Clapton Claims 'Cocaine' Is an Anti-Drug Song
Claiming that it has always been an anti-drug song, Eric Clapton has returned the classic hit "Cocaine" to the play list for the North American leg of his current world tour. Clapton, who established the Crossroads Centre addiction recovery center on the Caribbean island of Antigua, stopped playing the song after he began recovery for addiction and alcoholism."I thought that it might be giving the wrong message to people who were in the same boat as me," Clapton told The Associated Press. But the blues guitar playing icon recently changed his mind about playing the song and explained his reasoning.
"But further investigation proved ... the song, if anything, if it's not even ambivalent, it's an anti-drug song. And so I thought that might be a better way to do it, to approach it from a more positive point of view. And carry on performing it as not a pro-drug song, but just as a reality check about what it does," Clapton told the AP reporter.
"It's one of those songs that you can take it any way you like," Clapton said. "But it very clearly says in the opening verse, `If you wanna get down, down on the ground,' I mean, that's, I think, the focal point of the song. That's what the song's about, is that, you know, there's a price."
Clapton also admitted that he missed playing the song.
But is the song really an anti-drug song and is it perceived as such by loyal Slowhand fans? Following are the lyrics to "Cocaine" written by J.J. Cale. Read them and decide for yourself.
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If you wanna hang out you've got to take her out; cocaine.
If you wanna get down, down on the ground; cocaine.
She don't lie, she don't lie, she don't lie; cocaine.
If you got bad news, you wanna kick them blues; cocaine.
When your day is done and you wanna run; cocaine.
She don't lie, she don't lie, she don't lie; cocaine.
If your thing is gone and you wanna ride on; cocaine.
Don't forget this fact, you can't get it back; cocaine.
She don't lie, she don't lie, she don't lie; cocaine.
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Photo: Crossroads Centre
Comments
If you’ve seen Eric Clapton perform this song you’d know that to make it even clearer the chorus says: “That dirty Cocaine”. His fans are in tune
with his personal stance enough to know
the song is intended as an anti-drug proclamation.
Brian Petit
It’s an anti drug song. Look what Eric Clapton has done for drug adiction,take his Crossroad center for example.. I love EC for his music, and respect his work against drugs. He was a drug adictied man, but he learn from it, and he has been sober for 15-20 years now..
Eric Clapton is a brilliant singer/songwriter. ALL of his songs deserve to and should be heard by the masses. Let the people decide what message they’re hearing when Clapton performs. When we’re listening to any person sing, we are thinking solely about what that song is saying to US, so the meaning of Clapton’s words … mean something entirely different to the vast majority of his fans and all others.
Let’s spend more time listening to music (whatever kind ‘ya like) and relaxing our minds enough to STOP ALL OF THE BICKERING about what a person’s words “might” be meaning … or what a person’s words “might” force another person to do wrong.
SOON-TO-BE-FAMOUS-WORDS-OF-WISDOM:
“Create your own hapiness in life … you’d have way more time. How? Because you wouldn’t be running around looking to pick a fight over the least little thing, that more than likely does not effect you or your life in the least.” ~ Me (2007) ~
“Don’t forget this fact, you can’t get it back” The chorus lyric “She don’t lie” is meant ironically in my opinion. It implies an anti drug stance to me or at least a recognition of its adverse consequences. Mr. Clapton’s personal efforts in the area of addiction recovery and being clean all these years, and that he chooses to sing it now, clearly testifies to the song’s anti-drug message.
it clearly has both pro and con drug viewpoints.