# What songs from the 60s really are about acid trips or drugs? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 24, 2015, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-from-the-60s-really-are-about-acid-trips-or-drugs/726042 "2015-07-24T11:47:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2015, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-from-the-60s-really-are-about-acid-trips-or-drugs/726042/61 "2015-07-26T00:57:23Z")
Also from the Stones, **Moonlight Mile** : “with a head full of snow.” 1971, but close enough. Also **Sister Morphine** (including “cousin cocaine”), from the same album, but not as good a song. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2015, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-from-the-60s-really-are-about-acid-trips-or-drugs/726042/62 "2015-07-26T05:40:56Z")
A lot of Neil Young Tonights the night Tired Eyes The needle and etc so those are 70s? Flying on the ground is wrong: The best of them all Expecting to fly: possibly Broken Arrow ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2015, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-from-the-60s-really-are-about-acid-trips-or-drugs/726042/63 "2015-07-26T06:24:22Z")
Crystal Blues - Country Joe and the Fish. 1960s, sad song about losing his girl to methamphetamines. Cold Turkey - Plastic Ono Band. Lennon’s lament to going through detox. Soldier’s Joy - Traditional - The tune dates as early as the 1760s. In spite of its upbeat tempo and catchy melody, the term “soldier’s joy” has a much darker meaning than is portrayed by the tune. This term eventually came to refer to the combination of whiskey, beer, and morphine used by Civil War soldiers in the 1860’s. In Flander’s Field - It mentions poppies, so it’s probably about morphine or heroin. Wild Mountain Thyme - It’s probably about drugs and casual sex. The Star Spangled Banner - Have you ever tried diagramming the lyrics? I’d Like To Buy The World A Coke - Hillside Singers - Need I say more? Nobodys - Jerry Jeff Walker - Ex-girlfriend slowly killing herself with heroin. You know, for the most part, these songs aren’t extolling the use of drugs. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2015, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-from-the-60s-really-are-about-acid-trips-or-drugs/726042/64 "2015-07-26T13:11:29Z")
“[Reefer Man](https://youtu.be/QzNgAEqPyMI)” by Cab Calloway, 1932. “[You’re a Viper](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pwatxTFUdo)” by Rosetta Howard, 1927. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2015, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-from-the-60s-really-are-about-acid-trips-or-drugs/726042/65 "2015-07-26T13:20:47Z")
There’s also the various songs, mostly from the 20s, called [Cocaine Blues](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocaine_Blues). Johnny Cash recorded one of them at Folsom Prison in the 60s, and both Dylan and The Byrds performed another version. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2015, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-from-the-60s-really-are-about-acid-trips-or-drugs/726042/66 "2015-07-26T20:00:04Z")
Oh, there was The Who’s “Acid Queen”, from Tommy. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2015, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-from-the-60s-really-are-about-acid-trips-or-drugs/726042/67 "2015-07-27T17:44:50Z")
I have heard that Magic Carpet Ride refers to a college fraternity initiation ritual, maybe Sigma Alpha Epsilon. Anyone else hear that? ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2015, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-from-the-60s-really-are-about-acid-trips-or-drugs/726042/68 "2015-07-27T17:59:38Z")
By 1979, when Talking Heads did “Drugs,” they must have figured there was no more reason to be coy about it. Ah, the '70s. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2015, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-from-the-60s-really-are-about-acid-trips-or-drugs/726042/69 "2015-07-27T19:10:55Z")
One complicated case from the era was the Bonzo Dog Band’s “Ali Baba’s Camel.” There’s a line in the song: “Out for what we all want: Lots of LSD.” (It was originally sung on a kiddie show, _Do Not Adjust Your Set_ with Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin.) The Bonzos might have meant it to refer to the drug. But the song was actually written in the 30s, and the line referred to money, in pounds (£), shillings (s), and pence (d). ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2015, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-from-the-60s-really-are-about-acid-trips-or-drugs/726042/70 "2015-07-27T19:27:50Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > In Flander’s Field - It mentions poppies, so it’s probably about morphine or heroin. [Nope.](http://www.flandersfieldsmusic.com/thepoem.html) ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2015, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-from-the-60s-really-are-about-acid-trips-or-drugs/726042/71 "2015-07-27T20:17:58Z")
