Songs Where the "Clean" Version Is Better Than The Unedited One

[Smapti]

After reading the couple of recent threads recently about songs that toss in one or two curse words, I got to thinking about the way those kind of songs are edited for radio. In general, when a song with not-safe-for-radio words gets released as a single, the editing is clumsy and tends to call attention to the fact that there used to be a dirty word here, seemingly achieving the opposite of what was intended.

I was able to think of two recent songs, however, where i've heard both the original and the edited version, and I like the bowdlerized version better than the song the artist originally recorded:

"Fuckin' Perfect", by Pink - I heard the radio version of this many many times before I even heard the unedited version. Upon hearing it, it seemed to me like the titular F-bomb was just plain gratuitous.

"Payphone", by Maroon 5 - I heard the unedited version before the radio one. In this case, the radio version changes the couplet "All these fairy tales are full of shit, one more fuckin' love song i'll be sick" to "All these fairy tales are full of it, one more stupid love song i'll be sick" - which to me seems to flow better and make the song sound more sincere and less whiny. (The radio version also removes the guest verse from Wiz Khalifa, of whom I think I can say that no song has ever been improved by his presence, but that's a topic for another time.)

Anyone else ever found a song where they preferred the edited version to the original?

[lost4life]

Not really my genre, but I'd pick the Black Eyed Peas Let's Get It Started over the original Let's Get Retarded. Just something about the word "Retarded" being repeated over and over is a bit grating.

[silenus]

Anything by The Doors. The radio edits are tighter and keep the song flowing, while the unedited versions sag because of Morrison's blatherings. "Break On Through (To the Other Side)" and "The End" are the most notable examples.

[Soylent Juicy]

Originally Posted by lost4life

Not really my genre, but I'd pick the Black Eyed Peas Let's Get It Started over the original Let's Get Retarded. Just something about the word "Retarded" being repeated over and over is a bit grating.

Yikes, me too.

Does Cee Lo Green actually say "Fuck You" in an unedited version of the song? Because I actually like "Forget You", it's fun to sing along badly to while driving.

[Biffy the Elephant Shrew]

Originally Posted by silenus

Anything by The Doors. The radio edits are tighter and keep the song flowing, while the unedited versions sag because of Morrison's blatherings. "Break On Through (To the Other Side)" and "The End" are the most notable examples.

Uh, what? There's no such thing as a radio edit of "The End," and the single version of "Break On Through" was the same length as the album version--less than two and a half minutes.

[stpauler]

Originally Posted by Soylent Juicy

Yikes, me too.

Does Cee Lo Green actually say "Fuck You" in an unedited version of the song? Because I actually like "Forget You", it's fun to sing along badly to while driving.

Yeah, the first time I heard the "Forget You" version was the Glee version. I thought it really dumbed down the song.

My favorite censored song though is Prince's "Sexy MF". Instead of "fucker", Prince yelps "uhUhUHT!". It's silly awesome.

[Loach]

Originally Posted by Soylent Juicy

Yikes, me too.

Does Cee Lo Green actually say "Fuck You" in an unedited version of the song? Because I actually like "Forget You", it's fun to sing along badly to while driving.

"Fuck you" works much better. Its the contrast between theangry lyrics and the upbeat music that makes the song. "Forget you" is too antiseptic.

[silenus]

Originally Posted by Biffy the Elephant Shrew

Uh, what? There's no such thing as a radio edit of "The End," and the single version of "Break On Through" was the same length as the album version--less than two and a half minutes.

"Break On Through" has two versions. They are both the same length. The original radio edit just cuts the vocals a bit to "She gets..." rather than "She gets high." The additional word ruins the rhythm.

The recorded version IS the radio edit. Have you ever heard the live version? Total garbage as Morrison lets loose his demons.

[Quimby]

Enrique Iglesias has a song that has two versions: "Tonight I'm loving you" and "Tonight I'm fucking you." I'm not a prude but that's just crass.

[Dr. Righteous]

Originally Posted by Loach

"Fuck you" works much better. Its the contrast between theangry lyrics and the upbeat music that makes the song. "Forget you" is too antiseptic.

I have to disagree, but not because of the meaning of the words. I feel that in that song 3 syllables ("for-get you") sounds much better to my ears than 2 ("fuck you").

