The Pusher

"The Pusher"
Single by Steppenwolf
from the album Steppenwolf
B-side"Your Wall's Too High"
ReleasedJanuary 1968 (album)
March 1970 (single)
Recorded
GenreBlues rock, acid rock
Length5:43
LabelABC Dunhill
Songwriter(s)Hoyt Axton
Producer(s)Gabriel Mekler
Steppenwolf singles chronology
"Born to Be Wild"
(1968)
"The Pusher"
(1968)
"Magic Carpet Ride"
(1968)

"The Pusher" is a rock song written by Hoyt Axton, made popular by the 1969 movie Easy Rider which used Steppenwolf's version to accompany the opening scenes showing drug trafficking.

The lyrics of the song distinguish between a dealer in drugs such as marijuana—who "will sell you lots of sweet dreams"—and a pusher of hard drugs such as heroin—a "monster" who does not care "if you live or if you die".