10 Radio-Friendly Songs About Drugs

Musicians and drugs go together like bangers go with mash, like Bert goes with Ernie, or like Robson goes with Jerome. Come to think of it, they all kind of sound like nicknames musicians might give to their drugs, but nonetheless, the point stands.

Since the dawn of time, man (and woman) have been chewing, smoking, and snorting all sorts of things that they probably shouldn’t for the purposes of broadening their minds and generally getting off their nut. So it stands to reason that in a profession which relies so heavily on creativity and boundless expression, narcotics have always been a key ingredient for so many artists.

Whether it be powders, pills, or poisonous toads, the music industry, in a weird sort of way, has a lot to thank drugs for. In no sense this is an advocacy for getting involved with illicit substances, but you have to ask yourself, would bands like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, or Fleetwood Mac have produced some of their finest work without them? Perhaps not.

Sometimes drugs aren’t just a tool in the songwriting process though, they are a muse in their own right. On even rarer occasions, these odes to the uppers and downers that inspire artists manage to break their way into the mainstream, and with regular radio play become engrained into the public consciousness to the point that you might come downstairs one day to find your mother bopping around the kitchen to a song about crystal meth.