A Few Classics Thought To Be Drug-Related (But Are NOT)

There are a number of songs that many people think to be drug related that are not. Some of these may come from the lyrics or in general the theme of the song, but truth be told we will examine a few in today's entry and show how they are NOT drug-related in any way, shape, or form.

1. "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," The Beatles

 This one HAS GOT to be the biggest of the misleading songs. This can clearly be seen in the title of the song itself Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. These three letters are the letters that make up the accroynm "LSD," and LSD as we know is a drug.

The REAL story for the song is a picture that Julian, John Lennon's son brought home from school. The picture showed Lucy in an Alice-in-Wonderland sort of fashion. Lennon came up with a song based on that picture and the lyrics are rather poetic, and no she was not on LSD. The Lucy referred to in this song died on September 28, 2009 as a result of a lupus infection by the way.

 2. "25 or 6 to 4," Chicago

This smash hit from their second record, Chicago II, written by Robert Lamm and having Peter Cetera on vocals is another one of the so-called misinterpreted hits. There may be several lines that may have people thinking that the song is drug-related. For example "Should I try to do some more?" or perhaps even "Wonderin' how much I can take," being vivid references to drugs.

But the REAL meaning is something along the lines of writer's block (when one cannot think of what to write). It is clear here that Lamm was trying to write a song, and the title of the song refers to "25 or 26 minutes to 4 AM (3:35 or 3:34 AM). It is assumed that it is AM because of the lines "Waiting for the break of day," and "Feeling like I ought to sleep." Oh and did I mention that I dig that wah-wah solo?

3. "Hotel California," The Eagles

Well...this classic seems to sit on the fence. It is really unclear what the song is really about. However, there are quite a few drug-related referenes in the lyrics, a la "Her mind is Tiffany-twisted/she got the Mercedez Benz." "Tiffany-twisted" clearly sounds like a drug reference as does the final line, "You can check out anytime you'd like, but you can never leave." Also, coincidence or not, Joel Walsh's guitar solo kicks in at exactly 4:20 (a reference to marijuana).

I wrote a blog post on this song, so if you have not read it, do yourselves a favor and read it for more information.

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As we can see there are quite a few classics thought to be drug related but are not (well Hotel California sits on the fence). Anyway, please do comment any other ones you can think of and stay tuned for the next posting!

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