Tom Lehrer – The Old Dope Peddler

Tom Lehrer oli pianisti ja erikoistunut parodioihin. Tämä diilerikuvauskin on väännetty 40-luvun Kay Kyserin hitistä The Old Lamp-Lighter.

”When the shades of night are falling,
Comes a fellow evryone knows,
It’s the old dope peddler,
Spreading joy wherever he goes.
Evry evening you will find him,
Around our neighborhood.
It’s the old dope peddler
Doing well by doing good.

He gives the kids free samples,
Because he knows full well
That today’s young innocent faces
Will be tomorrow’s clientèle.
Here’s a cure for all your troubles,
Here’s an end to all distress.
It’s the old dope peddler
With his powdered ha-happiness.”

David Bowie – The Bewlay Brothers

David Bowien sanoituksethan eivät useinkaan ole kovin yksiselitteisiä. Viittauksia löytyy sinne sun tänne… huumeisiin, uskontoon, seksiin… mutta, että mitähän ihmettä nämä oikein tarkoittavat?

”And so the story goes
They wore the clothes
They said the things
To make it seem improbable
The whale of a lie
Like they hope it was
And the good men of tomorrow
Had their feet in the wallow
And their heads of brawn
Were nicer shorn
And how they bought their positions with saccharin and trust
And the world was asleep
To our latent fuss
Sighing, the swirl through the streets
Like the crust of the sun
The Bewlay Brothers
In our wings that bark
Flashing teeth of brass
Standing tall in the dark
Oh, and we were gone
Hanging out with your dwarf men
We were so turned on
By your lack of conclusions

I was stone and he was wax
So he could scream,
And still relax, unbelievable
And we frightened the small children away
And our talk was old
And dust would flow
Through our veins and lo!
It was midnight
Back o’ the kitchen door
Like the grim face
On the Cathedral floor
And the solid book we wrote
Cannot be found today

And it was Stalking time
For the Moonboys
The Bewlay Brothers
With our backs on the arch
In the Devil-may-be-here
But he can’t sing about that
Oh, and we were gone
Real cool traders
We were so turned on
You thought we were fakers

Now the dress is hung,
The ticket pawned
The factor max that proved the fact
Is melted down
And woven on the edging of my pillow
Now my Brother lays upon the Rocks
He could be dead, he could be not
He could be you
He’s Camelian, Comedian, Corinthian and Caricature
”Shooting-up Pie-in-the-Sky”
The Bewlay Brothers
In the feeble and the bad
The Bewlay Brothers
In the blessed and cold
In the crutch-hungry dark
Was where we flayed our mark
Oh, and we were gone
Kings of oblivion
We were so turned on
In the mind-warp pavilion

Lay me place and bake me pie
I’m starving for me gravy
Leave my shoes, and door unlocked
I might just slip away
Just for the day, hey!
Please come away, hey!”

Santana – Dealer/Spanish Rose

Santana goes AOR. Tämä 70-luvun lopun biisi ei anna mitenkään maireaa kuvaa diilereistä.

”As the evening sun goes down
The dealer shuffles into town
Makes a note of what’s a float
And spinning ’round, he’ll cut your throat

In the time it takes to heal
The dealer’s made another deal
When he plays, he plays for keeps
And sweeps the spinning roulette wheel

Dealer, Dealer

Like the mighty ocean’s roar, he gets his share and more
Evil to the core and proud
If you cross him off for sure he’ll get even with the score
Leave your wife a weeping widow on the shore

Between the desert and the dark
Money is his only love
Feeling nothing deep inside
His mind is governed by his pride

In a smoky little room
Shadows moving in the gloom
Someone turns a running flush
And breaks the deathly quiet hush

Dealer, Dealer”

Kris Kristofferson – Billy Dee

Karu stoori nuoresta kaverista, joka lipsahtaa käyttämään aineita ja lopussa ei hyvä heilu.

