Landing their first record deal with Twin/Tone in 1984, Soul Asylum recorded a total of four albums for the local label: Say What You Will... Everything Can Happen in 1984 (later reissued as Say What You Will, Clarence... Karl Sold the Truck), Made To Be Broken in 1986, While You Were Out in 1986, and the EP Clam Dip and Other Delights in 1988. The band then switched to A&M, releasing Hang Time in 1988 and And the Horse They Rode In On in 1990 under that label. Although they enjoyed some success as a live band, Soul Asylum suffered from low album sales and considered disbanding.
In 1992, they signed with Columbia Records to produce Grave Dancers Union, a record that would come to transform them from underground college rockers to international superstars. The first two singles off the album, Somebody To Shove and Black Gold, both came in at high positions at the Modern Rock and Album Rock charts, but it was the album's third track and it's video of missing teens that led them to their major breakthrough. Runaway Train peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100, raised album sales to double-platinum level, and won Soul Asylum the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song in 1994.
In 1995, Soul Asylum followed up the success of Grave Dancers Union with Let Your Dim Light Shine, which climbed to #6 on the Billboard 200 and featured the #1 Modern Rock track Misery. After releasing Candy From A Stranger in 1998, the band members took a break from recording and didn't release a new studio album for the better part of seven years. During the interim singer Dave Pirner released a solo album and Dan Murphy toured and recorded with Golden Smog.
They reunited in 2004 to record their ninth full-length album, The Silver Lining, brought together by the news of Mueller being diagnosed with throat cancer. Up until this point, Soul Asylum had always included Murphy, Mueller, and Pirner, despite several line-up changes. This changed on June 17th, 2005, when Mueller passed away after finishing his work on several tracks on the new album. The Silver Lining was released in 2006 and dedicated to Karl Mueller's life and memory, with Murphy expressing that, "For me, this record is Karl."
In late 2005, ex-Replacements bassist (and current Guns N' Roses bassist) Tommy Stinson and former Prince drummer Michael Bland joined Soul Asylum in tribute to the late Karl Mueller. They completed their American tour in support of The Silver Lining in late 2006. In November and December 2006 they opened for Cheap Trick on their American tour. On March 10th, 2007, Soul Asylum joined Cyndi Lauper, Mint Condition, and Lifehouse to hold a concert to benefit Wain McFarlane, the leader of the legendary reggae band Ipso Facto, to help pay for the expenses of a kidney transplant.
http://www.soulasylum.com
Summer of Drugs
Soul Asylum Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In the woods behind the house
Nobody was home so I grabbed her foot
And I sucked that poison out
My sister got better in a month or two
When the swellin' it went down
But I'd started off my teenage years
And we were too young to be hippies
Missed out on the love
We turned to a teen in the late 70's
In the summer of the drugs
Mama and daddy could never understand
Their life was never dull
Their idea of a rollickin' time
Was a kitchen tap appall
Acid grass downs and speed
Junk those days were made of
How could they suspect those kids
Where the monsters meet their makers?
And they were too young to be hippies
Missed out on the love
Learned from the teen of the late 70's
In the summer of the drugs
Boys and girls in every town
Sand man spread his sand around
Now we are just wakin' up
From a summer of drugs
Mommies and daddies were too shy to talk
About those birds and bees
Integrated schools had stopped
The facts of life were these
Girls and boys went away and came back
Empty after the weekend
The talk on the phone consisted of
The hushed voices speakin'
And they were too young to be hippies
Missed out on the love
Learned from the teen of the late 70's
In the summer of the drugs
Yes they were too young, they were to fast
Oh the summer of the drugs
The Soul Asylum song 'Summer of Drugs' is a nostalgic ode to the late 1970s, a time when the band members were teenagers. The lyrics reminisce about the various substances that were prevalent during that period and how coming of age in that era impacted their lives. The opening verse of the song recounts an incident where lead vocalist Dave Pirner's sister was bitten by a copperhead snake, and he sucked out the venom from her foot. Although she recovered, the event served as a metaphor for Pirner's own experiences with drugs.
