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"The Pusher" | ||||
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Single by Steppenwolf | ||||
from the album Steppenwolf | ||||
B-side | "Your Wall's Too High" | |||
Released | January 1968 (album) March 1970 (single) | |||
Recorded |
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Genre | Blues rock, acid rock | |||
Length | 5:43 | |||
Label | ABC Dunhill | |||
Songwriter(s) | Hoyt Axton | |||
Producer(s) | Gabriel Mekler | |||
Steppenwolf singles chronology | ||||
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"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".