Bob Lind's Message Board

Another Song Bob sang: Any of you know the lyrics to No body smokes Marijuana in Suburbia? Rob?????

Just a note about the post above: You may not know the song by that title.
It has a significant history.
Ed (Seeker2be) has one of those air-tight memory vaults. He used to hear me sing the song on stage a zillion years ago. But it underwent a transformation since he heard me do it.
When I wrote the song in Denver, it was called "Nobody Smokes Marijuana In Suburbia."
But right after I got to L.A. and signed with Metric Music, the Turtles recorded the tune. As some of you know, they were the absolute first artists to cover one of my songs. But their recording company was nervous about the title and the lyric. So they made them change the name to "Down In Suburbia." and they had to sing it: "All they ever smoke is tobacco in suburbia."
As to the rest of the lyrics, I can't begin to remember. Maybe some enterprising soul with the Turtles album can fish the words off it and post them.

Lyrics from Bob's, Down In Surburbia demo (all 4:15 minutes of it). Errors in punctuation are all mine.

Nobody smokes marijuana in Suburbia
Nobody smokes marijuana in Suburbia
Everybody brags about, the way they done somebody out
Of money they have cleverly invested.

Living clean and decent lives
Playing bridge and swapping wives
Wine is fine but pot is not
Suburbians detest it.

I come home and I lay me down
I get a call to come downtown
And go my brothers bail, he's been arrested
For smiling....
But nobody smokes marijuana in Suburbia

Nobody ever dresses sloppy in Suburbia
Nobody ever dresseds sloppy in Suburbia
Mr. Brown wears herringbone
When stepping out with Mrs. Jones
To keep the local gossip hounds from staring

Mr. Wilson combs his hair
To carry on his big affair
With Mrs. Smith who, by they way,
Never dresses daring.

No one stabs his neighbors back
Or welches on his income tax.
Without sincere concern that he is wearing
The proper styling.

And, nobody ever dresses sloppy in Suburbia
Nobody's ever unAmerican in Suburbia

Everybody has a list
Of Negroes, Jews and Communists
And checks them off
Before their daughter marries

Ginsberg is a Socialist
He can't write poems like Edgar Guest
And Henry Miller's not in their library

You disagree they gonna knock you flat
'Cause Readers Digest tells them that
Their lifes a bowl of maraschino cherries
Though bills are piling

Nobody's unAmerican in Suburbia
And nobody ever dresses sloppy in Suburbia
And nobody smokes marijuana in Suburbia

Suu...........burbia

...he's been arrested.......for smiling... Haha....that's great!

Demo? Sure would love to hear all those before yet another decade passes.......

I finally got a copy of the Turtles' version of this song. I can see that some of the lyrics are the same, but some are different. Unfortunately, there's no
lyric sheet included in the cd but I will listen to it a few more times and do a comparison study :>)

The liner notes for the cd say that this song was chosen for the Turtles' 2nd album because it was so "naughty", in it's marijuana references (modified by the group) and sneering tone. "It was our intent to shock" they say.

Here's what the Turtles' version says:

All they ever smoke is tobacco in Suburbia
All they ever smoke is tobacco in Suburbia
(next 2 lines are the same)

The "living clean & decent lives" verse is gone and is replaced by:
Everyone is making friends
With other people just like them
Anyone who's different is detested

Then the rest of the song is just as the demo version posted by DaleAnne, except for the changing of the marijuana references to tobacco.

So, I just have to ask. Bob, I am assuming that the Turtles were the ones who made the changes to the lyrics. If so, what did you think about that at the time?

Turtles' version available on iTunes, I believe...

The Turtles album that has Down in Suburbia.....You Baby/Let me Be...is actually a pretty good pop album..as are most Turtles albums....at least 7 excellent tracks and no real filler...and special effects by the "Dwight Tunji Trio" no less and they play all the instruments ...fairly unusual for the period


Jim

Yes, The Turtles give "Suburbia" an almost mariachi band feel...

"You Know What I Mean" is my fave Turtles track...