Smoke 'Em

Album: Come Find Yourself (1996)
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Songfacts®:

  • "Smoke 'em if you got 'em" was a common saying in America back in the days when smoking was not just allowed pretty much everywhere, but also encouraged. The phrase was often said to indicate it was time to take a break, or that some project had been completed - everyone can go off duty.

    The song is all good fun, with lead singer Huey Morgan stringing together clever rhymes in his rap-hybrid delivery. It's part of the first Fun Lovin' Criminals album, Come Find Yourself, and became a live favorite for the band.
  • There are some distinctly North American references in the lyrics, including Don Shula and Phil Esposito. These are both sports figures; Shula was the longtime coach of the Miami Dolphins, and Esposito was a famous hockey player in the NHL.

    Fun Lovin' Criminals are from New York City and loaded their songs with local references, but they became far more popular in Europe, where many folks have never heard of Shula or Esposito.

    "That what's really funny about Fun Lovin' Criminals music in general," founding member Brian "Fast" Leiser said in a Songfacts interview. "Europe was much more open to hearing these stories and having to figure out what they mean. We'd come overseas and live these somewhat rock star lives and then come back to New York where everyone's like, 'Yeah, no one gives a f--k about you here.'"

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