[WordMan]

Nine Inch Nails, Closer. I prefer having the edited version in mixes - having the unedited version just appear in a mix and hearing him discuss how he wants to fuck me like an animal...it just requires a more specific context, that's all

[C K Dexter Haven]

The song "Officer Krupke" from WEST SIDE STORY:

Originally Posted by Stage Version

My father is a bastard,
My ma's an S.O.B.
My grandpa's always plastered,
My grandma pushes tea. ...

Originally Posted by Movie Version (cleaned)

My Daddy beats my Mommy,
My Mommy clobbers me,
My Grandpa is a Commie,
My Grandma pushes tea. ...

I personally think the cleaned up version is better in the first two lines, but then they're stuck with the rhyme of "Commie"

Originally Posted by Stage Version

Dear kindly social worker,
They say go earn a buck.
Like be a soda jerker,
Which means like be a schumck.
It's not I'm anti-social,
I'm only anti-work.
Gloryosky! That's why I'm a jerk!

Originally Posted by Movie Version (cleaned up)

Dear kindly social worker,
They tell me get a job,
Like be a soda-jerker,
Which means like be a slob.
It’s not I’m anti-social,
I’m only anti-work.
Gloryosky, that’s why I’m a jerk!

I dunno, I think the first is slightly more pertinent ("schmuck" rather than "slob") but "get a job" seems more realistic than "earn a buck.")

[olivesmarch4th]

Originally Posted by Dr. Righteous

I have to disagree, but not because of the meaning of the words. I feel that in that song 3 syllables ("for-get you") sounds much better to my ears than 2 ("fuck you").

Agreed.

I like the radio edit of Madonna's ''Human Nature," which is my favorite Madonna song of all time. The original lyrics are, ''I'm not your bitch, don't hang your shit on me" but the radio edit replaces "bitch" and "shit" with a sort of muffled thumping sound. I feel like it more closely drives home the meaning of the song, because the song itself is about struggling against censorship.

[Quimby]

Originally Posted by Dr. Righteous

I have to disagree, but not because of the meaning of the words. I feel that in that song 3 syllables ("for-get you") sounds much better to my ears than 2 ("fuck you").

That's funny because I like the unedited version for the exact same reason. The two syllables sounds better to me. I suspect the difference comes from which version you heard first.

[ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness]

Low Fidelity All Stars - Battleflag. The edited version has a computerized stutter inserted in the "get down on your k-n-n-n-n-n-n-nees" refrain. The stutter covers up a "motherfucking". The edited version sounds cool and spacy; the original sounds like a 9-year-old who just discovered YouTube videos have cussing and has to repeat everything he hears.

I'm another one who thinks the extra syllable makes Cee-lo's song easier to sing along with.

[RandMcnally]

Originally Posted by Smapti

"Payphone", by Maroon 5 - I heard the unedited version before the radio one. In this case, the radio version changes the couplet "All these fairy tales are full of shit, one more fuckin' love song i'll be sick" to "All these fairy tales are full of it, one more stupid love song i'll be sick" - which to me seems to flow better and make the song sound more sincere and less whiny. (The radio version also removes the guest verse from Wiz Khalifa, of whom I think I can say that no song has ever been improved by his presence, but that's a topic for another time.)

About a month ago I heard the unedited version for the first time. I said the the wife, "Wow, this is a surprisingly vulgar song." I had no idea.

[thelurkinghorror]

Originally Posted by lost4life

Not really my genre, but I'd pick the Black Eyed Peas Let's Get It Started over the original Let's Get Retarded. Just something about the word "Retarded" being repeated over and over is a bit grating.

Dude, it's the Black Eyed Peas. Their songs are grating no matter what. I think that every single one of their songs should song like this. They take their lyrical cues from Rage Against the Machine, except poppier. "Hey guys, I wrote a cool line!" "Awesome! One small change, write 'repeat 40x' on the bottom!"

Originally Posted by silenus

Anything by The Doors. The radio edits are tighter and keep the song flowing, while the unedited versions sag because of Morrison's blatherings. "Break On Through (To the Other Side)" and "The End" are the most notable examples.

Wait, where does he swear in "Break on Through"? I'm not talking about some live version, I mean if there is swearing on the album version, I don't hear it, and radio the same. "The End" has some muttered "fuckfuckfuckyeah" in some versions which you wouldn't notice unless pointed out. And it makes up like 1/100 of the song's length.

