About Because I Got High

"Because I Got High" is a song by American rapper Afroman from his eponymous album. The lyrics of the song describe how cannabis use is degrading the narrator's quality of life. The song, which was written in only a few minutes, rose from obscurity to popularity after it was circulated around the Internet and was featured on The Howard Stern Show.

The song explains how the narrator "got high" with the result of not taking responsibility for anything. Examples include neglecting to clean his room, failing his college class (which he intends to take next semester), getting fired from his job (promoting him to sell drugs for a living), missing court dates, having his paycheck garnished due to missed child support payments, gambling away his car payment, becoming a paraplegic as the result of a police chase, and being left by his wife for neglecting to have sex with her. The singer then sums up that, as a result of his constant reliance on cannabis, he lost custody of his children, lost his wife, and ended up homeless and "sleeping on the sidewalk". He ultimately decides to end the song, and admits that he is "singing the whole thing wrong, because [he is] high". After this, Afroman mentions his name and birthplace (East Palmdale), describes the tumbleweed he smokes as "bomb as hell", says he does not believe in Hitler (a reference to John Lennon's "God" and ends the verse with "all of you skins...please give me more head" (a pun on skinheads). The song ends with Afroman saying, "We ain't gonna sell none of these motherfuckin' albums cuz...let's go back to Marshall Durbin and hang some more chickens cuz", followed by "fuck the corporate world, biatch!". The music video was directed by Kevin Smith and featured Jay and Silent Bob smoking with Afroman, a cameo by "Beer Man", as well as a glimpse of the Quick Stop where Clerks was filmed.