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2003:  Without remorse and without hesitation, we ignore all complaints from Twelve Steppers.

Dope Lyrics & Drinking Songs
(For educational use only!)
   

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Introductory Explanation

Every year or so, I used to grab several hundred records, tapes, and CDs, schlep them over to the studios of KBOO FM, Oregon’s only (and some say America’s only) listener-sponsored community radio station. Here, I perform a program called “Five Hours of Songs about Drugs.” My premise is that the entire story of drug and alcohol use in our culture has already been told in popular song, and that the issues of drug and alcohol use are probably best understood by listening to the lyrics of these songs. It’s also lots of fun to collect these songs and to perform the show -- but don’t tell anybody I said that!

This radio show is legal in America only becuase I present the program as an educational documentary. The fact that I do not drink alcohol or use illicit drugs would only fortify my case should the Federal Communications Commission ever drag KBOO FM into court over this. Otherwise, playing drug-lyric songs on the radio is strictly verboten in the United States of America -- the First Amendment to the Bill of Rights notwithstanding.

Please note that my understanding of copyright law and the Fair Use clause is only slightly more thorough than my understanding of broadcast law. Also, many of these songs are on tape, and tapes often do not give complete publishing information. So, if I am violating your copyright by posting your lyrics for the purpose of cultural education, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Cliff Walker

 

I tracked down, transcribed, typed, and formatted most of these songs by hand. A few supporters helped. We did this solely to bring attention to this Web project, in the hope that somebody who needs it might have a better chance of finding it because these lyrics are here.

 

Please do not post these on your own web site. Rather, support the work that spawned this one by linking to this page? If you want unique lyrics for your own site, then go out and find them, transcribe them, and type them yourself. Okay?

 

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Needle of Death

by Bert Jansch

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The Last Shot

by Lou Reed

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Hand of Doom

by Black Sabbath

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The Needle

by John Trudell, a.k.a. Graffiti Man

I saw my brother in a needle 
I saw my brother face the gun 
I saw my brother back in laughing time 
With every morning 
A brand new day 
In childhood gone out 
Stretching to now 
Until one day 
Every day 
Became the same

I saw my brother in a needle 
I saw my brother face the gun 
I saw my brother on the run 
Living the little time he had 
Where progress was just too much 
More than he really wanted 
Or needed 
Society of lies 
Repeated daily by the same faces 
Denying balance, the lies became truth 
What's the difference 
In death 
And living a lie?

I saw my brother in a needle 
I saw my brother face the gun 
I saw my brother love the wrong ones 
Looking for love a long time gone 
Alone in relationships 
He couldn't communicate sorrow 
Felt with each lie told 
Finally 
Choosing exile over madness 
I saw my brother shooting pain 
I saw my brother in a needle

I saw my brother in a needle 
I saw my brother face the gun 
I saw my brother back in laughing time 
With every morning 
A brand new day 
In childhood gone out 
Stretching to now 
Until one day 
Every day 
Became the same

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King Heroin

by James Brown

Ladies and Gentlemen
Fellow Americans
Lady Americans
This is James Brown

I wanna talk to you about one of our
Most deadly
Killers in the country today

I had a dream the other night, and I
Was sittin' in my living room
Dozed off to sleep
So I start to dreamin'

I dreamed I walked in a place and
I saw a real strange, weird object
Standin' up talkin' to the people
And I found out it was Heroin
That deadly drug that go in your veins

He says:

I came to this country without a passport
Ever since then I've been hunted and sought

My little white grains are nothin' but waste
Soft and deadly and bitter to taste

I'm a world of power and all know it's true
Use me once and you'll know it, too

I can make a mere schoolboy forget his books
I can make a world-famous beauty neglect her looks

I can make a good man forsake his wife
Send a greedy man to prison for the rest of his life

I can make a man forsake his country and flag
Make a girl sell her body for a five-dollar bag

Some think my adventure's a joy and a thrill
But I'll put a gun in your hand and make you kill

In cellophane bags I've found my way
To heads of state and children at play

I'm financed in China, ran in Japan
I'm respected in Turkey and I'm legal in Siam

I take my addicts and make 'em steal, borrow, beg
Then they search for a vein in their arm or their leg

So, be you Italian, Jewish, Black or Mex
I can make the most virile of men forget their sex

So now, no, my man, you must (you know) do your best
To keep up your habit until your arrest

Now the police have taken you from under my wing
Do you think they dare defy me, I who am king?

