When I saw what the prompt was this week, I was pumped up because humans are so good at exhibiting so many types of behavior that I knew it would be easy to find a song for one of them. One behavior that humans are known for is getting addicted. There are unlimited things humans can get addicted to, including food, shopping, sex, digital devices, and mind-altering substances. I’m not sure who first coined the phrase, “All things in moderation,” but maybe it was Benjamin Franklin? Addiction is two-pronged in its manifestation. One is that it is an extreme need that goes beyond moderation. The other is that at some point the person is not able to function in their personal lives in a productive way. I think most of us have known addicts. Sometimes the addicts are ourselves.

“Snowblind Friend” was written by Hoyt Axton, who first released it on his 1969 album, “My Griffin Is Gone.” The song is about one of his friends who succumbed to a drug overdose. Unlike the many songs that glamorize drug use as part of the rock and roll lifestyle, there is no glory in this story, as we hear about the troubled addict getting high in “some unholy bathroom in some ungodly hall,” and how his friends who found him dead must now tell his family.

Axton had his own problems with drug addiction, and did what he could to warn of the dangers. Here is Axton’s original:

Steppenwolf recorded the most popular version of this song in 1970 on their Steppenwolf 7 album. In 1968, they covered another anti-drug song written by Hoyt Axton, “The Pusher,” on their debut album. Axton’s songs weren’t all doom and gloom; he wrote the song “Joy To The World,” which Steppenwolf passed on, choosing “Snowblind Friend” instead.

In a Songfacts interview with the group’s lead singer, John Kay, he explained: “That song spoke to me because I knew the person that the song was written about. That’s why I decided, as a tribute to this young man, that we would do a version of it on the Steppenwolf 7 album.“

“Joy To The World” ended up going to Three Dog Night, which had a #1 hit with it. This song introduced the word “snowblind” to rock music lexicon as a way to describe addiction, specifically to cocaine. Black Sabbath released their “Snowblind” in 1972; Styx used the title for a track on their 1981 Paradise Theater album.

Source: Songfacts

"Snowblind Friend"

You say it was this morning when you last saw your good friend
Lying on the pavement with a misery on his brain
Stoned on some new potion he found upon the wall
Of some unholy bathroom in some ungodly hall

He only had a dollar to live on till next Monday
But he spent it all on comfort for his mind
Did you say you think he's blind?

Someone should call his parents, a sister or a brother
And they'll come to take him back home on a bus
But he'll always be a problem to his poor and puzzled mother
Yeah he'll always be another one of us

He said he wanted heaven but prayin' was too slow
So he bought a one-way ticket on an airline made of snow
Did you say you saw your good friend flyin' low?
Flyin' low, dyin' slow

You say it was this morning when you last saw your good friend
Lying on the pavement with a misery on his brain
Stoned on some new potion he found upon the wall
Of some unholy bathroom in some ungodly hall

He only had a dollar to live on till next Monday
He said he wanted heaven but prayin' was too slow
So he bought a one-way ticket on an airline made of snow
Did you say you saw your good friend flyin' low?
Dyin' slow, flyin' low
Did you say you saw your good friend flyin' low?
Dyin' slow, flyin' low
Blinded by snow

Songwriter:  Hoyt Axton

Jim Adams is the host of Song Lyric Sunday.
This week Jim wants us to find a song that reflects different types of behavior that people exhibit.