# Bowdlerized songs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 10, 2020, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bowdlerized-songs/847752 "2020-02-10T22:25:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Daylate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9dc877/32.png) [@Daylate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daylate)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2020, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bowdlerized-songs/847752/41 "2020-02-12T04:11:56Z")
Everything written by Stephen Foster has been bowdlerized. And that great old WWII song “Bless 'em All” has been heavily bowdlerized. It is a lot more fun to sing in the original version. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2020, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bowdlerized-songs/847752/42 "2020-02-12T19:56:02Z")
> [@whitetho](#): > > More precisely, DC-101 is a Classic Rock radio station _owned by iHeart Media_, the largest radio company in the U.S., which I’ve noticed is very skittish about “naughty words”. In my local market the Classic Rock station is also owned by iHeart, and on numerous occasions I’ve heard them remove words from songs like “Who Are You?” by The Who that other stations have been playing uncut for years. The local iHeart Media pop station in my area censors a line in Rihanna’s “S&M” from _Sex in the air, I love the smell of it_ to _\ in the air, I love the smell of it_ which makes the song sound much dirtier than it already is. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bowdlerized-songs/847752/43 "2020-02-13T05:14:33Z")
Baby Shark. Apparently the original song as sung by kids at camp was filled with people getting their body parts chewed off by the sharks. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2020, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bowdlerized-songs/847752/44 "2020-02-14T00:55:34Z")
If self-bowdlerization counts, then “Forget You”/“Fuck You”/“FU” by CeeLo Green. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2020, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bowdlerized-songs/847752/45 "2020-02-14T03:03:12Z")
Battle of New Orleans was first released by its composer, Jimmy Driftwood. In spite of dicey lyrics, Johnny Horton was out within a week with a sanitized POS that axed “hell”, rewrote other words, and deleted more than half the stanzas, instead repeating one over again. Listen to the embarassing Horton version with a brown paper bag over your head. ---
**Author:** ![TCMF-2L](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tcmf-2l/32/16553_2.png) [@TCMF-2L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TCMF-2L)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2020, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bowdlerized-songs/847752/46 "2020-02-14T17:28:24Z")
The **Radiohead** song **Creep** had the line “Y_ou’re so fucking special_” replaced by “_You’re so very special_” for the single version. TCMF-2L ---
**Author:** ![TCMF-2L](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tcmf-2l/32/16553_2.png) [@TCMF-2L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TCMF-2L)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2020, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bowdlerized-songs/847752/47 "2020-02-14T17:37:56Z")
According to legend the manager of British Punk Band **The Sex Pistols** - that’ll be **Malcolm McLaren** - ordered them to write a song called **Submission**. **McLaren** intending it to be in gerneral terms controversial but in commerical terms possibly benefical for sales from his clothing shop **SEX** which specialised in bondage wear. However the band resented being ordered about and wrote the song about a “_submarine mission_” bowdlerising the whole concept. TCMF-2L ---
**Author:** ![TCMF-2L](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tcmf-2l/32/16553_2.png) [@TCMF-2L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TCMF-2L)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2020, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bowdlerized-songs/847752/48 "2020-02-14T17:51:46Z")
An example of a bowdlerised performance. In 1989 **Marc Almond** (formerly of **Soft Cell** ) did a duet of “ **Something’s Gotten Hold of My Heart** ” with **Gene Pitney**. **Almond** - not only gay but his previous musical history vaguely referenced deviant sex - notes that he was absolutely ORDERED not to look at **Pitney** when making the promotional video less audiences get the wrong idea and be shocked by two men singing a love song. **Almond** says it turned out to be his most controversial song - This from a man who recorded a song called **Sex Dwarf.** TCMF-2L ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2020, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bowdlerized-songs/847752/49 "2020-02-14T18:11:13Z")
Louis Prima’s popular recorded version of _Sheik of Araby_ changed the background vocals from their stage act. On stage they sing “With no pants on” and “Naked as a jaybird” instead of the recorded “With no turban on” and “Jumpin’ as a jaybird”. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2020, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bowdlerized-songs/847752/50 "2020-02-14T20:52:39Z")
There’s a version of Van Morrison’s Brown-Eyed Girl that changes the relatively tame and innocuous “Making love in the green grass/behind the stadium”, by clipping a line from a prior verse and turning it into “Laughing and a-running/behind the stadium” Sirius XM uses the bowdlerized version. Jeez louise, I’m subscribing, I’m a grown up; I can handle the concept of making love in the green grass. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2020, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bowdlerized-songs/847752/51 "2020-02-14T21:10:46Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Sirius XM uses the bowdlerized version. Sirius XM is the worst for this. They changed Britney Spear’s “Work Bitch” into “Work Work” But the most eyebrow raising line I heard was in Wheatus’ _Teenage Dirtbag_. Changing the line “Her boyfriend’s a dick, he brings a gun to school” into "Her boyfriend’s a dick, he brings a \_\_\_ to school ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2020, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bowdlerized-songs/847752/52 "2020-02-15T00:50:02Z")
> [@xizor](#): > > Sirius XM is the worst for this. They changed Britney Spear’s “Work Bitch” into “Work Work” Or the radio edit of Fergie’s “Glamorous” which changes the lyric from “If you ain’t got no money take your broke ass home” to “take your broke broke home.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bowdlerized-songs/847752.md?page=2)