I was a bit naïve in my teenage years, especially where music was concerned. I loved singing along with the radio, not thinking deeply about the meaning of the lyrics.

Songs like “You’ve Got a Friend” were easy to understand. To this day, I don’t get what “American Pie” is all about. As I’ve gotten older, though, I somewhat understand some of the hidden meanings of songs, especially from the 60s and 70s.

“Puff the Magic Dragon” comes to mind. I thought that song was about a sweet little dragon that lived by the sea in a town with a delightful name, Honalee.

I had no clue it was about puffing drugs.

The writers claim there’s no double meaning to this song, but hey, come on, even I’m not that dumb any more.

Same goes for “White Rabbit” by Jefferson Airplane. I thought it was about “Alice in Wonderland,” one of my favorite books. I didn’t understand all the symbolism in the book, but it was a fun tale to read.

The song is about opening one’s mind through taking psychedelic drugs. “One pill makes you larger and one pill makes you small” wasn’t referring to vitamins.

Some song meanings, of course, were obvious, even to me. Even though Neil Young can’t sing his way out of a paper bag, his “The Needle and the Damage Done” was quite obvious.

Back in the day, I did figure out that Jimi Hendrix’s “Purple Haze” wasn’t about shades of violet and magenta.

It’s common knowledge The Beatles were into drugs. However, as a young teenager, I had no idea there was a double meaning to any of their songs.

I heard “Get Back” on the radio yesterday and it finally dawned on me that California grass was marijuana. I always thought Paul was singing about real estate.

I thought a “Day Tripper” was someone who took a trip for a day, like to the beach or shopping.

“Blackbird” is one of my favorite Paul McCartney songs. Some say the song is written about a bird McCartney heard singing in India. McCartney has stated the song is about the civil rights movement in the United States.

Hearing the song now, I realize the significance of the lyrics, especially for young women and people of color who continue to fight for equal rights.

“And Then Along Comes Mary” by the Association is another song where I totally missed the meaning.

I bought that 45-rpm record imagining a girl named Mary coming along, with a boy hoping she’d be his girlfriend.

That would be wrong.

“Mary” is the slang term for marijuana, according to keno.org, and that’s what the song is all about.

I never understood the meaning of the lyrics to “Horse with No Name” by America. It came on the radio the other day, and I was just as mystified as I was 40 years ago when it was first released.

I did a bit of reading about the subtle meaning of the song. Many reviewers say the song is about heroin use. Horse is a slang term for that drug.

I had no clue.

As the lyrics state, I pictured some guy riding through the desert on a horse watching the rivers dry up. If anything, I thought the words referenced pollution.

Creedence Clearwater Revival had some great songs in the 1970s.  “Fortunate Song” still resonates and has a gritty message. The song “Looking Out My Back Door” has some wacky lyrics I thought were silly.

Some think the phrase “take a ride on a magic spoon” references cocaine use. CCR’s  John Fogerty said otherwise, but I’m starting to catch on to the double meaning from songs from that era.

Same goes for “Magic Carpet Ride.” I thought the writers were telling listeners to let loose and let Aladdin’s lamp take them to a fantasy world.

No lamp like in the story. The lamp references drugs.

Fooled again.

Instead of trying to figure out the hidden meanings in songs from my high school days, I think I’ll simply rock and roll with the beat and sing the lyrics without wondering what I’m missing.

 

This column was originally published in The Fort Bend Herald.