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Is alcohol the only drug...? (songs praising drugs
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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! |
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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" |
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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. |
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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 |
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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. |
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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! |
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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 |
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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.) |
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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... |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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 |
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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' ? |
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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. |
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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. |
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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?" |
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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 |
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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. |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 ....) |
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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 |
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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 |
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Subject: RE: Is alcohol the only drug praised in song From: Clontarf83 Date: 04 Jan 10 - 12:10 AM :) *winks* |
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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~ |
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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 |
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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~ |
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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 |
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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. |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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. |
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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? |
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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) |
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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 refined, sublime,
You can see that he's mischievious,
Backwards and then forwards,
Ebeneezer Goode, leading light of the scene
He takes you to the top,
A gentleman of leisure,
When you're in town |
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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 |
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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. ? |
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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.]] |
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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. |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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!!!??? |
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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 |
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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.) |
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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? |
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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. |
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