This is an easy argument to settle. Let's take it song-by-song (although I'm going to stick to just the 4 studio albums for the sake of not being ridiculous):
The Velvet Underground and Nico1. "Sunday Morning" - It's about paranoia. I guess it could be drug-induced paranoia. I'll throw the other side a bone here and count this one as a drug song, but it definately could be argued that it's not.
2. "I'm Waiting for the Man" - Buying drugs.
3. "Femme Fatale" - It's about a femme fatale. Not a drug song.
4. "Venus In Furs" - Sad-masochism. Not drugs.
5. "Run Run Run" - Yeah, this one is a drug song.
6. "All Tomorrow's Parties" - About social alienation for the most part. No drugs here.
7. "Heroin" - This one might be about drugs.
8. "There She Goes Again" - About a fucking bitch who deserves to be hit. But no drugs.
9. "I'll Be Your Mirror" - This is a legitimate love song.
10. "The Black Angel's Death Song" - This song is really about nothing in particular.
11. "European Son" - A shout out to Delmore Schwartz's view of the world. No drugs here.
Drug songs: 4/11
White Light/White Heat1. "White Light/White Heat" - Drugs.
2. "The Gift" - It's a pretty gruesome story, but no drugs involved (at least lyrically - perhaps they were involved in the composition).
3. "Lady Godiva's Operation" - Another gruesome tale, but not about drugs.
4. "Here She Comes Now" - This song is pretty self-explanatory lyrically. No drugs.
5. "I Heard Her Call My Name" - About talking to a dead woman. Perhaps it's a drug induced conversation, but if so, the lyrics don't indicate it. Not a drug song.
6. "Sister Ray" - This song is about all sorts of decadant things. Not just drugs, but drugs are a big part of it.
Drug songs: 2/6
The Velvet Underground1. "Candy Says" - Happens to be about a person who was on drugs, but that has nothing to do with what this song is about. Not a drug song.
2. "What Goes On" - Not about drugs.
3. "Some Kinda Love" - A meditation on the many forms that love takes. No drugs here.
4. "Pale Blue Eyes" - Documenting Lou's affair with his then-married college sweetheart. Not a drug song.
5. "Jesus" - I've heard some claim that this was a drug song, but there's really no reason to not take it at face value. Lou Reed loved to write on themes that didn't really apply to him. Just because he was a Jew writing about Jesus doesn't mean that he didn't mean this to be a serious reflection on how Jesus has fit a certain role in some people's lives. This is not a drug song.
6. "Beginning to See the Light" - Lou sings about personal breakthroughs in how he views life. Pretty straightforward, and not about drugs.
7. "I'm Set Free" - How is Lou going to find a new illusion? Could be through drugs, but there's no real reason to think that that's what this is really about.
8. "That's the Story of My Life" - Clearly not a drug song.
9. "The Murder Mystery" - Mostly about a series of murders. Not really a drug song. Really, this is the later-era VU version of "The Black Angel's Death Song". It's more about the sound of the words than it is about their meaning.
10. "After Hours" - I guess alcohol plays a role in this song, but it's not really a drug song either.
Drug songs: 0/10
Loaded1. "Who Loves the Sun" - Not a drug song.
2. "Sweet Jane" - No.
3. "Rock and Roll" - This song is about rock and roll.
4. "Cool It Down" - Kick back and relax. This is not a drug song.
5. "New Age" - Aging and loneliness.
6. "Head Held High" - This song is self-explanatory.
7. "Lonesome Cowboy Bill" - This is pretty straightforward too. You could make an argument that this is a metaphor for something, but not drugs.
8. "I Found a Reason" - A straight-forward love song.
9. "Train Round the Bend" - Farming, as a metaphor for touring in hopes of producing hit music.
10. "Oh! Sweet Nuthin'" - A tale of the homeless.
Drug songs: 0/10
They did more love songs than drug songs. The druggy aspect of their music was significant, especially early on, but not because of the volume of drug songs. What made the druggy aspect of their music was the way they wrote about drugs -- rather than dealing with dense metaphors, they song straightforward drug songs that were about exactly what they sounded like they were about. But it is because of this straightforward nature that a lot of people get too caught up with that aspect of their music and completely miss all of the other topics they covered. Considering their reputation for singing about the seedier side of life, they had a whole lot of songs about love, spirituality, self-doubt and redemption.
