Johnny Cash – When Uncle Bill Quit Dope

Vahva kuvaus kokaiiniriippuvuudesta. Bill-eno läpikäy kylmän kalkkunan päästäkseen siitä irti.

C F C
Well Uncle Bill was my Mothers Brother, tall lanky man
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But somewhere back in Uncle Bill’s life, he took to sniffing cocaine.
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I’d find him out in the back yard, sitting against a tree.
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His eyes bugged out in a cocaine stare, And his mind in a cocaine dream.
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Well one fall day when Uncle Bill was having a cocaine fit,
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He said Louise this coke’s no good and I’ve made up my mind to quit.
C G F C
Now you take this key and I’ll go upstairs and then you lock the door,
C G F C
And Lord I swear I wont come down, till I don’t want dope no more.

Chorus:
C G F C
Well he stomped the floor and he beat the door and he moaned a mournful cry.
C G F C
When the last cocaine went through his brain we thought he’d surely die.
C G F C
He yelled and he cussed and he fell on the floor and we almost gave up hope
C G F C
As long as I live I wont forget when Uncle Bill quit dope.

C F C
Well for the first few hours we heard not a sound, upstairs was quiet and still.
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and then all of a sudden we heard a shriek of pain from Uncle Bill.
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He bounced out of bed and across the room, I heard him break a chair.
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And then another scream louder than the first as he ripped out a hunk of his hair.
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My Mother kissed us all that night, as brother and I lay in bed.
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We wondered if poor old Uncle Bill was dieing or already dead
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But all night long we listened to him as he raved pleaded and called.
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And I swear I heard his finger nails tearing the paper off the walls. Chorus:

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After fourteen days and nights of hell, it grew quiet over head.
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And I peered past mother, as she unlocked the door expecting to find him dead.
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But to my surprise there was Uncle Bill, as shiny as a brand new dollar.
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His hair was combed and his beard was gone, he’d grown two inches taller.
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In his old blue suite and his patterned shoes, he was quite a sight to see.
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The light was back in his deep blue eyes, he turned to mother and me.
C F C
He said Louise I’ve been through hell and I nearly went insane.
C F C
But I finally beat the devils habit, I beat the demon cocaine.

Joni Mitchell – Blue

Joni Mitchell veistelee aika onnistuneesti hippikauden loppumisesta tässä vuoden 1971 Blue levyn nimikappaleessa. Rakkaus, pössis ja hyvä tahto on muuttunut muotoon: Acid, booze, and ass / Needles, guns, and grass / Lots of laughs, lots of laughs. Erinomaisen onnistuneet rivit minusta.

”Blue, songs are like tattoos
You know I’ve been to sea betore
Crown and anchor me
Or let me sail away
Hey Blue, here is a song for you
Ink on a pin
Underneath the skin
An empty space to fill in
Well there’re so many sinking now
You’ve got to keep thinking
You can make it through these waves
Acid, booze, and ass
Needles, guns, and grass
Lots of laughs, lots of laughs
Everybody’s saying that hell’s the hippest way to go
Well I don’t think so
But I’m gonna take a look around it though
Blue, I love you

Blue, here is a shell for you
Inside you’ll hear a sigh
A foggy lullaby
There is your song from me”

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!”

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”

Marvin Gaye – Flyin’ High (In the Friendly Sky)

Biisi löytyy Marvinin klassiselta Whatäs Going on albumilta. Kyseessä taitaa olla heroiiniaddiktion kuvaus.

”Flying high in the friendly sky
Flying high without ever leavin’ the ground, no
Rest of the folks are tired and weary
Oh Lord, and have laid their bodies down.
I go the place where danger awaits me
and it’s bound to forsake me.
So stupid minded.
I can’t help it
oh ya, so stupid minded.
But I go crazy when I can’t find it,
In the morning, I’ll be alright, my friend.
But soon the night will bring the pains,
The pain, oh the pain
Flying high in the friendly sky
Without ever leaving the ground
And I ain’t seen nothing but trouble baby
Nobody really understands, no no
And I go to the place where the good feelin’ awaits me
Selfdestruction in my hand
Oh Lord, so stupid minded
Oh and I go crazy when I can’t find it
Well I know I’m hooked my friend
To the boy who makes slaves out of men.
And oh beleive me
Flying high in a friendly sky
Oh baby, flyin’ high”

Ten Years After – Over the Hill

Täytyis lopettaa tai käy huonosti… siinäpä tämän biisin sanoma.

”Like a cripple and his crutch
I have leaned a bit too much
Seems that I should never touch again
Now it seems it’s plain to see
That this stuff is killing me
Got to quit, so, I’ll be free again”