In simpler times, when pop and rock stars weren’t expected to double as role models, the odd drug reference could go down a treat. Allusions to weed – deemed a Class B drug in the UK and increasingly legalised in certain US states – have been set to song in reggae, classic rock, rap and more.
Now it’s apparently time for Ed Sheeran to get involved, too. Over the weekend, the music industry golden boy and loop pedal devotee tossed his hat into the weed anthem ring with track Sweet Mary Jane. He premiered the song in New York’s Forest Hills stadium on Friday 29 May, pulling his usual floppy-haired, guitar-tapping tricks while singing lyrics such as, “Oh baby I was high last night/ Cafe clouds and red lights” and “I love the way that your sweet words just roll off of my tongue/ Feel the flame of your wisdom and fill up my lungs”.
Poetic and important stuff, I’m sure you’ll agree.
But let’s be honest: some of the past tributes to cannabis and its well-documented eye-opening and mind-expanding qualities have been worse. At least – naive approach to the subject matter aside – Sheeran does his best to knock out a Pharrell-inspired “drum” beat, and a catchy melody. It may not be ready to join the ranks of the classics (more on those in a minute), but it isn’t a total dud.
There’s less to celebrate about Afroman’s Because I Got High, a tune that dragged down the fine art of the drug-dalliance double entendre with plodding, nursery-rhyme-like flair in 2000. Sure, its plainly spoken lyrics turn into a running joke about halfway through, where the answer to every question is the inevitable punchline: “Because I got high.” But it feels too much like a joke you could only find funny when feeling particularly dry-mouthed and giggly.
For cliches, you’d do well to start with Lady Gaga’s Mary Jane Holland and work your way backwards. Dr Dre’s 2010 single Kush featuring Snoop Dogg and Akon also tells it like it is, eschewing clever double meanings in favour of literal proclamations to “pass that shit right here” before an “inhale, exhale” hook. To the point, at least.
Then, of course, there are the reefer old-timers. Black Sabbath’s Sweet Leaf, Luniz’s I Got Five on It, the Association’s Along Comes Mary (so subtle that you can’t be entirely sure it’s about marijuana) and Mighty Diamonds’ Pass the Kouchie – heavily borrowed by Musical Youth on 1982’s Pass the Dutchie and revamped in essence by Missy Elliott’s Pass That Dutch in 2003 – are just a few long-surviving odes to weed.
Whether you favour Kaya by Bob Marley, Rick James’s 1978 single Mary Jane or the line Courtney Barnett slipped into Lance Jr, off her debut 2012 EP, there’s something for everyone. So now, over to you: where does Sheeran’s tune rank on your list of definitive weed songs? If he’s nowhere near the top, what’s your favourite? Let us know – there are countless options to choose from, after all.
