Day 9 of the December of Drinking set list! This weekend is prime holiday party time, and if you’re not partying, you’re probably shopping or decorating or doing some other yuletide chore. Oh, but some of you. Some of you will be embarking on the most sacred of holiday traditions: the Santa bar crawl. Well, have I got the perfect drinking song for you.
The Doors – Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)
Surprising though it may be, “Alabama Song” has been kicking around since the 1920s. Written as a poem by Berthold Brecht in 1925, it was translated into English by a close collaborator and published. Kurt Weill set it to music in 1927 for a play, and it was later re-used for the Brecht/Weill opera, The Rise and Fall Of The City of Mahoganny. Lotte Lenya was first to perform the song onstage, and recorded a version in 1930.
Of course, most of us have never heard the original version. We only know The Doors take on the song, and I gotta tell you, it’s a lot more listenable. The Doors changed the melody and omitted a verse, and suddenly, we were all ready to follow the Patron Saint of Drunk Geniuses, Jim Morrison, on an alcohol-fueled field trip. The Doors “Alabama Song” is a dark and jangly carnival ride that perfectly captures the mood of a bar crawl just before it starts heading downhill fast.
If you’re heading out on some sort of bar adventure this evening, take a piece of advice from a pro: pace yourself (a shot with every round is always a mistake), try and stick to one type of booze, and get a ride home. In the meantime, let Jim Morrison* and crew point you to the next whisky bar.
Cheers!
Drinks List
- King Cole Trio – Scotchin’ With The Soda
- Big Bad VooDoo Daddy – You And Me And The Bottle Makes Three Tonight
- George Thorogood & The Delaware Destroyers – I Drink Alone
- Stick McGhee & His Buddies – Drinking Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee
- Willie Nelson – I Gotta Get Drunk
- Kendrick Lamar – Swimming Pools (Drank)
- Nina Simone – Gin House Blues
- Reverend Horton Heat – It’s Martini Time
- The Doors – Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)
* Yes, I know it was Jim Morrison’s birthday yesterday, and this song might’ve been better then. But I prefer a bar crawl on a Saturday night. It’s just more fun.