Now, you must lie in that county jail
Where I can't get to you by visit or mail

So squirm -- with discomfort -- wiggle and cough (hack!)
Six days of madness, hah! You might throw me off

Curse me in name! Defy me in speech!
But you'd pick me up right no if I were in your reach

All through your sentence you've become resolved to your fate
Hear now! younng man and woman, I'll be waitin' at the gate

Don't be afraid, don't run! I'm not chased
Sure my name is Heroin! You'll be back for a taste

Behold, you're hooked!
Your foot is in the stirrup
And make -- haste!
Mount the steed!
And ride him well
For the white horse of heroin
Will ride you to Hell!
To Hell!
Will ride you to Hell!
Until you are dead!
Dead, brother! Dead!

This is a revolution of the mind
Get your mind together
And get away from drugs!
That's the man!
Back! Back
 

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Lorraine

by Jim Carroll (1982)

transcribed by Cliff Walker

Seven blonde women 
They gather in the square 
They raise their hands up to the sun

Their skin is so thin and white 
You know their fathers must surely be wealthy

I watch the others stand around and form a crucifix
A serpent of vapor
Some stray birds rise

The one on the end, the fine one on the end
She called me over, she pulled me aside

She said, "You know I have to make it all look different 
It seems that every time I lay down on it 
And it's like a snake in water and when I look out of it 
And it's like the one from last week was breathing again"

And she said that she had some white light 
And she said that she had some morphine 
But she didn't have no gimmicks 
So she just took this razor 
And she laid it on her white vein

And then she took a black orchid 
And she just ripped apart that flower 
And then she took the white light 
Then she said, "Hey, later!" for the morphine

She took the razor 'n slit open her white vein 
She slit open her white vein 
She put the flower through the slit vein 
She poured the white light through the red stem 
She put the white light through the red stem 
She just poured it through the red stem

And I was talking with my angel 
I was talking with my angel, then 
I was underneath the staircase 
I was talking with my angel 
He said that beauty is only terror 
You know, when terror is just beginning

I thought I heard some footsteps 
Lorraine, she was coming 
But she's been feelin' real sick lately 
She's been kickin down her habit

I went around to see her 
I had the angel in my pocket 
She had jewels between her fingers 
And there was blood across her carpet

But I know that she's feelin' better 
I saw her walking down to the market

She went down 
The sharp black hole 
She wants to die just to save her soul 
But she wants to live 
She wants to start her band 
She swears the stage is God's left hand

I'm sitting in the cellar 
Beneath my dark apartment 
I had the angel on my shoulder 
You know, his wings were kinda shattered

He plays with broken mirrors 
He said that he just saw Sally 
And that Sally was with Lorraine 
And they were playing in the alley

So I went around to see them 
They were doing it together 
And there was a little blood along the concrete 
I know they were feelin' better

They got straight 
They've got plans 
They wanted to die but now thay've got plans 
They want to live 
They want to start a band 
They swear the stage is God's left hand

I'm waitin' in the lobby, now 
The angel he dropped his mirror 
But he still insists that beauty 
That beauty is just one part of terror

There's a painting on the ceiling 
Of a dog -- had eyes like rubies 
And then the angel just remembered 
That Lorraine is at the movies

So I found her in the back aisle 
There was blood across the next seat 
Hey, when she reached out to touch me 
Oh, I though that that was so sweet

So I stuck her with my finger 
It was like a knife through leather 
She had a song along her eyelid 
I know she was feeling better

She got straight 
She understands 
She wanted to die but now she got plans 
She wanna live 
She wanna start her band 
She swears the stage is God's left hand

 

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Sam Stone

by John Prine

transcribed by Andy Prescott

Sam Stone came home,
To his wife and family
After serving in the conflict overseas
And the time that he served,
Had shattered all his nerves,
And left a little shrapnel in his knee But the morphine eased the pain,

And the grass grew round his brain,
And gave him all the confidence he lacked,
With a Purple Heart and a monkey on his back

There's a hole in daddy's arm where all the money goes,
Jesus Christ died for nothin' I suppose
Little pictures have big ears,
Don't stop to count the years,
Sweet songs never last too long on broken radios

Sam Stone's welcome home
Didn't last too long
He went to work when he'd spent his last dime
And Sammy took to stealing
When he got that empty feeling
For a hundred dollar habit without overtime

And the gold rolled through his veins
Like a thousand railroad trains,
And eased his mind in the hours that he chose,
While the kids ran around wearin' other peoples' clothes

