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Original poster

Ebeneezer Goode song

175 replies

RubyJam · 09/03/2022 17:01

How did this song ever get approved back in the day Grin

I was 10 back then in 1992 and genuinely thought it was about an old guy and merrily had it on repeat singing “ eezer Goode eezer good “

I had it on a mix dance tape and had it on repeat and still know all the words off by heart .

So now when I’m listening to it on my old dance mix on I tunes whilst cooking dinner it’s so clear to me that the whole song is about ecstasy and it’s effects then the whole chorus is singing E’s are good Grin

The verses totally describe the E effect

Still love the song BTW , just wonder how it got approved back then
Also can’t believe it’s 30 years old - really making me feel oldSmile

OP posts:
elp30 · 09/03/2022 18:53

Jamiroquai's "Return of the Space Cowboy" was about marijuana.
The video has marijuana leaves flashing and the single sleeve is of the Jamiroquai "buffalo man" shaped rolling paper with pot in the middle.

"At the speed of cheeba, you and I go deeper.
Maybe I'm gonna have to get high just to get by"

Marmite27 · 09/03/2022 18:56

@LovelyQuiche

He’s refined, sublime, he makes you feel fine Though very much maligned and misunderstood If you know Eezer he’s a real crowd pleaser He’s ever so good he’s ebeneezer Goode!

Lyrics are actually really good

I read this out loud to the kids and DH shouted from the kitchen ‘E’s are good, e’s are good, oh oh he’s Ebeneezer Goode’ Grin
TheLeadbetterLife · 09/03/2022 18:56

@ProfYaffle
Being a cool, clubbing 20 something into the alternative scene at the time I used to sing "there's no lyrics" in a scathing tone.

I don't know if this makes you feel worse, but I was a nerdy ten year old and I used to sing the same alternative words to wind up the LEA cabbie who always played it in the car on the way to primary school.

isthismylifenow · 09/03/2022 18:58

I have so many ear worms now 😂

Dashel · 09/03/2022 19:00

Great song.

I never thought about the spice girls song, but now I am silly for not thinking the obvious. All those young kids singing along oblivious.

I think I was shocked when All Saints covered Under The Bridge. The original was amazing to start with but the meaning of drug withdrawal didn’t seem to go well with their young fans.

Still can’t believe some songs names like Eric Claptons cocaine

Marmite27 · 09/03/2022 19:04

Zoe Ball played Mr Vain on radio 2 this morning when I was on the way home from the nursery runs it made my day!

Titsflyingsouth · 09/03/2022 19:06

Sorted for E's and Whizz, absolutely my fave song about drugs.

"mutha, I can never come home again, because I seem to have left an important part of my brain somewhere in a field in Hampshire..."

2Gen · 09/03/2022 19:07

@ThinkAboutItTomorrow

Still sing 'puff the magic dragon' to my kids.
Oh that brings back memories of the early 60s, before Radio 1, when my mother used to put the big wireless on and I'd be listening to Puff the Magic Dragon, Tiptoe Through the Tulips, the Windmill in Old Amsterdam and all those songs whilst having my breakfast as a little kid! I've always loved them! They were generally innocent , especially compared to most of the songs PPs have mentioned! I love old Ebeneezer, the lyrics are so clever and it's a banging tune. Some of them , like the"Sweat " one are just wrong though! Yuk!
Spidey66 · 09/03/2022 19:12

Go back another 10 years to 1982 and listen to John Wayne is Big Leggy by Haysi Fantayzi, which is about a cowboy attempting to have sex with a Native American but because his gun holder is in the way he has to take her from behind blush

The BBC censors passed it for R1 and TOTP but a couple of years later banned Relax!

piperatthegates · 09/03/2022 19:17

This thread brings back memories. Ebeneezer Goode was number one in the charts on the day my dd was born. Grin

Aworldofmyown · 09/03/2022 19:17

Ebeneezer Goode was released around the time poor Leah Betts died from taking E. I remember there was a lot of upset over the song.

WeDontShutUpAboutBruno · 09/03/2022 19:18

@Spidey66

Go back another 10 years to 1982 and listen to John Wayne is Big Leggy by Haysi Fantayzi, which is about a cowboy attempting to have sex with a Native American but because his gun holder is in the way he has to take her from behind blush

The BBC censors passed it for R1 and TOTP but a couple of years later banned Relax!

Racism was acceptable, but being gay wasn't.

Got to love the 80s.

Spidey66 · 09/03/2022 19:26

@Aworldofmyown

Ebeneezer Goode was released around the time poor Leah Betts died from taking E. I remember there was a lot of upset over the song.
Ebenezer Goode came out in 1992. Leah Betts died in 1995.
NannyGythaOgg · 09/03/2022 19:27

Many of the people in charge back then were pretty naive. Others less naive but of the mind that it can't corrupt if the audience doesn't understand - as you say, as a child it went straight over your head.

The one that I was surprised that got through was Lou Reed 'Walk on the Wild Side' with the line 'even when she was giving head' but again, I just think no one picked up on it.

Lyrics weren't available to see as they are now, which is I think another reason some lyrics weren't picked up on

Spidey66 · 09/03/2022 19:33

@WeDontShutUpAboutBruno
I know! When you think of some of the 80s sitcoms and "comedians" it's embarrassing. I grew up watching The Black & White Minstrel Show on Saturday nights, that was terrible and so patronising to Black people but was only pulled late 70s/early 80s.

garlictwist · 09/03/2022 19:34

My mum has a home video of me aged about 6 with two pigtails and a gap toothed smile singing into the camera "Es are good, Es are good" with neither of us getting what I was singing.

Piggy666 · 09/03/2022 19:37

I'm 56 and singing it from start to finish, word perfect is my 'party piece' my kids are in awe every time I do it...there's the opening bars and a chorus of 'GO ON MUUUM!' and I'm off 🤣

Original poster
RubyJam · 09/03/2022 19:38

@garlictwist

My mum has a home video of me aged about 6 with two pigtails and a gap toothed smile singing into the camera "Es are good, Es are good" with neither of us getting what I was singing.
Grin
OP posts:
TabithaTiger · 09/03/2022 19:43

Haha that song brings back lots of memories! Lots of songs reference drug use (not all as blatant as Ebeneezer Goode though!)

Do you remember Rat Pack, Searching for my Rizla?,

God, I loved the 90's!

Wafflehouse · 09/03/2022 19:46

I was the same age as you op when this came out, I knew it was about drugs but only because my mum had told me. We used to watch top of the pops together. I remember the mn8 song too, I’ve Got A Little Something For You, and her sitting there saying “well that’s nothing to brag about”.

SaskiaRembrandt · 09/03/2022 19:54

I'm amazed that people have Extreme's 'More Than Words' played at their weddings when it's clearly a song about talking someone into fucking you.

Aworldofmyown · 09/03/2022 20:01

Spidey66 Sorry, I must be confused.

cptartapp · 09/03/2022 20:02

Piggy me too, and I'm 50 and can barely remember what I had for breakfast, but lyrics from the 90's.. oh yes!

MedusasBadHairDay · 09/03/2022 20:04

@Wafflehouse

I was the same age as you op when this came out, I knew it was about drugs but only because my mum had told me. We used to watch top of the pops together. I remember the mn8 song too, I’ve Got A Little Something For You, and her sitting there saying “well that’s nothing to brag about”.
🤣

I think it was mn8 who were originally from my home town and all the girls used to pretend they'd seen them on the high street

Metabigot · 09/03/2022 20:04

I remember my English A level teacher using it as an example of personification.

I remember that lesson fondly!