Version 2, featured in Forever Words by Johnny Cash
Liquid, tablet, capsule, powder
Fumes and smoke and vapor
The payoff is the same in the end
Liquid, tablet, capsule, powder,
Fumes and smoke and vapor
Convenient ways to get the poison in
Pop the pill and you don’t hear
But there’s a great explosion
Twenty thousand cells are dead and blind
Keep it up and very soon
A cold, dry wind is blowing
Down through the lifeless valleys of your mind
Take the tiny crystals now
Cause you don’t need the stomach
Snort, shoot it, ain’t you having fun
Why can’t the highs get higher
And why do the lows get lower?
Hey maybe you should get yourself a gun
It isn’t fair you have to suffer
For a little pleasure
You must relax, the red capsule will do
So nice to sleep a little while
But you don’t like this feeling
So you lay a line of powder, maybe two
You do your inventory
And some of your drugs are missing
You know you didn’t do near half that much
Turn on the ones who love you
Why are they afraid and crying
And why do they recoil to your touch?
Lock your door, tie down the blinds
And bring the lights down lower
You’re only happy now when you’re alone
How many downers will it take?
Oh well, it doesn’t matter
You’ve been going, going; now you’re gone
I love Johnny Cash! He’s such an underrated singer in the modern age, though he was big during my parent’s youth. His lyrics are some of the most meaningful lyrics I’ve ever heard.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I totally agree! When I read the book this poem was in I could hear his voice in every verse. This one in particular feels like such a reflection about his own life that it almost hurts to read.
LikeLiked by 1 person