There's a hole in daddy's arm where all the money goes,
Jesus Christ died for nothin' I suppose
Little pictures have big ears,
Don't stop to count the years,
Sweet songs never last too long on broken radios

Sam Stone was alone
When he popped his last balloon,
Climbing walls while sitting in a chair
Well, he played his last request,
While the room smelled just like death,
With an overdose hovering in the air

But life had lost it's fun,
There was nothing to be done,
But trade his house that he bought on the G.I. Bill,
For a flag-draped casket on a local hero's hill

There's a hole in daddy's arm where all the money goes,
Jesus Christ died for nothin' I suppose
Little pictures have big ears,
Don't stop to count the years,
Sweet songs never last too long on broken radios

 

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Needle and Spoon

by Savoy Brown

Some of 'em wise men, some of 'em fools 
But I need a little something to keep my cool
I sleep with the sun and I rise with the moon 
And I feel alright with my needle and spoon 
I feel alright with my needle and spoon

It's difficult sometimes to get my stuff 
So if I'm evil don't get in a huff
I sleep with the sun and I rise with the moon 
And I feel alright with my needle and spoon 
I feel alright with my needle and spoon

Don't need no women don't need no wine 
'Cause life is sweet when you hit the main line
I sleep with the sun and I rise with the moon 
And I feel alright with my needle and spoon 
I feel alright with my needle and spoon

Only one thing that worries my mind 
The stuff it kills you and it treats you unkind
If you're married you can divorce your wife 
But when you're married to "H" then you're married for life 
You're married to "H" and you're married for life

 

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Snowblind Friend

by Hoyt Axton

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Over the Hill

by Ten Years After

I got water on the brain 
My mind is like a drain 
Here I go again 
Over the hill 

My eyes don't see too clear 
I'm not sure what I hear 
Seems I'm goin' clear 
Over the hill 

Like a cripple and his crutch 
I have leaned a bit too much 
Seems as I shall never touch 
Again 

Now it seems it's plain to see 
That the stuff is killing me 
Got to quit so I'll be free 
Again 

I've got too much to lose 
No one can fill my shoes 
Think I'll leave the blues 
Over the hill 

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Red Guitar

by Loudon Wainright III

Used to have a red guitar 
'Till I smashed it one drunk night 
Smashed in the classic form 
As Peter Townshend might 
Threw it in the fireplace 
I left it there a while 
Kate she started cryin when 
She saw my sorry smile

Red guitar was made of wood 
Could not take the heat 
Red guitar it caught on fire 
And the damage was complete 
It burned until all that was left 
Was six pegs and six strings 
Kate she said, "You are a fool 
You've done a foolish thing"

Placed the remains in the case 
And I put the case away 
Went to New York City 
For a new guitar the next day 
I bought myself a blonde guitar 
I had it for three days 
Some junkie stole my blonde guitar 
God works in wonderous ways

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Illegal Smile

by John Prine

When I woke up this morning
Things were looking bad
Seemed like total silence
Was the only friend I had

Bowl of oatmeal tried to stare me down
And won
And it was 12 o'clock before I realized I was having
No fun

Ahhh, but fortunately
I have the key
To escape reality

And you may see me tonight
With an illegal smile
It don't cost very much
But it lasts a long while
Won't you please tell the man
I didn't kill anyone
No I'm just trying to have me
Some fun

Last time I checked my bankroll
It was gettin thin
Sometimes it seems like the bottom
Is the only place I've been

I chased a rainbow down a one-way street
Dead end
And all my friends turned out to be insurance
Salesmen

Ahhh, but fortunately
I have the key
To escape reality

And you may see me tonight
With an illegal smile
It don't cost very much
But it lasts a long while
Won't you please tell the man
I didn't kill anyone
No I'm just trying to have me
Some fun

Well I sat down in my closet
With all my overalls
Trying to get away from
All the ears inside my walls

Dreamed the police heard everything I though
What then
Well I went to court and the judge's name was
Hoffman*

Ahhh, but fortunately
I have the key
To escape reality

And you may see me tonight
With an illegal smile
It don't cost very much
But it lasts a long while
Won't you please tell the man
I didn't kill anyone
No I'm just trying to have me
Some fun
Well done
Hot dog bun
My sister's a nun

* Julius Hoffman notorious judge of the "Chicago Seven" or "Chicago Eight" so-called conspirators accused of conspiracy to obstruct justice, etc, during the police riots that ensued in Chicago during the 1968 Democratic convention.

