Brewer & Shipley: One Toke Over The Line

       Rock and Roll has been the accompanying sound track of our lives for the last 60 years.  It communicates complex ideas into 3 minute soundbites that make us think, & feel.  Oftentimes it challenges our intellect by asking us to question our assumptions and then dares us to move forward.  But really, when everything else is stripped away, it's just plain fun.
      If you remember the first time you heard rock and roll leaping out of a scratchy am radio you probably recall feelings of excitement and joy.  Even if you were to young to understand what the lyrics meant the music instantly changed your emotional state.  I felt it the first time I heard Elvis singing Hound Dog.  It happened again and again with songs like I Wanna Hold Your Hand, Fun, Fun, Fun, Dance To The Music, I Love Rock & Roll, & Start Me Up to name but a few.  

     In 1970 at the tender age of eight I heard a song about smoking marijuana wrapped up in a catchy folk/rock tune accompanied by harmonies usually only displayed by the Kingston Trio or their contemporaries.  The song is called One Toke Over The Line by the mid-western duo Brewer & Shipley.  The song was a one hitter for the band but it caught the attention of the entire Woodstock generation, tVice President Spiro T. Agnew, as well as Lawrence Welk.  

Vice President Spiro T. Agnew
"Brewer and Shipley are subversive
to American Youth..."

     The word "toke" is defined by Miriam-Webster as  "slang: a puff on a marijuana cigarette or pipe".  The 14-40 crowd knew what it meant as did the Vice President because he called Brewer and Shipley "Subversive to American youth...".  Of course the over 40 evangelical crowd latched onto the references to "sweet Jesus" and "Awaiting for the train that goes home, sweet Mary"  and assumed it was a gospel song.  In fact on the very day that Agnew threw down his moral gauntlet  Lawrence Welk was introducing the song as proof positive that American youth embraced the Christian gospel.   That story, as funny and strange as it seems, is absolutely true and here's Dick Dale & Gail Farrell on the Lawrance Welk Show singing One Toke* .

Lawrence Welk 

       In fact Lawrence Welk wasn't wrong when he called the song a spiritual.  The lyrics are open to interpretation but I came to believe that it was either about making peace with God before your impending death, or reaching the decision to make positive changes in our life.  I tend to believe the second interpretation because in the second verse they talk about making love and how it opened their eyes.  It's pretty obvious that they want to repeat that experience and people waiting for death generally don't have sex & getting high on their minds.  But I didn't really come to that conclusion until I was an adult and I still tend to listen to the song with my little boy ears.
       One Toke Over the Line is a mid-speed country shuffle based on a bluegrass chord progression.  It's the kind of backup music Hank Williams Sr. would have adored.  The song features a harmonized guitar duo and bass.  The leads are played on a peddle steel guitar and it also runs under the entire song.  It's been long rumored that steel guitar was played by Jerry Garcia of Grateful Dead fame, but that's been hard to confirm.  Garcia is credited with playing steel guitar on the Tarkio Road album where One Toke debuted but it's a bit unclear which songs he contributed to.  No matter who played what, the song is pure Brewer and Shipley and their harmonies are spot on and quite beautiful.  
        Please take a moment and listen to One Toke Over The Line.  It's a fun, happy sounding song that bops along with catchy music, lyrics and gorgeous harmonies. 

Get The Best Of Brewer & Shipley at amazon.com

*Brewer and Shipley  telling the story of Agnew & Welk