Starin' at the boob tube, turnin' on the big knob
Tryin' to find some life in the waste land
Fin'ly found a program, gonna deal with Mary Jane
Ready for a trip into hate land
Obnoxious Joe comes on the screen
Along with his guest self-righteous Sam
And one more guy who doesn't count
His hair and clothes are too far out

While pushin' back his glasses Sam is sayin' casually
"I was elected by the masses"
And with that in mind he starts to unwind
A vicious attack on the finest of grasses

Well it's evil, wicked, mean and nasty
(Don't step on the grass, Sam)
And it will ruin our fair country
(Don't be such an ass, Sam)
Well, it will hook your Sue and Johnny
(You're so full of bull, Sam)
All will pay that disagree with me
(Please give up you already lost the fight, alright)

Misinformation Sam and Joe
Are feeding to the nation
But the one who didn't count counted them out
By exposing all their false quotations
Faced by a very awkward situation
This is all he'd say to save the day

Well it's evil, wicked, mean and nasty
(Don't step on the grass, Sam)
And it will ruin our fair country
(Don't be such an ass, Sam)
Well, it will hook your Sue and Johnny
(You're so full of bull, Sam)
All will pay that disagree with me
(Please give up you already lost the fight alright)

You waste my coin Sam, all you can
To jail my fellow man
For smoking all the noble weed
You need much more than him
You've been telling lies so long
Some believe they're true
So they close their eyes to things
You have no right to do
Just as soon as you are gone
Hope will start to climb
Please don't stay around too long
You're wasting precious time



Lyrics submitted by oofus

Don't Step on the Grass, Sam Lyrics as written by John Kay

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

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Don't Step On the Grass, Sam song meanings
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11 Comments

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  • +3
    General Comment

    This song is pretty straightforward. Steppenwolf is criticising the U.S. government for making marijuana use illegal.

    Catchy song, by the way...

    hammerhead300on April 23, 2006   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    It's a shame that we're still eating the same bullshit forty years later.

    parker8888on July 04, 2008   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    yeah i totally agree with hammer. This song is about how some government dick-weed (sam refrencing uncle sam) starts spewing out lies about how grass is adicting abd it will corupt america....What an ass. Thye should be worrying about real drugs like extacy, crack, and heroin.

    ironsmaidenon July 03, 2007   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    If you liked Steppenwolf's original version... then you'd absolutely love the version with Warren Haynes (Govt Mule)!! It really does do this song a little justice! In my opinion anyway...

    FreezeSukkaon October 29, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    thats true hammerhead..... I cant believe I'm the second comment!

    doobie96on June 15, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Hammer's got it all the way

    Chrononaut666on July 16, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I love this song, really just pumps me up on my views on weed and makes want to flip off the government for misjudging all the truth about weed

    theblackbird60on June 21, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    'Obnoxious Joe' refers to Joe Pyne, TV and radio show host. Sam refers to LA Mayor Sam Yorty. What I do not remember is who the "guy who does't count" refers to. But the song is about a Joe Pyne show where marijuana was discussed.

    david15543on January 28, 2015   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Surprised nobody has mentioned the hilarious ending of this song, with a faux police raid bursting into the recording studio where the song's being recorded. Complete with the studio engineer barking at the cops to "get out", and a woman screaming in fake shock as the cops bust their way into the toilet room where she's frantically flushing the pot down the drain.

    repowerson September 17, 2015   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Well,we’ll,y’all, why hasn’t this song been the national anthem for legalizing weed from the beginning? I remember when this song came out on Steppenwolf’s 2nd album ( with magic carpet ride), one of the first albums I bought. Anybody remember The Pusher? I heard them about 5 years ago (2015), and they sounded better than back in the day! If you wuz a long haired freaky people you loved this song! I wuz and I did. Somebody needs to play this song to the pres, Congress, and the DEA, and ask them,”ain’t it about time y’all figure out what he’s talkin’ a-bout!!!!!!!

    Turtlefromleeparkindallason March 13, 2019   Link

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