Being “stoned ” doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with marijuana.  In this song, what’s getting us stoned is moonshine mixed with honey and sassafras – sounds like a good combination to me.  That’s the same concoction Granny mixed up as “rheumatiz medicine” on The Beverly Hillbillies.  She joked that it might not cure your aches and pains but “it sure made you happy you got it”.  Those were different times, folks.

The 5th Dimension released this one in 1968.  They loved the song and couldn’t believe it was written by a white girl from the Bronx.  I guess the attitude then was white people can’t write soulful songs.  The writer’s name escapes me now…no, wait… Laura Nyro, that’s it.  After this tune became a huge hit, they recorded several more Laura Nyro masterpieces, like “Sweet Blindness” and “Save the Country”.  But none of these measured up to “Stoned Soul Picnic”.

Now I’m going to clear up one of the great musical mysteries of all time.  What does “surry” mean? The very first line is “Can you surry, can you picnic” – then the chorus is “Surry down to a stoned soul picnic”.  I always envisioned people traveling to this great picnic in a horse and carriage (a surrey) – women in big hats carrying parasols and men with ascots around their neck.  But you’ll notice that the “surry” in the song drops the “e” – so it’s not a horse and carriage thing.  When asked what the word “surry” means, Nyro said, “Oh, it’s just a nice word”.  Turns out, it’s actually a slurred play on the phrase “Let’s hurry”.  Surry.   Say it and think “Let’s hurry”.  Works, doesn’t it?  Now the song makes sense.  You were a sly one, Laura.