12 righteous weed songs from the world of Americana
By Jonathan Eig
“SEEDS AND STEMS (AGAIN)” by Commander Cody (1971)
From the debut album by Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, most known for the band’s biggest hit, “Hot Rod Lincoln,” comes this somber song about a love gone wrong. Whereas many of the songs here have championed weed and put it in a positive light, this one uses it as a metaphor for deprivation.
Of course, it is all done with a touch of overly dramatic tongue-in-cheekiness, as the final verse suggests – “Well, my dog died just yesterday and left me all alone – The finance company dropped by today and repossessed my home – But that’s just a drop in the bucket, gal, compared to losing you – And I’m down to seeds and stems again too.”
“HOLDING” by John Hartford (1971)
The third song on our list from 1971. I wonder if that means anything. “Holding” is a brief piece of happy-go-lucky scat bluegrass, which sounds happy but really explores the disaster that occurs when no one you know has got anything to light up.
But, in the can-do attitude associated with the topic at hand, Hartford ends his two-minute ditty on a note of optimism… “But if you ain’t got none, and if I ain’t got none – Let’s go find some other head – Find out if they’re holding, get down and start rolling – And smoke what they’re holding instead.” Talk about your rose-colored glasses.
Next. Five songs from the 1980s that were better than they should be. Five songs from the 1980s that were better than they should be. dark
“THE WEED SMOKER’S BLUES” by Sad Daddy (2016)
Sad Daddy’s unique American brand of neo-swing bluegrass is in full flower on their 2016 album Fresh Catch. I’m closing this lineup with their song because I fear I may have been a tad too flippant with the bulk of this list. The catchy, finger-snapping rhythm of this song does not hide the fact that, unlike the other songs mentioned here, this is a genuine warning about how too much weed can cause absolute devastation. Great song. Important reminder.
And that ends our first list. Tune back shortly for team number 2. (“Shortly,” as anyone conversant on this topic surely knows, is a relative term.)
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