For a second week we are indebted to the lovely Nancy, of the Elephant’s Trunk (aka The Sicilian Storyteller) for our theme for Song Lyric Sunday. Her suggestion is that we play a song related to drugs, chemical substances, prescription medications, alcohol, or tobacco: Jim’s post tells us more. I have chosen two tunes to play you, one in the prescription medications category and one involving alcohol, with a side helping of tobacco in the video (if you can spot it).

I have previously played several songs by my first act but not this one. I love her voice and her songwriting, so when I saw the theme I knew immediately that she would be my first choice:

Noah Cyrus, with Mr Percocet. And for the lyrics I extend my usual invitation to you to visit genius.com. If you don’t know what Percocet is, this AI overview response on a Google search tells you all you need to know to give you the background to the song:

Get the idea? The drug has turned the man she loves into a different person – a Jekyll and Hyde character – and she is in a dilemma about whether she should leave him or stay. I have never had the misfortune to be in love with an addict but I worked with our services that provided treatment for them in my NHS days, and came across many stories of similar cases. Strong prescription drugs can be very addictive and damaging.

At the risk of repeating what I have told you before, Noah is the youngest daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus, who is no doubt to blame for her being given what I thought was a boy’s name. You may have heard of one of her older sisters, Miley  (clearly, normal names aren’t a thing in that family!). The song was co-written by Noah with PJ Harding, Sarah Hudson and Jason Evigan, and appeared on Noah’s first album, The Hardest Part, which was released in September 2022 and reached #13 in the US Heatseekers chart, #4 in UK Country Albums and also #5 in the UK Americana listings. I love her delicate vocal style, which is, I think, very effective in delivering heartfelt lyrics like these. And the video is good, too.

And now for something completely different, as Mr Python used to say, with my second choice for today’s theme:

A band that may be new to you, Dr Feelgood, with Milk and Alcohol. And genius.com helps again with the lyrics.

I have played this one before for Tuesday Tunes but not previously for SLS, so I’m guessing that readers across the pond may not have heard of the band before. Dr Feelgood were formed in 1971 in Canvey Island, Essex. Their two main original members were Lee Brilleaux, seen on vocals here, and guitarist Wilko Johnson, who had left the band by the time Milk And Alcohol came out, and then joined Ian Dury and the Blockheads. This song was co-written by Nick Lowe and John ‘Gypie’ Mayo, who replaced Wilko on lead guitar and is the provider of the great riffs you can hear. It reportedly retells Nick’s 1970s experiences drinking one too many Kahlúa-milk drinks at or after a United States concert by bluesman John Lee Hooker – a dodgy experience made into a great song.

Dr Feelgood were known as a pub rock band, and were very popular around Essex and London. I remember seeing them one evening after work, and they were huge fun: one of the rowdiest gigs I’ve ever been to. But I managed to leave the venue still in possession of my briefcase, which I regarded as quite an achievement! This was released as a single in January 1979 and made the top forty straightaway, eventually peaking at #9 – their only top ten entry, though they had several others in the lower reaches of the charts. It had been included on their album Private Practice, which came out in September 1978 and made #41 in the UK Albums chart. They were fun, and I enjoy a wave of nostalgia whenever I hear this one.

That’s my twofer for today, and I hope you enjoyed two rather different songs. My thanks as always to Jim for hosting the event and on this occasion to Nancy for a great theme suggestion. I’ll see you again for a rather special (for me) Tuesday Tunes. Take care 😊