“Rainy Day Women #12 & 35” with the chorus: “Everybody Must Get Stoned,” Dylan - 1966. I don’t think even Lawrence Welk could mistake this one. Even if he didn’t know what stoned meant, the floating logic and the tipsy music were a dead giveaway. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2015, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-from-the-60s-really-are-about-acid-trips-or-drugs/726042/72 "2015-07-27T23:37:51Z")
“Mr. Tambourine Man” is my favorite Dylan song of all time. Even more than “Visions of Johanna” (which in my interpretation is about sex). I read somewhere that “[It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue](http://www.bobdylan.com/us/songs/its-all-over-now-baby-blue)” was about somebody’s acid trip. I don’t know that for a fact, but certain lines in it do lend themselves strongly to that interpretation. “The empty-handed painter from your streets / Is drawing crazy patterns on your sheets.” Plus “The carpet, too, is moving under you”—although that line could be polysemic by also expressing the metaphor of “pulling the rug out from under you” in the context of that verse, which is just typical of Dylan’s genius, practically a James Joyce of music. > [@Yllaria](#): > > “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35” with the chorus: “Everybody Must Get Stoned,” Dylan - 1966. I don’t think even Lawrence Welk could mistake this one. Even if he didn’t know what stoned meant, the floating logic and the tipsy music were a dead giveaway. And the really incredible thing about that song— **The product of 12×35!** 420 ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-from-the-60s-really-are-about-acid-trips-or-drugs/726042/73 "2015-07-28T00:23:51Z")
I’m fairly sure America’s “Horse With No Name” is about a drug trip in the desert. I’m less sure about The Who’s “Magic Bus.” ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-from-the-60s-really-are-about-acid-trips-or-drugs/726042/74 "2015-07-28T16:34:29Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > People continue to insist that the 1992 song **smoke two joints in the morning** has something to do with drug use, but that’s been effectively proven incorrect. Similarly, Peter Tosh’s album _Legalize It_ has been mistakenly thought to be about pot. Getting closer to the 60s, and I think close enough (1971), is John Prine’s “Sam Stone” , though pretty hard on the anti side (at least as far as heroin goes). ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-from-the-60s-really-are-about-acid-trips-or-drugs/726042/75 "2015-07-28T16:40:19Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > Similarly, Peter Tosh’s album _Legalize It_ has been mistakenly thought to be about pot. Yes! Brother Tosh had a bug up his ass about right-turn-on-red, which was not legal in Jamaica prior to Tosh’s campaign. ---
**Author:** ![SirRay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@SirRay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirRay)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-from-the-60s-really-are-about-acid-trips-or-drugs/726042/76 "2015-07-28T17:18:32Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Yes! > Brother Tosh had a bug up his ass about right-turn-on-red, which was not legal in Jamaica prior to Tosh’s campaign. Considering traffic in Jamaica drives on the left, hopefully it still isn’t…Nice try 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-from-the-60s-really-are-about-acid-trips-or-drugs/726042/77 "2015-07-28T17:28:27Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > . . . And the really incredible thing about that song— **The product of 12×35!** > > 420 The really, really incredible thing is that title. I had no idea the song wasn’t called “Everybody Must Get Stoned” until I went to look it up. **Rainy Day Women #12 & 35**??? He must have been stoned. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-from-the-60s-really-are-about-acid-trips-or-drugs/726042/78 "2015-07-28T17:39:13Z")
> [@SirRay](#): > > Considering traffic in Jamaica drives on the left, hopefully it still isn’t…Nice try 😛 Awww, mon! Been there but didn’t drive.😃 ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-from-the-60s-really-are-about-acid-trips-or-drugs/726042/79 "2015-07-28T19:47:36Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > The really, really incredible thing is that title. I had no idea the song wasn’t called “Everybody Must Get Stoned” until I went to look it up. > **Rainy Day Women #12 & 35**??? > > He must have been stoned. From what I heard he wanted to call it “Everybody Must Get Stoned” but he was told that the record company wouldn’t allow it, so he was forced to change the title. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2015, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-from-the-60s-really-are-about-acid-trips-or-drugs/726042/80 "2015-07-29T01:24:00Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > Getting closer to the 60s, and I think close enough (1971), is John Prine’s “Sam Stone” , though pretty hard on the anti side (at least as far as heroin goes). And of course [Illegal Smile](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmjnQjRvPUQ), and that’s more on the pro side (for the lighter drugs). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-from-the-60s-really-are-about-acid-trips-or-drugs/726042.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-from-the-60s-really-are-about-acid-trips-or-drugs/726042.md?page=5)