”Billy Dee was seventeen when he turned twenty-one
Fooling with some foolish things he could’ve left alone
But he had to try to satisfy a thirst he couldn’t name
Driven towards the darkness by the devil in his veins

All around the honky tonks, searching for a sign
Gettin’ by on gettin’ high on women, words and wine
Some folks called him crazy, Lord, and others called him free
But we just called us lucky for the love of Billy Dee

Busy goin’ his own way and speakin’ his own words
Facin’ and forgettin’ every warnin’ that he heard
Makin’ friends and takin’ any crazy chance he could
Gettin’ busted for the bad times and believin’ in the good

Billy took a beatin’ from a world he meant no harm
The score was written in the scars up on his arm
Some felt he was payin’ for the life he tried to lead
But all we felt was sorry for our good friend Billy Dee

It may be his soul was bigger than a body’s oughta be
Singin’ songs and bringin’ laughter to the likes of you and me
Cause the world he saw was sadder than the one he hoped to find
But it wasn’t near as lonesome as the one he left behind

Yesterday they found him on the floor of his hotel
Reachin’ towards the needle, Lord, that drove him down to hell
Some folks called it suicide, others blame the speed
But we all called it crucified when Billy Dee O.D.’d”

Lil Green – Knockin’ Myself Out

Lil Greenin biisi kertoo surullisen tarinan naisesta, jonka mies jättää ja näinpä hän päätyy polttelemaan.

”Listen girls and boys I got one stick
Give me a match and let me take a whiff quick
I’m gonna knock myself out, I’m gonna kill myself
I’m gonna knock myself out, gradually by degrees.

I started blowing my gage, and I was havin’ my fun
I spied the police and I started to run
I was knocking myself out, I was killing myself
I’m knockin’ myself out, gradually by degrees.

But the very moment I looked around
My mind said ’Yack throw that gage on the ground’
The police captain said ’Kill yourself’!
The police captain said ’Kill yourself’!
He said ’Knock yourself out, yeah, gradually by degrees.’

I used ta didn’t blow gage, drink nothin’ of the kind
But my man quit me and that changed my mind
That’s why I’m knockin’ myself out,
Yes I’m get killin’ myself
I’m knocking myself out, gradually by degrees.

I’m gonna blow this jive, it’s a sin and a shame
But it’s the only thing that ease my heart about my man
When I knock myself out. Lord, when I kill myself
I just knock myself smack out gradually by degrees.”

Fats Waller – The Reefer Song

Tämä jazz-pianisti Fats Wallerin vuonna 1943 äänittämä biisi on itse asiassa Stuff Smithin ”You’se a Viper” hieman muunnelluilla sanoilla. Reefer viittaa marihuanaan ja 30-luvulla sana viper viittasi pilven polttelijaan. Viper on suomennettuna myrkkykäärme ja sana viittaa jointin imemisestä kuuluvaan hieman suhisevaan ääneen.

”Say cats! It’s four o’clock in the mornin’
I just left the V-Disc studio… here we are in Harlem!
Everybody’s here but the police,
and they’ll be here any minute!
It’s high time so catch this song, here it ’tis.

Say, I dreamed about a reefer 5 feet long,
a mighty mezz but not too strong.
You’ll be high, but not for long,
If you’re a viper

I’m the king of everything,
I got to gagotta gagotta gagot to be high before I swing
let the bells ring ding dong ding
If you’re a viper!

say you know you’re high when your throat gets dry
mmmmmm everything’s dandy!
ah yes you run down to the candy store,
bust your conk on peppermint candy!
then you’ll know your little brown body’s sent
You don’t give a darn if you don’t pay rent
cause the sky is high, so am I, yes yes
yes I vipe a bit, well I’m a vipe a bit on the 88 now…

say you know you’re high, yes I know I’m high
cause everything is dandy!
yes going down to the candy store,
Get me wrigglies on some peppermint candy!
I love it I love it I love it yes baby but my body’s sent
I ain’t worried about no rent get away from me you hussy! yeah, sky’s high n so am I, n I’m gonna lay down and relax… oh yeah, oh yeah… viper.”

Velvet Revolver – Superhuman

Lienee kuvaus kokaiiniin addiktoituneesta naisesta.