If you heard a live version, then yeah, maybe Jim's drunken ramblings are a bit profane, like his seminal hit, "Fuck Her in the Ass" (sic).

On the other hand, if the Doors just started, MTV and/or the radio would probably censor "she gets high." I wish that were a joke.

And if you mean that this has nothing to do with swearing and the radio version of "Light My Fire" is better, I might agree. But it's not what the OP asked.

[BomTek]

I like my women feisty and foul-mouthed, and Miranda Lambert is about as feisty as they come in mainstream country, but I've got to mention her song "Baggage Claim." At the end of the song, she repeats the line, "Come and get it," a couple times. On the album version, the very second time she ends it with, "Come and get your shit." The problem is that the word shit comes after the music ends, and it just disrupts the flow of the whole end of the song. I like that she ends the lyrics with the music on the edited version.

[lost4life]

Originally Posted by thelurkinghorror

Dude, it's the Black Eyed Peas. Their songs are grating no matter what. I think that every single one of their songs should song like this. They take their lyrical cues from Rage Against the Machine, except poppier. "Hey guys, I wrote a cool line!" "Awesome! One small change, write 'repeat 40x' on the bottom!"

I, uh, will pass that on to them? Anyhoo...back to the topic.

[silenus]

Originally Posted by thelurkinghorror

On the other hand, if the Doors just started, MTV and/or the radio would probably censor "she gets high." I wish that were a joke.

And if you mean that this has nothing to do with swearing and the radio version of "Light My Fire" is better, I might agree. But it's not what the OP asked.

In 1967, "high" was a swear word to AM radio!

[Wheelz]

In Tom Petty's You Don't Know How It Feels, the line "Let's roll another joint" is changed to "Let's hit another joint" for the radio version.

I kind of like it because it could still be a reference to smoking pot, even after being "cleaned up" to seem like it's about going to a bar. Two meanings for the price of one! I also can identify with it more because I'm a drinker but not a smoker.

[drewtwo99]

Let's get it started is way better than let's get retarded. So there's one already mentioned.

I like both Fuck You and Forget You, but probably give a slight edge to Fuck You. I agree that 3 syllables actually sounds better than two, but I like the emotions more from Fuck You than from Forget You.

Tonight I'm lovin' you is a terrible cleaned up version of tonight I'm fuckin you, because it completely contradicts the line right before it "Please excuse me I don't mean to be rude..." Why would "tonight I'm loving you" be rude? It's not. Tonight I'm fucking you is DEFINITELY rude, but he just can't help himself. Dumb song either way, really.

Nay, the most epic, legendarily improved song from getting a clean radio edit, is the seminal Superman by Eminem. In one of the cleaned up versions the line "bitches they come they go" became "chickens they come they go" and turned a stupid vulgar song into an amazing allegory on the american chicken farmer.

Another one I remember is an Avril Lavigne song where she said "I'll have to kick your ass and make you never forget" and the cleaned up version was "I'll have to kick your arm and make you never forget." Think about how hard that would be to kick someone in the arm! Makes her even more of a badass if she can pull that off.

[Biffy the Elephant Shrew]

How about one that's not a song but an album cover? The US version of Electric Ladyland, with its dynamic image of a red and yellow-lit Jimi Hendrix looking like he was sculpted out of flames, is miles better than that murky and curiously un-sexy shot of a bunch of women who look like the only reason they're nude is that they need a good bath.

[buddha_david]

The Dr. Demento Show used to play a censored version of George Carlin's "Seven Words You Can Never Say On Television" with unique sound effects in place of each curse word. I always felt the sound effects made the censored version sound more hilarious than the original.

As an aside, it's funny how the radio edit of Green Day's "Longview" will bleep out "you're fuckin' lonely" while leaving the word "masturbation" intact.

[Rattlehead02]

I'm going to have to go with The Bloodhound Gang's Fire Water Burn.

The donkey sound makes a comedic song that much better, I think.

Slightly off topic, but the silliest edit I can think of was for Diamonds and Guns by The Transplants. On MTV they cut the word "guns."

[Just Ed]

Originally Posted by silenus

"Break On Through" has two versions. They are both the same length. The original radio edit just cuts the vocals a bit to "She gets..." rather than "She gets high." The additional word ruins the rhythm.

Originally Posted by thelurkinghorror

Wait, where does he swear in "Break on Through"? I'm not talking about some live version, I mean if there is swearing on the album version, I don't hear it, and radio the same.

On the other hand, if the Doors just started, MTV and/or the radio would probably censor "she gets high." I wish that were a joke.

No joke, we're talking about a drug reference, which was as taboo back in the 60's as it was to Tom Petty in the 90's. "Break on Through" was censored by Elektra at its inception; there never was a "radio edit" really, because the song as played on the radio was the song on the album. The original album version as released (and subsequently made familiar to classic rock fans for decades thereafter) did not contain the full line "She get high," substituting instead "She get" (I believe Hopkins and Sugerman wrote about this in No One Here Gets Out Alive). It was only when the remastered releases came out that the original line was restored to the studio album track. Live versions of course feature Morrison's full preferred lyrics, most notably on Absolutely Live, where he sings the album-version "She get" followed by an extended vamp of "She get high" joined by either Manzarek or Krieger on additional vocals. Wiki has a good piece on it. I too prefer the original version (sans "high"), but I'm not sure if it's more to do with the meter or just the decades-old familiarity of it.

To the topic at hand, I have to say I prefer Cee-Lo's original "Fuck You" for reasons previously stated - I'd posted the YouTube video to my Facebook page at the time pointing out the disparity between the tune and the lyrics.

[Ranchoth]

What does Johnny Cash's version of "Hurt" count as?

[Loach]

Originally Posted by Dr. Righteous

I have to disagree, but not because of the meaning of the words. I feel that in that song 3 syllables ("for-get you") sounds much better to my ears than 2 ("fuck you").

I have to disagree right back. Thisworks better than this. And "ain't that some shit" works better than "shhh" or "stuff".

[gonzoron]

Not sure if there actually is a non-clean version of Kid Rock's "Cowboy", but I always got a kick out of the line: "Cuss like a sailor, drink like a Mick, My only words of wisdom are just, “Radio edit”"

[Smapti]

Originally Posted by Ranchoth

What does Johnny Cash's version of "Hurt" count as?

It was recorded the same way for the album and for radio, so it doesn't. If Reznor had recorded it that way for radio it would, but as I recall his radio version just said "I wear this crown of (silence)".

Speaking on NIN, I do like the radio version of "Closer" which replaces the f-word with a synthetic whip-cracking sound.

[elfkin477]

I like Adam Sandler's "Ode To My Car" better censored, mostly because they used car noises where he swore in the original.

[jackdavinci]

Originally Posted by stpauler

Yeah, the first time I heard the "Forget You" version was the Glee version.

Me too. I found it hilarious though that they actually managed to take a song almost entirely made of curse words and turn it into a passable clean one.

[Bryan Ekers]

The movie Blazing Saddles has had to suffer numerous edits for TV, including one of the "Rock Ridge" song, sung by the townspeople:

...Should we stay or up and quit?
It's nearing time for a decision
Our town is turning into [loud MOOOOOO! from outside]

I later saw saw the original with the last word intact. It wasn't as funny. I suppose a casually dropped "shit" in a church song may have seemed delightfully risqué to the original theatrical audience, but to my jaded ears the moo-interruption actually works better.

[Antigen]

Originally Posted by jackdavinci

Me too. I found it hilarious though that they actually managed to take a song almost entirely made of curse words and turn it into a passable clean one.

This version is even more cleaned up.

[Intergalactic Gladiator]

Originally Posted by elfkin477

I like Adam Sandler's "Ode To My Car" better censored, mostly because they used car noises where he swore in the original.

I was going to mention that one myself. The song gets funnier and funnier as more and more honks and other noises pile up in the song.

[Ludovic]

Originally Posted by gonzoron

Not sure if there actually is a non-clean version of Kid Rock's "Cowboy", but I always got a kick out of the line: "Cuss like a sailor, drink like a Mick, My only words of wisdom are just, “Radio edit”"

I was trying to think of this one too. This was the first time I preferred a radio edit (no pun intended.) According to Wikipedia

Kid Rock wrote the term "radio edit" into two of his songs, both of which are the same on radio and album versions.

but not having the album I can't verify this.

