Tag: Don’t Step on the grass sam

Well it’s evil, wicked, mean and nasty
(Don’t step on the grass, Sam)
And it will ruin our fair country
(Don’t be such an ass, Sam)
It will hook your Sue and Johnny
(You’re so full of bull, Sam)

Hmmm, wonder what this song was about? When I was 18 I had a Steppenwolf compilation tape that I would play driving around and this song will stick in your head. I probably listened to it more than any other song on that cassette. Love the riff and the build-up. I really get into this song when it kicks in.

With edibles and pot legal in some states…this song shows how some things have changed. In 1968 the government had a full-blown war on drugs and just having pot could get you in serious trouble. In that year the government created The Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs. A lot of the laws were made in the 50s and included a first-offense marijuana possession carried a minimum sentence of 2-10 years with a fine of up to $20,000.

In 1970, some of the mandatory laws were repealed when Congress saw it wasn’t doing anything to cut the drug culture. This song was banned for a period for obvious reasons in 1968.

John Kay the singer for Steppenwolf advocated for marijuana legalization during his band’s heyday in the late 1960s. The ‘Sam’ mentioned in the title of course refers to Uncle Sam and Harry Anslinger who was the commissioner of The U.S. Treasury Department’s Federal Bureau of Narcotics who helped make some of those strict laws early on. Kay wrote this song.

I don’t want anyone to think I’m advocating drugs…but come on… 2-10 years mandatory on possession of pot? Personally…I never smoked pot…not because I had anything against it but because I just cannot inhale smoke (Sorry Bill C.)  of any kind. I’ll take that back…I did try in 2006 on my way to a Stones concert but I just couldn’t deal with the smoke. As a musician, it was all around me constantly so I did have plenty of contact highs.

Don’t Step On The Grass Sam was off of their second album…appropriately named The Second in 1968. The album peaked at #3 on the Billboard 100 and #2 in Canada in 1968.

The song suddenly stops and then….after pounding on the door, a group of actors playing policemen storm in saying, “Alright you guys, you’re under arrest for possession of marijuana.”…then you hear flushing.

Don’t Step On The Grass, Sam

Starin’ at the boob tube, turnin’ on the big knob
Tryin’ to find some life in the waste land
Finally found a program, gonna deal with Mary Jane
Ready for a trip into hate land
Obnoxious Joe comes on the screen
Along with his guest self-righteous Sam
And one more guy who doesn’t count
His hair and clothes are too far out

While pushin’ back his glasses Sam is sayin’ casually
“I was elected by the masses”
And with that in mind he starts to unwind
A vicious attack on the finest of grasses

Well it’s evil, wicked, mean and nasty
(Don’t step on the grass, Sam)
And it will ruin our fair country
(Don’t be such an ass, Sam)
Well it will hook your Sue and Johnny
(You’re so full of bull, Sam)
All will pay that disagree with me
(Please give up you already lost the fight, alright)

Misinformation Sam and Joe
Are feeding to the nation
But the one who didn’t count counted them out
By exposing all their false quotations
Faced by a very awkward situation
This is all he’d say to save the day

Well it’s evil, wicked, mean and nasty
(Don’t step on the grass, Sam)
And it will ruin our fair country
(Don’t be such an ass, Sam)
It will hook your Sue and Johnny
(You’re so full of bull, Sam)
All will pay that disagree with me
(Please give up you already lost the fight alright)

You waste my coin Sam, all you can
To jail my fellow man
For smoking of the noble weed
You need much more than him
You’ve been telling lies so long
Some believe they’re true
So they close their eyes to things
You have no right to do
Just as soon as you are gone
Hope will start to climb
Please don’t stay around too long
You’re wasting precious time

Well it’s evil, wicked, mean and nasty
(Don’t step on the grass, Sam)
And it will ruin our fair country
(Don’t be such an ass, Sam)
It will hook your Sue and Johnny
(You’re so full of bull, Sam)
All will pay that disagree with me
(Please give up you already lost the fight alright)