Just Say No, Not 'til After Work.

I don’t hear it very often these days, but in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, back when marijuana had seeds in it, an ounce of the stuff was referred to as a “lid.” A lid is also a slang term for a hat.




To which type of lid Sid and Marty Krofft were referring with their show Lidsville is the fuel for much tongue in cheek speculation. Lidsville is as jarringly bizarre, psychedelic and colorful as any Sid and Marty Krofft production, true enough. However, within the work there is no evidence that Lidsville refers to marijuana or any other psychedelic chemical compound.

Sid and Marty Krofft, do not deny that they may have taken psychedelic drugs in the 1960’s and ‘70’s, but they have always vehemently denied that they were under the influence of drugs during the production of their shows and that their shows were influenced by or indicative of a drug experience. When we give Sid and Marty the benefit of the doubt, or better yet, throw the whole issue out entirely, Lidsville is even more fantastic and complex.


To suggest that there is a prior drug experience and language system (drug slang) that provides the basis for Lidsville is to diminish, and marginalize a surreal and unique text. Such an interpretation looks outside of the text for meaning and reduces Lidsville to a mere symbol system, and a not-so-subtle inside joke. Dealt with on its own terms Lidsville is a highly (pun intended) imaginative product of much hard physical and creative work. Lidsville doesn’t have to be a code, like your tax return or something, it can be so much more.

I will concede that drugs do provide an apt simile for the experience of watching Lidsville in that it’s like good, clean acid—a little goes a long way, and you’ll never be the same once it's over.