The second verse talks about the confusion of the times. As Pirner sings about his parents being clueless about their generation's drug culture, he also notes that they refused to talk about sex. He talks about the consequences of weekend trysts and how they ultimately left many feeling empty. Throughout the song, Soul Asylum seems to express both a longing for and a warning against the reckless abandon of youth. In the end, the band suggests that perhaps their coming of age during the "Summer of Drugs" is why they are finally waking up to a world that is both beautiful and terrifying.
Line by Line Meaning
My sister got bit by a copperhead snake
The singer's sister was bitten by a venomous snake in the woods behind their house
In the woods behind the house
The incident with the snake occurred in a natural area near their home
Nobody was home so I grabbed her foot
Since there was no one else around, the singer took it upon themselves to help their sister
And I sucked that poison out
They sucked the venom out of their sister's wound to try and save her
My sister got better in a month or two
After some time, the artist's sister recovered from the snake bite
When the swellin' it went down
Her swelling subsided
But I'd started off my teenage years
This incident marked the start of the singer's adolescence
With a poison in my mouth
The venom and the experience stayed with the artist
And we were too young to be hippies
The artist and their peers were not old enough to fully embrace the hippie culture of the time
Missed out on the love
They didn't have the experiences of the sexual revolution or free love that the hippies had
We turned to a teen in the late 70's
They came of age in the late 70s, which was a time of tumultuous change
In the summer of the drugs
The artist and their peers experimented with drugs during this time
Mama and daddy could never understand
The singer's parents didn't understand the lifestyle choices of their teenage children
Their life was never dull
The parents had a different view on what was exciting or interesting
Their idea of a rollickin' time
Their concept of a good time was different
Was a kitchen tap appall
They found enjoyment in mundane, everyday activities
Acid grass downs and speed
The drugs that the artist and their friends experimented with
Junk those days were made of
These drugs were prevalent and easy to obtain during this time
How could they suspect those kids
Their parents probably didn't know that their kids were doing drugs
Where the monsters meet their makers?
The artist wonders about the potential long-term effects that drug use can have
Boys and girls in every town
Many young people across the country participated in the drug culture of the time
Sand man spread his sand around
A reference to the drug culture that was widespread during this time
Now we are just wakin' up
The singer is now reflecting on the past and what happened during this time
From a summer of drugs
The summer of experimentation and drug use had a lasting impact
Mommies and daddies were too shy to talk
The singer's parents were uncomfortable talking about sex and other taboo topics
About those birds and bees
An idiom referring to discussing sex education
Integrated schools had stopped
Schools were no longer racially separated
The facts of life were these
The realities of adolescence and sex education were often left unspoken
Girls and boys went away and came back
Young people often went on trips or weekends away to experiment with drugs and sex
Empty after the weekend
Their experiences often left them feeling hollow or unfulfilled
The talk on the phone consisted of
Conversations with friends often revolved around drug use and sex
The hushed voices speakin'
The secrecy and taboo nature of these conversations
Yes they were too young, they were to fast
The young people of this time were too immature and inexperienced to handle the consequences of their actions
Oh the summer of the drugs
Reflecting on the experiences of that time
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: VICTORIA ANN WILLIAMS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Circusqueen1976
I'm still listening to this song 26 years later. I love it so much. "Sweet Relief" is a great album.
@sydbarrett5
I agree! I heard Pearl Jam's version of Crazy Mary while I was working the graveyard shift at a gas station when the album came out. It came on just as the sun was coming up. Pure magic moment.
@sydbarrett5
If Dave Grohl and Victoria Williams had a kid, I got a pretty good idea what he/she would look like.
@samnoble2942
@@sydbarrett5 is
@bejeweledt
Me too. Just bummed I can’t listen to Michelle shocked song
@josephkitchell7168
@@bejeweledt It's why you gotta buy the records. Vinyl, CDs are still vitally important for this and other reasons.
@StudMacher96
Most underrated song to ever exist
@adamchildress79
Favorite Soul Asylum song ever, even though it’s a cover. Sorry, guys. I love everything else, but this one will always hold a place in my heart.
@craiggiffen8170
yup, reminds me of the summer of 1993 a lot.
@patiencejewel
check out Victoria Willam's original. She is a true angel.