for the people dem poor
ETC

Almost sounds like an advertising jingle!

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: framus
Date: 18 Dec 10 - 01:06 PM

I haven't ploughed through all of this thread, but has anybody mentioned "The Old Dope Pedlar" by Tom Lehrer?
Davy.

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: GUEST,Doug Saum
Date: 18 Dec 10 - 03:12 PM

"Easy Skankin'" Robert Nesta Marley

Doug Saum

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: Joe_F
Date: 18 Dec 10 - 08:29 PM

Sahib: Thanks very much for spelling out "Sinsemilla". It appears, however, that both it and "Bun di Ganja", tho they do indeed praise dope, are mainly propaganda against its illegality, and only secondarily celebrations of its effect on those who smoke it.

I was not aware that marijuana was illegal in Jamaica. How long has that been true? As I indicated, I was under the impression that its main use there was to relieve the tedium of hard manual labor. I have never met anyone in America who used it for that purpose. %^)

framus: Lehrer's song is indeed formally in praise of illicit drugs, but only as a way of satirizing sentimental songs (and being naughty).

We still have not come up with anything resembling (say) "Landlord, Fill the Flowing Bowl" but devoted to some other drug.

I read once that the Koran forbade taxing marijuana on the grounds that it was wicked to raise the price of anything that gave comfort to the poor. If that is so, one might hope for such songs in Islamic societies -- except that (I gather) the Koran is rather hard on music too.

Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song
From: Stephen L. Rich
Date: 19 Dec 10 - 12:00 AM

Marc Black's "OOOh, I Love My Coffee"
Andina and Rich's "Caffeine"

Subject: Lyr Add: PASS THE KUTCHIE
From: Gibb Sahib
Date: 19 Dec 10 - 12:31 AM

Hi Joe F,

tho they do indeed praise dope, are mainly propaganda against its illegality, and only secondarily celebrations of its effect on those who smoke it.

I apologize if it was unclear: I was noting those song precisely because of their other dimension *besides* "We love to smoke cannabis." The latter are indeed common in the reggae oeuvre, however, since they don't interest me much personally, I don't have many at the tip of my tongue (I prefer love songs and such!).

But an example I can offer that may be more on your target is the well known "Pass the Kutchie":

Pass the Kutchie

It's doggerel verse, but it's more about the "vibe" of just sitting around in a circle and passing the pipe around.

//
Pass the kutchie pon the lef' hand side
Pass the kutchie pon the lef' hand side
It a go bun, it a go dung, Jah know

It was a cool and lovely breezy afternoon
(How do feel when you got no herb?)
You could feel it 'cause it was the month of June
(If you got no herb you will walk an' talk)
So I lef' my gate and went out for a walk
As I pass the dreadlocks' camp I hear them say
(How do dey sing when you heard dem sing?)

Pass the kutchie pon the lef' hand side
Pass the kutchie pon the lef' hand side
It a go bun, it a go dung, Jah know

So I stopped to find out what was going on.
(How do you find when you make your stuff?)
For the spirit of Jah, you know he leads me on
(Them all have a leaf at the dreadlocks' camp)
There was a ring of dreads and a session was there in swing
I could feel the chill as I see and heard them say
(How do dey sing when you heard dem sing?)

Pass the kutchie pon the lef' hand side
Pass the kutchie pon the lef' hand side
It a go bun, it a go dung, Jah know
//

As far as your imagined scenario about (19th century?) songs praising cannabis to get through labour goes, I am not an expert on pre-recording industry Jamaican songs, but FWIW so far as I have heard a number of them, sorry I can't remember hearing any such thing.

***
Is the birth-control pill a drug you'd consider under this topic? :-) I do know of a few Jamaican songs about that!