Lots of the Rebetiko tradition of music is to do with hashish, if that helps. This song in particular references gambling rather than hash, but it certainly sounds like it’s performed under the influence, and it’s hypnotic in its simplicity.
Recorded by Yannakis Ioannidis with Manolis Karapiperis on bouzouki, New York, 1928. Τούτοι οι μπάτσοι, These Cops:
Τούτ’ οι μπάτσοι που ‘ρθαν τώρα,
τι γυρεύουν τέτοιαν ώρα;
Ήρθανε να μας ρεστάρουν,
και τα ζάρια να μας πάρουν.
και μας ψάξανε για ζάρια,
και μας βρίσκουν οχτώ ζευγάρια.
παίζω ζάρια και κερδίζω,
και στην πόκα τα τοκίζω.
έρχομαι το φράχτη, φράχτη,
και σε βρίσκω μ’ ένα ναύτη.
These cops that have just got here,
what do they want this time of night?
They’ve come to clean us out
and take our dice.
They searched us for dice,
and they found eight pairs.
I play at dice and win,
and put my winnings down on poker.
I come along the fence,
and find you with a sailor.
With exclamations like κακούργα μάνα, “Mother you villain!”, redolent of the underworld.
This modern performance, like many modern performances of rebetiko, is much more technically proficient, and much less charming.