As I worked in the shop this afternoon on the model (turning guns on the mini lathe) I was watching or listening to a documentary about the influence of drugs on the pop groups of the 60s and 70s.  Now I am not totally naive.  I knew the Eric Clapton song Cocaine was about drugs.  I even knew that Lucy in the Sky by John Lennon was about LSD and Light my Fire by the Doors  well that was self evident. 

Lets face it virtually every song in the early 70s was about drugs.  I knew that, what I did not know was that some of the sweet music of my teen aged years was an invitation to getting high. 

Magic Carpet Ride by Steppenwolf, White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane, Incense and Peppermint by Strawberry Alarm Clock.  Now in hindsight this must be so obvious that even my grandchildren must wonder about me.  My defense is that I grew up in Regina where the drug of choice at the high school and in the neigbourhood level was alcohol.  What would I know?  I thought all these groups were just happy to live in California. 

The big shock for me was a song by The Association.  I love this group.  My parents liked this group.  A bunch of guys that sang in harmony with nice love songs.  Not long hair and looked normal, particularly on Ed Sullivan.

Their first hit was Along Came Mary.  I great melody about a girl that came along when you needed a girlfriend, or so I thought.  Apparently Mary referred to Marijuana (the nickname was Mary Jane at the time)  I have this song on my sweet 60s music list.  Again when you look at the lyrics, it is obvious.  What is safe?  “I want to Hold your Hand”  by the Beatles was it about transferring a packet from your dealer? 

You would think I would beyond being upset about this kind of thing at my age.