# I pit Cee Lo Green **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 3, 2012, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cee-lo-green/608247 "2012-01-03T08:13:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Meatros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cee-lo-green/608247/41 "2012-01-03T17:41:05Z")
> [@orcenio](#): > > Well, Cee-lo certainly messed up with this time, but I wouldn’t make that leap. > > If you question the emotional depth of his work I highly suggest you check out the song [Who’s Gonna Save My Soul](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lomNiMATjk#t=01m33s) ([studio version](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4bvRamMiY4&ob=av3e)) which he did with Danger Mouse. This song was washed off the radio by the catchiness of “Crazy,” but it’s hauntingly dirge-like hymn is mind blowing (to me at least). > > My general feeling is that he knew what exactly John Lennon meant with that line and felt he couldn’t recite it (knowing **full well** it was blasphemous). So he changed it and thought no one would care enough to complain. Fair enough, I will give a listen to that song, when I’m able. Perhaps your interpretation of the events is correct, that he simply wasn’t able to say the line because he found it was blasphemous and in turn changed it to something less so, even though it made the line incoherent. Is he a deeply religious man though? He never struck me as such, then again, I don’t know much about him. I just figured anyone on “the voice” was automatically in league with Satan… ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cee-lo-green/608247/42 "2012-01-03T17:56:05Z")
He does apparently come from a religious background, but particualrly if you are conventionally religious, “All religions true” is just as blasphemous as “no religion, too.” The difference is that one is atheistic and anti-religious in that it’s a criticism of the idea of believing in someone else’s doctrine, and the other is a generic Hallmark Greeting Card sentiment that doesn’t make a lot of sense, doesn’t fit with the rest of the song, and doesn’t even fit very well with the explanation Green gave. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cee-lo-green/608247/43 "2012-01-03T18:06:54Z")
Sounds like a stupid change. I will never understand the love affair people have with that song, though. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cee-lo-green/608247/44 "2012-01-03T18:12:49Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > Sounds like a stupid change. > > I will never understand the love affair people have with that song, though. Some of its covers are great for falling asleep to, IME. I’m not much of a slow songs kind of girl, ok? ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cee-lo-green/608247/45 "2012-01-03T18:15:31Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > And what exactly does “all religion’s true” mean? > > Does it mean that Judaism, which explicitly rejects Christ’s divinity, is true, and Christianity, which is based on it, is also true? > > Or is this just a big “Fuck You” to Lennon? I doubt that he thought so hard on it. He probably just didn’t like the idea of no religion, and doesn’t know or care about the logical contradictions of all of them being true. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cee-lo-green/608247/46 "2012-01-03T18:23:48Z")
I don’t know a lot about Cee Lo, but he doesn’t strike me as a stupid man. He does strike me as someone who would do this for exactly the response it’s getting. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cee-lo-green/608247/47 "2012-01-03T18:25:26Z")
John Lennon wasn’t a poet, a philosopher, or a particularly deep thinker. Just about anything he said has been said better by somebody else, usually a _lot_ better. I’m not affected by the premises of the song, I’m affected by the _yearning_ the song expresses, trapped between a dying world and a world that may never be born. That, I relate to. ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cee-lo-green/608247/48 "2012-01-03T18:29:55Z")
I guess I wasn’t crazy when I thought I heard the change. FWIW, I don’t particularly like the song because when I imagine no religion and no concern about the afterlife I tend to visualize anarchy with massive looting and violence (yes-I’m a bit of a pessimist). That said, if you don’t want to sing about no religion then just skip that verse. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cee-lo-green/608247/49 "2012-01-03T18:34:52Z")
> [@psychobunny](#): > > FWIW, I don’t particularly like the song because when I imagine no religion and no concern about the afterlife I tend to visualize anarchy with massive looting and violence (yes-I’m a bit of a pessimist). That’s not pessimistic, it’s idiotic. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cee-lo-green/608247/50 "2012-01-03T18:36:03Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > I doubt that he thought so hard on it. He probably just didn’t like the idea of no religion, and doesn’t know or care about the logical contradictions of all of them being true. Then maybe he should have chosen a different song to sing. I’m wondering if “Imagine there’s no heavan … no hell below us …” didn’t seem like as big a blaspheme. Or did he change those lines too? ---
**Author:** ![Lare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@Lare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lare)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cee-lo-green/608247/51 "2012-01-03T18:40:05Z")
I think it was George Carlin who once suggested that maybe it would be funny if whatever anyone believed was right. If you believed in God, you’d die and meet Him. If you didn’t you’d rot in the ground. (Of course, he managed to make this much funnier than I just did.) If this were to be the case, then yes, all religions would be true. If Cee Lo Green were cognizant of that, and if he were a deep thinker…nah. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cee-lo-green/608247/52 "2012-01-03T18:46:29Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > I’m wondering if “Imagine there’s no heavan … no hell below us …” didn’t seem like as big a blaspheme. Or did he change those lines too? No, he didn’t change those lines. I agree that little thought went into the change he did make. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cee-lo-green/608247/53 "2012-01-03T19:12:15Z")
Presumably people who liked his version will be okay with changing some lyrics in the Star-Spangled Banner? I could make some suggestions. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cee-lo-green/608247/54 "2012-01-03T19:36:11Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > Presumably people who liked his version will be okay with changing some lyrics in the Star-Spangled Banner? I could make some suggestions. Ooh, I’ll start: “Oh, say does that star-spangled banana still waaaaave…” ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cee-lo-green/608247/55 "2012-01-03T19:46:42Z")
Wasn’t Cee Lo Green the guy that did the voice of the singing Demon Hot Tub on that episode of _American Dad_? ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cee-lo-green/608247/56 "2012-01-03T20:11:35Z")
What about the time that Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel changed the lyrics to that Simon & Garfunkel song. You know the one _Kodachrome_ where Simon & Garfunkel sing “everything looks worse in black and white”, but when Simon and Garfunkel sang it in Central Park they changed it to the exact opposite, “Everything looks better in black and white”. Blasphemers!! I bet Simon & Garfunkel are turning over in their graves over the change made by Simon and Garfunkel ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cee-lo-green/608247/57 "2012-01-03T20:18:11Z")
Garfunkel wasn’t involved in the recording of “Kodachrome,” which appeared on the album _There Goes Rhymin’ Simon_ ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cee-lo-green/608247/58 "2012-01-03T20:22:23Z")
You know, I have a hard time caring about this, but anyone saying it’s the exact same thing as a parody or as an artist changing the lyrics to their own songs is either full of shit or retarded. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cee-lo-green/608247/59 "2012-01-03T20:40:51Z")
> [@FuriousGeorge](#): > > Eh… when you have the Bieb going all Kidz Bop on **Let It Be** , Cee Lo changing the words to **Imagine** is not the biggest tragedy in Times Square on NYE and loses some of it’s RO. And didn’t he make a _slow_ song…even slow oh er? ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cee-lo-green/608247/60 "2012-01-03T21:17:42Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > Presumably people who liked his version will be okay with changing some lyrics in the Star-Spangled Banner? I could make some suggestions. But see, it’s not anyone’s national anthem. It’s just a treacly pop song. People shouldn’t treat this thing like it’s a sacred cow and should stop freaking out over a reference to religion. Show some perspective. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cee-lo-green/608247.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cee-lo-green/608247.md?page=4)