Songs About Magic Mushrooms
Magic mushrooms are acknowledged in several aspects of society. This is from movies to other elements of pop culture. Of course, their portrayal can differ depending on where it’s presented. They’re essentially recognized for their psychedelic properties. You can see it wherever you find them in pop culture. After all, this is the reason why they’re so popular.
Among the many pop culture aspects, music happens to be one of them. This aspect is where mushrooms seem to be encountered a lot. The power of imagery and description can help fill in as music can’t give an exact visual image. As such, you end up having some rather unique and interesting songs. These songs talk about shrooms, trips, and whatnot.
It is tough to deny that it makes for entertaining songs. This is even if we speculate whether what we hear is true or not. In a way, it helps you understand all the fuss with magic mushrooms. This is mainly because a substance such as this isn’t exactly something you can find so easily.
So, with that in mind, what songs out there are about shrooms? More importantly, what do they say about magic mushrooms, and how did these even come about? Believe it or not, there are a lot of them. To help give you a little idea of where to start, here are songs about magic mushrooms that may or may not have flown over your head.
Take it With a Grain of Salt (or Magic Mushrooms?)
- Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds by The Beatles
Of course, this list had to start with this song. Despite many people arguing about it, this song is one of the most popular. This song talks about drugs hidden in plain sight.
The Beatles started as four clean-cut boys from Liverpool. But they eventually went through various phases. One of those phases is even having them find God. As such, they’ve experimented with sounds throughout their entire run as a band. They have created some of the most memorable tracks ever. One of them was Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, also endearingly called “LSD.”
You might think this should be filed under “songs about acid,” which may very well be the case. But, of course, John Lennon would argue. He would say that this wasn’t about an acid trip, psychedelic trip, shroom trip, or what have you. He would say that this was about a drawing his son Julian made. However, the song’s lyrical content implies that John Lennon may be covering it up.
LSD and the entire Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was recorded in the 60s. You can guess that this was when psychedelics were becoming a little more popular. This is considering that songs are products of their time. The entire song might as well be proof of that. Mention of tangerine trees, rocking horse people, and son.
- White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane
If “LSD” wasn’t proof enough, the 60s were a pretty crazy time. This was when people were learning more about how to expand their minds. But, of course, a lot of this was done with the help of some substances. Among the so-called mind-expanding substances, shrooms were one of the most popular ones.
With the help of psychedelics and some mind-expanding, psychedelic rock was born. Jefferson Airplane would be one of the many bands that perfected the genre. They’ve made several songs that sounded funky and a little out of this world. They then produced tracks that embodied what it meant to be psychedelic.
White Rabbit might as well be one of the best psychedelic rock songs ever made of all their songs. The song essentially references Alice in Wonderland to help describe a psychedelic journey. The entire thing sounds like a drug trip disguised as a children’s story. Although, one could argue that Lewis Carroll’s lifetime may not have come across with shrooms.
This makes perfect sense! A quintessential rock band would describe a shroom trip through Alice in Wonderland. True enough, it worked, and White Rabbit had a huge cultural impact on psychedelic rock.
- Purple Haze by Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix’s Purple Haze has been a mainstay for any Hendrix fan. This is another song with a fairly obvious title. While the guitar riff is already iconic on its own, the lyrics are also equally as iconic.
This song is quintessential Hendrix, a man who loved to be very adventurous. So, it comes as no surprise that he has a piece all about his trip with Purple Haze. Of course, you could argue that the song’s namesake is that of a cannabis strain. However, Purple Haze can also refer to psychedelics like magic mushrooms or acid.
Again, you can guess that Hendrix got his inspiration from one of those trippy substances. As you can see, this is another product of its time. But, of course, you might never be able to find out which one it was. But, should it matter at this point? He made one of the most famous rock and roll tracks in history. So, excuse him while he kisses the sky.
- Purple Pills by D12
Of course, even rap music has its songs with mushroom references. D12’s “Purple Pills” happens to be one of the more entertaining ones. This song is among the several rap songs that make drug references. Other songs talk about what it’s like to trip or feel inner peace while walking that fine line of subtlety. D12 does the complete opposite.
Most rap music has artists talking about how they sold drugs. D12 finds themselves relatively comfortable talking about the drugs they use. Of course, this may have been a pretty crazy move on their part. However, fans of D12 know very well that they can go from serious and heartfelt to satirical and out of this world.
The song is peppered with references to all sorts of drugs, with a few ecstasy references here and there. But, they also mention magic mushrooms. What’s more, they also talk about their misadventures and the hilarity that ensues. If that wasn’t enough, they even went so far as to describe their bad trip after taking one pill too many.
- Shroomz by Xzibit
Rapper Xzibit lets you know right away what this song is about. “Shroomz” happens to be another song that talks about the rapper doing some substances. This is somewhat similar to D12’s “Purple Pills.” He talks about doing some magic mushrooms with his friends in this song. While that seems straightforward enough, his references make it all the more entertaining.
As the song builds up, he talks about how he did the magic mushrooms he took. If you listen hard enough, it’s a tutorial on how to take them. It gives people a good sense of how most usually take them. However, that isn’t even the best reference in the song.
In the song, he calls magic mushrooms the “other shit.” What’s more, he follows that line with, “One of the reasons why George Clinton sees the mothership.” Now, this reference to George Clinton is pretty loaded for music fans. This is because he’s one of the most iconic musicians in the psychedelic and funk scene. What’s more, it’s an acknowledgement of how the man himself is a psychedelic icon.
Conclusion
These songs only make explicit references to shrooms. These songs also talk about their similarity to an acid trip and artists’ cultural accounts of it. There are bound to be more artists and songs that talk about it. This is because magic mushrooms are rather popular and can transcend all mediums.
You can take it upon yourself to look for more songs and artists. If you want to learn more about an artist’s profound experience. You can also learn about what trips are like with these songs. But, of course, you can also listen to these songs, for starters.
However, these songs aren’t the only way magic mushrooms make their influence. Psilocybin research looks into how it affects your astral plane trips. That in itself is a rather interesting topic too, one that you could find on your local media.
But, whatever the case may be, mushrooms are all over aspects of human culture. From the trending music-sponsored content you consume to the movies you watch. So, if you want to see how magic mushrooms are a part of your life, listen to more songs! Look into research and support independent local journalism. This is to see where else they come up!
