This is not the first time I’ve heard the claim that the bleeped out part is “son of a bitch.” But I have great difficulty believing it. That phrase is four syllables long, and the meter of the song simply doesn’t allow that many syllables. And the bleep isn’t long enough for such a phrase. To me, it would be difficult to squeeze even two syllables into that space, let alone four.
So here’s my question: Is there any place I can hear the UNbleeped version of that song? All due respect to Uncle Cecil, nothing else would convince me.
I honestly wasn’t aware there was a bleeped version. I’ve always heard the San Quentin version where he clearly says “son of a bitch”. You can find it on youtube easily.
I can’t believe you’re right! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pex_ASYQPM But it does sound a lot longer than the bleep. Gotta compare a few versions. It runs too fast for my stopwatch.
“Fighting ignorance since 1973” – and it IS working, however long it will take!
On a side note, the Staff Report is incorrect in attributing “A Boy Named Sue” to the At Folsom Prison album. It did not appear on that album, but rather on At San Quentin, (the better of the two albums, in my opinion, though I love both).
Yeah, that was more my Georgia relatives though, and probably a better guess for Johnny Cash.
Dad is from New Hampshire. His way is more “sunvabitch” with the “va” half-swallowed like you do with “heav’n” when it doesn’t really fit the scheme of a hymn.
The standard technique for squeezing in syllables is all about using shorter notes. For example, if the meter has quarter notes, you drop to eighth notes for a couple of beats.
Think of the alphabet song, and “lmnop”, where we squeeze four letters in a two letter slot.
You’re assuming that the bleep is the same length as the bit of music that it replaces. I don’t think that’s the case. Try tapping along with the beat as the bleep approaches, continue tapping through the bleep, and you’ll find that when the music resumes you’re out of synch.