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Heaven and Mud

by Loudon Wainright III

We were up in heaven 
But now we're in the mud 
We fell off the wagon 
You should have heard the thud 
We were so superior 
But that was just a phase 
We were high on life 
For fourteen boring days

Bartenders got insulted 
When we would insist 
On ginger ale, Perrier 
Or soda with a twist 
On the airplane we were good guys 
We sat where folks don't smoke 
At the party they were all surprised 
When we turned down a toke

We kicked nicotine and caffeine 
And alcohol and cannibis 
We copped an ounce of clarity and 
We scored a pound of bliss 
But I kept having nightmares 
And you kept gaining weight 
We gave in to our withdrawal pains 
And finally took the bait

In no time we were hooked again 
Suckers that we are 
Life of every party and 
The fly in every bar 
Two weeks on the wagon 
'Till we toppled off 
I got back my headaches 
And you got back your cough

We were up in heaven 
But now we're in the mud 
We fell off the wagon 
You should have heard the thud 
We were so superior 
But that was just a phase 
We were high on life 
For fourteen boring days 
We were high on life 
For fourteen boring days

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Chug-A-Lug

by Roger Miller

Chug-a-lug, Chug-a-lug! 
Make ya' wanna holler "Howdy Ho!" 
Burns yer tummy, don't ya' know? 
Chug-a-lug, Chug-a-lug!

Grape wine in a mason jar 
Home made and brought to school 
By a friend of mine, after class 
Me and him and this other fool decide that 
We'll drink up what's left 
Chug-a-lug, so help thyself 
First time for everything, mmmm! 
My ears still ring!

Chug-a-lug, Chug-a-lug! 
Make ya' wanna holler "Howdy Ho!" 
Burns yer tummy, don't ya' know? 
Chug-a-lug, Chug-a-lug!

Four-H and FFA 
On a field trip to the park 
Me'n a friend sneak off behind 
This big ole' barn where we uncovered
A covered-up moonshine still 
An' we had thought we'd drank our fill 
An' I swallered it with a smile 
     (Bugl-bugl-bugl-bugl) 
I run ten miles

Chug-a-lug, Chug-a-lug! 
Make ya' wanna holler "Howdy Ho!" 
Burns yer tummy, don't ya' know? 
Chug-a-lug, Chug-a-lug!

Juke box and sawdust floor 
Somp'n like I ain't never seen 
Heck! I'm jus' goin' on fifteen 
But with the help of my finaglin' uncle 
I git snuck in 
For my first taste of sin 
I sat down'n have a big ole' sip 
     (Bub-bub-bub-bub) 
I done a double back-flip!

Chug-a-lug, Chug-a-lug! 
Make ya' wanna holler "Howdy Ho!" 
Burns yer tummy, don't ya' know? 
Chug-a-lug, Chug-a-lug! 
     (Dab, doo, dab, eech!)

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New Amphetamine Shriek

by The Fugs (1966)

I don't have a bedtime 
I don't need to cum 
For I have become 
An amphetamine bum 
If you don't like sleeping 
And don't want to screw 
Then you should take lots 
Of amphetamine too

These stimulant games 
Can make life so sweet 
I can walk down the street 
Without moving my feet 
My brain works so fleet 
I can outwit the heat 
And I never feel beat 
And I don't need to eat

I'm always excited 
I just love to walk 
My jaws keep on moving 
And turning out talk 
I love to draw pictures 
In layers and layers 
And say the words backwards 
When I say my prayers

There's nine bouncing people 
In one little room 
The vectors are threading 
Eternity's loom 
It's not bad for brain cells 
The doctors proclaim 
It's almost as safe as 
That good old cocaine

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Merrywanna

by P.H. Factor

(Sung as barbershop-esque dirge to:

"We Wish You a Merry Christmas")

We want some merrywanna 
We want some merrywanna 
We want some merrywanna 
To give us good cheer

We won't go until we get some 
We won't go until we get some 
We won't go until we get some 
So bring it right here

So if you have merrywanna 
If you have merrywanna 
If you have merrywanna 
Please bring it right here

LSD

by Country Joe and the Fish

(sung as old timey jug band)

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I Shot de Sheriff

lyrics by Chevy Chase

(Same tune; different words)

I shot de sheriff 
An' I also shot de deputy 
I shot de bailiff 
After smoking all de PCP 
     (You know)

All aroun' in my hometown 
I'm shooting everyone 
     (That's right) 
I drop a 'Lude, get in de nude 
I take de knife an' gun 
     (Oh boy) 
I can't stop having fun 
     (No)

I shot de sheriff 
An' I guess I shot some THC 
I shot my elbow 
But I did not feel a thing, you see 
     (No, no, I did not feel it.)

