Green Grass, High Tunes Trivia Quiz

Answer: Bob Dylan

A song about 'stoning' in a literal and figurative sense, this Bob Dylan song was pulled from numerous radios due to the fact that its lyrics may be perceived as drug references the whole way through. Found in Dylan's seventh album, "Blonde on Blonde", the song was released in 1966, becoming one of the most popular songs on the release. "Blonde on Blonde" later became honored by the Grammy Hall of Fame as a significant release.
One of the song's verses, for example, states:
"Well, they'll stone ya when you're trying to be so good,
They'll stone ya just a-like they said they would."

Answer: His friends

"With a Little Help From My Friends" was originally written as a conversation in which the band and Ringo Starr converse with one another over different matters, with the general theme being one of camaraderie and the sharing of good times with those who support each other. Of course one line, repeated through the chorus, suggests that the singer both "gets by with a little help from my friends" and "gets high with a little help from my friends".

This was one of the many Beatles songs which Joe Cocker covered and it later appeared in the film "Across the Universe".

Answer: A singer

This laid-back song, the title track off Steve Miller Band's 1973 album, was perhaps one of the most popular hits for the group (along with "Space Cowboy"). Appearing in many different films and TV shows since its debut, the song has gone on to be one of the symbolic tunes of the 1970s.

It took the group nineteen days to record "The Joker"...perhaps their minds had been elsewhere. The chorus notes that he's "a picker, a grinner, a lover, a sinner, a joker, a smoker, and a midnight toker". Other various lyrics also note that he's been called "the space cowboy, the gangster of love, and 'Maurice'".

Answer: Smokin'

"Smokin'" originally appeared as a B-side track for the then-new Boston band. In the lyrics, the band says "We're cookin' tonight, just keep on tokin'". Overall, the song is simply about having a good time, with the band emphasizing the musical feel of the night.
The song is just one of numerous singles on the album to transcend years of music to become 'classic' rock titles. Nonetheless, Clear Channel Communications banned the song (along with 165 others) after the September 11 attacks due to its 'questionable lyrics'.

Answer: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Although the song is about love lost, this double interpretation is easily made by the lyrics which say "Last dance with Mary Jane/One more time to kill the pain". The band, having been active since the mid-seventies, broke into the nineties in 1993 with "Mary Jane's Last Dance", which took the top of the charts after its radio debut.

It was released as a new title on the band's "Greatest Hits" CD. Tom Petty continued to release hits with the Heartbreakers as well as fuel a solo career. His first solo CD, released four years prior to "Greatest Hits", was just as popular if not more.

Answer: Afroman

The song, nominated for a Grammy for rap in the following year, was the only popular single to come from Afroman's first album of the same name. During the song, Afroman states what happened as a result of his getting high (including him not being able to clean his room, not being able to pass tests in class, going to court, and being unable to pay child support, etc.).
The music video for this song was directed by Kevin Smith who reprised his role (with Jason Mewes) in the duo Jay and Silent Bob, known for their casual cannabis use in Kevin Smith films.
The song lost the Grammy to Missy Elliot for the song "Get Ur Freak On".

Answer: High

Originally the first single from James Blunt as an artist, the song was rereleased after the release of his song "You're Beautiful" which remained on the US charts for numerous months before sliding off. "High", according to Blunt, was inspired by a sunrise, and while the lyrics are more melodic and inspiring than most of the songs in this list, the end chorus "Promise me tomorrow starts with you/Getting high; running wild among all the stars above" has been unquestionably linked to marijuana (as has the name 'James Blunt'). Blunt's first CD, "Back to Bedlam", was released in 2004 selling twelve million units.

Answer: Jimmy

After Daniel Powter's hit song "Bad Day" was released in 2005 to popular acclaim and his follow-up "Free Loop" was moderately well-received, the third single from his self-titled album, "Jimmy Gets High", didn't do too well in North America (though it did chart in Europe). According to the lyrics of the song, which are about a guy named Jimmy, the main character inevitably gets high as an act of rebellion. Living off rock and roll and seeking independence, Jimmy repeatedly "gets high tonight". Much of the song is done in a very high-pitched voice and failed to attract as much attention as his previous singles.

His first album reached Gold status after its release.

Answer: Slumdog Millionaire

This popular 2008 hit off MIA's second album, "Kala", was nominated for the Record of the Year at the Grammy awards (though it lost to Alison Krauss and Robert Plant's "Please Read the Letter"). Appearing on the popular indie hit "Slumdog Millionaire" (which later won 'Best Picture' at the 2009 Academy Awards), "Paper Planes" soon became a rather large success.

The lyrics "I fly like paper, get high like planes" are often picked out of this song as alluding to drugs, though MIA states that the song is also meant to be a satire of certain lifestyles and events including the Iraq War. MIA's other song in "Slumdog Millionaire" (she was featured in "O...Saya") was nominated for an Academy Award as well, but it lost out to "Jai Ho", also from the same film.

Answer: Ulysses

"Ulysses" was the second single off Franz Ferdinand's third album, "Tonight: Franz Ferdinand", the first being the less-popular "Lucid Dreams". Although this song's allusion to marijuana isn't as clear as the others, its appearance marks one of the more casual uses of the term 'getting high' in contemporary music. Instead of being 'pro-drug', the song emphasizes the recreational use of drugs to become someone who the user isn't.
The band's third single from the same album, "No You Girls", inevitably became more popular.