Dee Dee Ramone and Richard Hell wrote CHINESE ROCKS in 1976 to outdo Lou Reed’s elegiac HEROIN. The song soon became Johnny Thunder’s and the Heartbreakers’ showstopper. While Tom Petty and his Heartbreakers have sold millions of LPs and CDs, neither the Ramones’ nor Johnny Thunders’ versions of CHINESE ROCKS got any AM airplay.

Its omission from the Top Ten can easily be explained by its blatant reference to Chinese White, the Lower East Side drug of choice in the 70s.

If a junkie ODed from a a dime of #4, within twenty minutes of his demise the dealer was besieged by scores of desperate addicts seeking their shot at the potentially life-ending smack. Get the mix right and you reached the nirvana of nihilistic narcoticism.

“I’m living on Chinese Rocks.”

Chinese Rocks ceased to exist in China. Chairman Mao had eradicated the opium trade with the ruthless execution of dealers and users. Very tough love.

Times have changed in the People’s Republic.

This week the Chinese hierarchy confessed that GBH on toy beads had been replaced with GBH the so-called date-rape drug.

Cutting costs was their explanation.

Nine children in the USA fell sick to this contamination and the Aqua Dots have been withdrawn from the shelves of Toy R Us, K-Maart, and other kiddie stores. Play dates for toddlers became another niche of fear for American parents, however like the junkies in the 70s, steroid juicers in the states have thronged to the toy stores to buy up the surplus. Nothing muscle crunchers like better than GBH other than Ketamine.

“I’m living on Aqua Dots.”

The words fit with Dee Dee’s song.

Chinese Rocks redux.

CHINESE ROCKS

Somebody called me on the phone
they said hey, is Dee Dee home
do you wanna take a walk
do ya wanna go and cop
do ya wanna go get some chinese rocks?

I’m living on chinese rocks
all my best things are in hock
I’m living on chinese rocks
everything is in the pawn shop

The plaster’s falling off the wall
my girlfriend’s crying in the shower stall
It’s hot as a bitch
I shoulda been rich
But I’m just diggin this chinese ditch

repeat chorus

repeat verse two

repeat chorus 2x

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Rocks

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https://www.mangozeen.com/cbgbs-closes-forever-long-live-punk.htm