12 righteous weed songs from the world of Americana
By Jonathan Eig
“DOWN HOME DISPENSARY” by Molly Tuttle (2023)
Bluegrass artists are no strangers to weed and wine. Molly Tuttle has multiple tracks on her Grammy-winning album City of Gold, covering assorted angles on the subject of grass. This is her most overtly political. But it’s not angry politics. It’s just a happy, upbeat plea for politicians to stop living in the distant past and make it legal. This is a theme that one of the other teams will focus on a lot more. For Molly, it’s pretty simple. “Hello legislator, the voters have spoken – There’s too much politickin’ and not enough tokin’.”
"WORRY B GONE” by Chris Stapleton (2020)
Is this a murderer’s row, or what? Batting seventh, you’ve got one of the biggest stars in modern country doing a song by Guy Clark, one of the most celebrated songwriters from the world of the outlaw. A classic blues rocker states its intentions right up front. “Oh, gimme just one more puff of that worry be gone.” The song takes down virtually everyone and everything that is causing trouble in the world, and then – you can probably guess the solution.
“KEEP OFF THE GRASS” by Todd Snider (2000)
Snider, one of the wittiest performers in American music today, tells a great story about how he created this song, essentially stealing it from Bob Dylan. He didn’t release it for years because he thought such thievery was somehow improper. Once he began touring more and hanging out with other musicians, he realized that it was just SOP.
Snider makes drug references in many of his songs, going so far as self-identifying as a “tree-huggin’, peace-lovin’, pot-smokin’, porn-watchin’, lazy-ass hippie” in one of his most beloved songs. But I’m using this sly complaint about how society keeps telling him what he can and can’t do – complete with a double entendre in the title.
“I ALMOST STOLE SOME WEED FROM TODD SNIDER” by John Craigie (2013)
And thus, the legacy continues. The way Willie inspired others, Snider now inspires Craigie to write just about the funniest song you will ever hear on the subject. Told in true Snider fashion – I mean, Craigie is a virtual sound-alike to begin with – this song has the added bonus of referencing several of the performers already discussed, such as John Prine and Kris Kristofferson. Snider, in a show of good fellowship, has given his approval to the larceny.