What’s a pandemic without a cocktail hour? My virtual version of that ritual involves posting songs about drinking and booze every Friday at Five O’clock sharp.

Since I don’t want to be accused of encouraging my readers to get drunk, we’ll begin this sub-feature of Songs For The Pandemic with tunes that discourage y’all from getting soused, blotto or what have you.

I realize that sounds like no fun at all, but it is. Trust me. Our first selection, Alcohol, was written by Ray Davies for the great 1971 Kinks album Muswell Hillbillies. Here’s the original studio recording and a boozy live version. I mean sober:

The second tune was written by Richard Thompson at around the same time. We have two versions of Down Where The Drunkards Roll one by Richard and Linda Thompson and another by the songwriter all by himself:

I originally planned to post the Los Lobos cover of Drunkards, but it’s been deleted from the YouTube. In lieu of that, a more celebratory drinking song:

The last word goes to Frank, Dino, and Sammy in boozy toon form: