4/20 - Top 10 Songs About Drugs

Today is a day stoners rejoice. If you are unaware, April 20th has become a day for the consumption of cannabis around the US. It began in San Rafael, California where a group of people calling themselves the "waldos" went looking for a supposed abandoned crop of cannabis in 1971. They were to meet everyday at 4:20 and their story was picked up by a journalist of High Times (give you two guesses what the magazine was about). Ever since then, with the help of Grateful Dead fans who were also linked with San Rafael, the number 420 has been intertwined with cannabis culture.

In light of this fact, I have compiled a list of songs referencing drugs and out of them all I give you the Top 10.

10. Mr. Brownstone - Guns N' Roses

 

This song dictates a typical day in the life of Slash and Izzy Stradlin. They were addicted to heroine and Mr. Brownstone is a slang term for the drug. How nothing happens all day and they need more and more due to their bodies growing a tolerance for the substance. It was only released as a single in the U.K. but crawled into a spot on their live performances.

9. Because I Got High - Afroman

 

If you know who Jay and Silent Bob are then it's more than probable that you are at least familiar with this track by Afroman. It was theme song to their movie Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. The whole song narrates how he has gotten into trouble, injured and neglected to things because he "got high." It's quite a catchy tune landing it on this list.

8. Hits From The Bong - Cypress Hill

 

A song whose title says it all. You might know Cypress Hill as the Rap group who sings that huge 90's hit "Insane in the Brain" but this track, from the same album, depicts sound bits from an actual bong. They also named their greatest hits album after this song - "Greatest Hits from the Bong."

7. Drug Ballad - Eminem

 

Eminem's struggle with drugs is no secret and in this song he speaks about some of his experiences under the influence, of what ever he was on at the time. Some might find it as a cautionary tale of the effects of drugs and other find it as a catchy song with great rhymes as is come to be expected from Marshall Mathers.

6. The Next Episode - Dr. Dre Feat. Snoop Dogg, Kurupt, Nate Dogg

 

You might be one of the many that, unfortunately, knows this song by the wrong title "Smoke Weed Everyday" seeing as it's the last line spoken, but the correct title is The Next Episode. It makes the list due to the fact it's known by the wrong title and it obviously references the green plant known all too well by many people. And sick beat, of course.

5. Under the Bridge - Red Hot Chili Peppers

 

This is a song of heartbreak and the struggle of staying sober. He, vocalist Anthony Kiedis, talks about how he no longer does drugs and makes him feel alone due to everyone else in the band getting high together. And how when he was getting high "under the bridge" he neglected his love and she left him. Very powerful song.

4. Semi-Charmed Life - Third Eye Blind

 

Now here's a song that surprised me when I learned the real meaning behind. Some of the songs on this list are obvious with their relation to drugs, but this one - well it certainly threw me for a loop. If you listen closely to the lyrics you will realize the song is about a man who wishes he "had something else" to get him through his life, but in reality he only has crystal meth. Walter White would be proud (Breaking Bad reference).

3. White Rabbit - Jefferson Airplane

 

This trippy song cemented Jefferson Airplane in music history, it was their second top ten hit. Written by the beautiful Grace Slick, it uses imagery borrowed from Lewis Carrol's Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass to take you on a trip down the rabbit hole. A fantastic song performed by a great artist. No need to mention the obvious drug references in the song.

2. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds - The Beatles

 

This track was inspired by John Lennon's son Julian's drawing from nursery school. The song was repeatedly defended as not being about drugs by Lennon and McCartney on several occasions, but in 2004 McCarthy finally put some truth to the rumors that if not fully then partially the song was influenced by LSD, of which, the first letters in the nouns of the title come to spell LSD.

1. Purple Haze - The Jimi Hendrix Experience

 

Another song 60's song! This was most likely the first taste for many people of what Jimi Henrix was all about. Now this song is said to have been a love song but the inescapable drug references make this the number one song on this list. Whether you think it's about psychedelic drugs or the effects of love, both are drugs that will leave you in a Purple Haze.