”I’m a superman
I want to be your superman
I’m a superman
I want to be your superman

What you get is a crash course to be a man
But a man is a destination never known
Sometimes dressed up like a red hot lady in pumps
Don’t think she can get enough

Always feel like she’s runnin’ on a hamster wheel
Getting high, crashing cars and makin’ mistakes
Keepin’ her face packed with cocaine
Her face is numb your faith is gone

I’m travelin’ on now
I’m makin’ plans now

Cocaine
Alcohol
Lady-lay
withdrawal

Keep it comin’ in a world that’s blown up wild
Keep it comin’ in a world that’s bred her style
We’re all runnin’ from the goose she’s high on cocaine
There’s a noose swimmin’ right between her legs to her brain

We’re all in need of a superhuman woman now
We’re all in need of a superhuman woman now
So rodeo, rodeo, rodeo, rodeo
Throw the rope around her neck and get the show on the road

I’m travelin’ on now
I’m makin’ plans now

What’s she thinkin’
She’ll never get enough of

Cocaine
Alcohol
Lady-lay
withdrawal”

Elton John – White Lady White Powder

1970-luvun lopulta aina 80-luvun lopulle asti Elton John ei juurikaan kursaillut kokaiinin käytön kanssa. Vuoden 1980 ”21 at 31” albumin viitosraita White Lady White Powder kuvaa hänen kokaiinin käyttöään. Sanat ovat Elton Johnin luottomiehen, Bernie Taupinin, käsialaa.

”Dust settles on a thin cloud
Sends a fog drifting to a worn out crowd
I’ve had my face in a mirror for twenty four hours
Staring at a line of white powder

High-priced madness pays the tab
I’ve scraped too much of nothing from your plastic bag
I’m a catatonic son of a bitch who’s had
A touch too much of white powder

And she’s a habit I can’t handle
For a reason I can’t say
I’m in love with a wild white lady
She’s as sweet as the stories say
White powder white lady
You’re one and the same
Come on down to my house won’t you
And hit this boy again

Shock waves to a tired brain
Sends that hungry lady to my door again
She’s my shelter from the storm when I feel the rain
Entertaining white powder

I feel I’m dry-docked and tongue-tied
Heaven sends a stretcher for the kids to ride
I might just escape while the others might die
Riding on a high of white powder”

Sly and the Family Stone – (You Caught Me) Smilin

Sly and the Family Stonen 1972 singlena julkaistu biisi kuvaa tilannetta, jossa biisin kertoja on pilvessä tai tripillä ja tämä huomaa kaverinsa havainneen olevansa tripillä. Hmmm… hankalasti selitetty, mutta sanat kertonevat paremmin:

”You caught me smilin’ – again
You caught me smilin’ – again

Hangin’ loose,
’Cause you ain’t used to seein’ me turned on.

You caught me smilin’ – again
You caught me smilin’ – again

I’ll be gone,
And it won’t take you long to climb a tree about me.

You caught me smilin’ – again
You caught me smilin’ – again

I ain’t down
I’ll be around to carry on

You caught me smilin’ – again
You caught me smilin’ – again

In my pain
I’ll be sane to take your hand.”

Modest Mouse – The Good Times are Killing Me

Biisin nimi kertonee oleellisimman sisällöstä. Aika päheet sanat itse asiassa. Tossa on paljon hienoja laineja… esmes toi ”Have one, have twenty more ”one mores” and oh it does not relent.”

”The good times are killing me.
Here we go!

Got dirt, got air, got water and I know you can carry on.
Shrug off shortsighted false excitement and oh what can I say?
Have one, have twenty more ”one mores” and oh it does not relent.

The good times are killing me.

Kick butt buzz-cut dickheads
who didn’t like what I said.
The good times are killing me.
Jaws clenched tight we talked all night,
oh but what the hell did we say?
The good times are killing me.

Fed up with all that LSD.
Need more sleep than coke or methamphetamines.
Late nights with warm, warm whiskey.
I guess the good times they were all just killing me.

Got dirt, got air, got water and I know you can carry on.
The good times are killing me.
Enough hair of the dog to make myself an entire rug.
The good times are killing me.
Have one, have twenty more ”one mores” and oh it does not relent.
The good times are killing me.
Shit-kicker city slickers who all wanted me dead.
The good times are killing me.

Get sucked in and stuck in late nights
with more folks that I don’t know.
The good times are killing me.”