     (Huh!) 
When I'm getting good an' high 
     (Oh) 
I wake up feeling fine 
     (So fine!) 
I smoke de smoke, drink down de coke 
An' toke another line 
     (You know) 
It really blows my mine

I shot de sheriff 
An' I also shot some lemon trees 
     (I actually did) 
I do not care if 
They take me into custody 
    (I don' care; I will shoot them, too!)

Let them try to fine me out 
I'm always wearing a disguise 
In my mine there is no doubt 
I'm no one you would recognize 
     (No) 
I could be jus' one of de guys 
     (I could; look out!)

I shot de sheriff 
I shot my elbow 
I stabbed a guava 
I shot de sheriff

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Lickin' Toads Again

lyrics by "Fred Zeppelin" (1995)

(sung to "On the Road Again"; played exclusively on The Dean Edell Show)

Lickin' toads again 
Tastin' reptiles, lord knows where they've been 
Havin' wild hallucinations with my friends 
And we can't wait to be lickin' toads again

Frenchin' frog rear-ends 
It's a practice that I can't defend 
They're not as potent, and it takes 'bout nine or ten 
Oh, I can't believe just where my lips have been

Seems we just can't win 
Like a bus of Deadheads swervin' down the highway 
Toads we never lend 
We heard that AIDS is spread by both the gay way 
And from toad play

Hope it's an honest sin 
If they hop we stick in safety pins 
Or a bug, lick any critter from end to end 
We're just lookin' for a brand-new mind to bend

'Cause they're our best friends 
We order frog legs when we're out to dinner 
Every now and then 
We have to drink a Compound-W chaser 
The wart eraser

Every bye and bye 
I get the sudden urge to swallow flies 
A tongue so long that I can zap my own rear end 
Oh, I can't wait to be lickin' toads again 
I can't wait to be lickin' toads again 
Oh, I can't wait to be lickin' toads again

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Snoot Full of Snow

by Allen & Grier (1963)

  Both: 
 
Her:
Whacka-whack-doo whacka-whacka-doo
Whack-whack a-whack whack whack
Ooh!
 
  Both: A-dope dope dope dope dope-ope-ee-oh
Reef- reef- reefer snoot full of snow
Op- op- op- op- op-opium
Goofball goofball
 
A-dope dope dope dope dope-ope-ee-oh
Reef- reef- reefer away we go
Op- op- op- op- op-opium
Fly up high with me
 
  Him:
 
Her:
Him:
Her:
 I want to turn it on with you
Inside my cozy den
You know, you're my hero
You're my heroine
Huh!
  Both: A-rot rot rot rot rot-a-lee-ot
A-beep beep beep beep sniff of pot
A-boop boop boop boop boop-oop-ee-oop
Morphine morphine
 
A-rot rot rot rot rot-a-lee-ot
A-beep beep beep beep mainline shot
A-boop boop boop boop boop-oop-ee-oop
Dialated eye
 
  Both: 
 
Her:
Both: 
 
Her:
Both: 
 
Her:
Both: 
 
Her:
Doo whacka doo whacka doo whacka doo whacka
Doo whacka doo whacka doo
Drunk!
Doo whacka doo whacka doo whacka doo whacka
Doo whacka doo whacka doo
Junk!
Doo whacka doo whacka doo whacka doo whacka
Doo whacka doo whacka doo
Kicks!
Doo whacka doo whacka doo whacka doo whacka
Doo whacka doo whacka doo
Take a fix!
 
  Him:
Her:
Both: 
 
Her:
You're my spoon of sugar
And you're my poppy seed
Let's connect together
Inhaling loco weed
(inhales)
 
  Both: 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Her:
Cud- cud- cud- cud- cuddle-ee-poo
A trifle mill town just won't do
Kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss-a-lee-poo
Cocaine is good for you
 
Tea for two and two for tea
A horse for you and a monkey for me
Euphoria and ecstasy
Alone, together
 
Hug hug hug hug huddle-ee-wug
Sit around and drag that drug
Vo vo vo vo vo-vo-dee-oh
I hope the cops don't know
A-bo-ing!
    

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Copyright ©1995–2009, by Cliff Walker