[Annie-Xmas]

Originally Posted by C K Dexter Haven

The song "Officer Krupke" from WEST SIDE STORY:

I personally think the cleaned up version is better in the first two lines, but then they're stuck with the rhyme of "Commie"
I dunno, I think the first is slightly more pertinent ("schmuck" rather than "slob") but "get a job" seems more realistic than "earn a buck.")

Lyricist Stephen Sondheim's book "Finishing the Hat" is a fascinating read on the changes to the WSS lyrics. Originally Officer Krupkie was going to end "Gee Officer Krupkie....FUCK YOU." Sondheim and composer Leonard Bernstein were looking forward to being the first team to use "the F word" in a Broadway show.

Unfortunately, it was discovered that, in those innocent times, putting that word on the cast LP would make it unsellable and obscene. Sondheim was ranting about not being able to find a word to subsistute for Fuck when Bernstein sang out "Gee Officer Krupie...KRUP YOU." And Sondheim agreed it was perfect.

Ans both of them were amazed that "schmuck" got censored for the movie. "Schmuck" is a Yiddish word that orginally meant "jewels" then became a euphanism for "penis" (i.e. family jewels) and now means a nasty person.

[Jophiel]

Originally Posted by Wheelz

In Tom Petty's You Don't Know How It Feels, the line "Let's roll another joint" is changed to "Let's hit another joint" for the radio version.

The only cleaned version I've heard has him saying something like "Let's roll another down". I'm willing to acknowledge that there's other "clean" edits or I've just been hearing it way wrong though.

[Gyrate]

Originally Posted by drewtwo99

I like both Fuck You and Forget You, but probably give a slight edge to Fuck You. I agree that 3 syllables actually sounds better than two, but I like the emotions more from Fuck You than from Forget You.

I agree, although I'm thinking of the Green versions of both rather than anything from Glee.

Originally Posted by Antigen

This version is even more cleaned up.

Which of course everyone immediately translates to "Cluck You".

[Diceman]

Originally Posted by Ludovic

I was trying to think of this one too. This was the first time I preferred a radio edit (no pun intended.) According to Wikipedia but not having the album I can't verify this.

I've got the album. It says "radio edit." The unedited version probably only gets sung at concerts.

[koeeoaddi]

Originally Posted by elfkin477

I like Adam Sandler's "Ode To My Car" better censored, mostly because they used car noises where he swore in the original.

I came here to post just that. The beeped version is hilarious. The unbeeped, just mildly amusing.

[magnusblitz]

I vastly prefer the radio edit of James Blunt's You're Beautiful where he says he's "flying high" instead of "fucking high." The former fits in with it being a nice love song, the latter makes it sound like it's being sung by some dopey pothead.

[Blackzilla]

Originally Posted by Dr. Righteous

I have to disagree, but not because of the meaning of the words. I feel that in that song 3 syllables ("for-get you") sounds much better to my ears than 2 ("fuck you").

I could not disagree more. That beat - "I'm like, {beat} fuck yoooooou" - provides a great syncopation and really punches the "fuck" that comes after it. It also really captures the brain-scrambled, taken-aback shock of the song's narrator - for that one beat, he's completely surprised, flabberghasted, and you can just hear the on his face before he delivers the payoff in response. That one beat also provides a subconscious "what's he going to say? how's he going to react?" effect in the listener even when we've heard the song a million times - the essence of comedic timing even when we know how it's going to pay off. It's masterful.

[Súil Dubh]

Originally Posted by Intergalactic Gladiator

I was going to mention that one myself. The song gets funnier and funnier as more and more honks and other noises pile up in the song.

Not a song, but I thought the censored version of the South Park episode "201" was funnier than the original for similar reasons.

In case you haven't seen or heard of the episode, it was infamous for its inclusion of Mohammed as a character. Comedy Central decided to censor the already completed episode after the creators had submitted it. Comedy Central bleeped over all references to Mohammed, and then for unknown reasons bleeped over most of Kyle's "I think we all learned something today" moralizing speech at the end. They were bleeping over parts that weren't even referring to Mohammed.

I've heard the original, uncensored speech, and it was pretty par for the course for one of Kyle's sermons. By bleeping it to the point of incomprehensibility, it became that much more absurd (and actually gave out a stronger anti-censorship message IMO).

[Lute Skywatcher]

"24s" by T.I. I only know the song from Need for Speed: Underground which, naturally, uses the clean version.