# Offensive Lyrics in Popular Radio Songs. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 12, 2003, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-lyrics-in-popular-radio-songs/181422 "2003-06-12T19:52:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![eno801](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c2a13f/32.png) [@eno801](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eno801)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-lyrics-in-popular-radio-songs/181422/1 "2003-06-12T19:52:58Z")
i’m thinking along the lines of “Money for Nothing” by dire straits with the line “the little faggot with the earring and the makeup” or the stones “Start Me Up” with its lyrics of “you make a dead man come” i hear these regularly on oldies stations and wonder why nobody such as gays complained. i remember when third-eye blind’s song "Semi-Charmed kind of Life came out it was censored with bleeps because it dealt with crank. add to this list ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-lyrics-in-popular-radio-songs/181422/2 "2003-06-12T19:57:43Z")
I could never understand how Lou Reed got away with the reference to “giving head” in “Walk on the Wild Side.” ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-lyrics-in-popular-radio-songs/181422/3 "2003-06-12T19:59:16Z")
Well, on any “classic rock” radio station, you’ll hear 1. the Who sing “Who the f\*\*\* are you?” 2. Pink Floyd singing “Don’t give me that do goody-good bulls\*\*\*” (in “Money”). 3. Steve Miller singing “I don’t want to get caught up in any of that funky s\*\*\* going down in the city.” Those are just a few of the obvious examples. The standards on radio often make little sense. For instance, some years back when Denis Leary’s song “A\*\*hole” was popular, the local radio stations played it, and whenever he SANG naughty words, the words weren’t censored. But during the SPOKEN passages, when he’s ranting (and not singing), the dirty words were all bleeped! Someone who knows FCC regulations better than I may be able to explain it… but apparently, there are certain words you c an’t SAY on radio that CAN be sung! ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-lyrics-in-popular-radio-songs/181422/4 "2003-06-12T20:07:23Z")
> [@](#): > > i’m thinking along the lines of “Money for Nothing” by dire straits with the line “the little faggot with the earring and the makeup” The word is offensive to many, but the song is a satire. That could’ve reduced complaints. > [@](#): > > or the stones “Start Me Up” with its lyrics of “you make a dead man come” You think that’s filthy, you should listen to some old blues stuff. Like the stuff the Stones were usually ripping off. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![fruitbat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58f4c7/32.png) [@fruitbat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fruitbat)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-lyrics-in-popular-radio-songs/181422/5 "2003-06-12T20:16:30Z")
I didn’t think this question was quite worth its own thread, but I’m dying of curiousity. The Van Morrison song Domino has some very odd lyrics \*Don’t want to discuss it I think it’s time for a change You may get disgusted And think I’m strange In that case I’ll go underground Get some heavy rest Never have to worry About what is worst and what is best Oh oh Domino Roll me over Romeo etc . . . - Someone once told me this song referred to a homosexual relationship. I am skeptical of that claim, but can’t come up with an alternate explanation for the lyrics. Would anyone care to help out? ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-lyrics-in-popular-radio-songs/181422/6 "2003-06-12T20:19:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Marley23 \* > \*\*You think that’s filthy, you should listen to some old blues stuff. Like the stuff the Stones were usually ripping off. 😉 \*\* Such as Louise Bogan (Bessie Jackson)'s “Shave 'em Dry,” whence the Stones borrowed that particular line. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-lyrics-in-popular-radio-songs/181422/7 "2003-06-12T20:27:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by fruitbat \* > > * * * > > Roll me over Romeo etc . . . > \* > Someone once told me this song referred to a homosexual relationship. \*\* Hmm. I’ve always heard that line as “Romeo, my Romeo” (a direct quote from “Romeo & Juliet”), not the more sexually suggestive “roll me over.” But a Google search shows that not one lyric source agrees with me. ---
**Author:** ![jk1245](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/49beb7/32.png) [@jk1245](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jk1245)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-lyrics-in-popular-radio-songs/181422/8 "2003-06-12T20:36:14Z")
How about another Stones’ tune, “Brown Sugar” Pretty much the entire thing is offensive, but it’s still a great song. There’s also no way in hell it’d be released today. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-lyrics-in-popular-radio-songs/181422/9 "2003-06-12T20:39:27Z")
Maybe I’m naive Fruitbat, but I was always under the impression that the song was about how difficult it was to hear early rock & roll and R&B records on Irish radio when Morrison was growing up. (Hence, the “Hey Mr. D. J., I just want to hear some rhythm and blues music on the radio” line at the end of the song.) Also, the “Domino” mentioned in the song is Fats Domino. ---
**Author:** ![Tanaqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@Tanaqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tanaqui)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-lyrics-in-popular-radio-songs/181422/10 "2003-06-12T21:35:22Z")
Semi-Charmed Life was the first one that came to mind. I was under the impression that it was viewed as offensive cause it mentioned crystal meth AND oral sex, namely in the lines: _Smiling in the pictures you would take Doing crystal myth Will lift you up until you break_ and _She’s got her own motivation She comes round and she goes down on me And I make her smile_ I’ve heard Closer by NIN on the radio. You know, _I want to fuck you like an animal I want to feel you from the inside_ It’s censored of course, but it’s obvious what it means. The whole song seems pretty damn offensive to me. (Not that I mind, I love NIN.) ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-lyrics-in-popular-radio-songs/181422/11 "2003-06-12T22:47:07Z")
**Smoke Two Joints** by Sublime gets airplay back home in CA quite often. Usually with minimum edits. ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-lyrics-in-popular-radio-songs/181422/12 "2003-06-12T23:06:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Biffy the Elephant Shrew \* > \*\*I could never understand how Lou Reed got away with the reference to “giving head” in “Walk on the Wild Side.” \*\* Whenever I hear that song today, I’m always a little taken aback by the line “and the colored girls sing…” I know it was common and inoffensive then, but it just sounds bad now. I saw a live performance of “Walk on the Wild Side” on Comedy Central’s _Night of Stars_ (or some title along those lines) a few days ago. Lou Reed was performing the song with several celebrities. He changed the lyric in question to “and the black girls sing…” There were no black girls there to sing for him, though. I’ve heard “Let’s Go Smoke Some Pot” by Dash Rip Rock (possibly the most misattributed song on P2P networks; search for it and you’ll see it attributed to over a dozen different artists, none of them correct) on the radio many times. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-lyrics-in-popular-radio-songs/181422/13 "2003-06-13T00:53:14Z")
Actually most of these **did** cause quite an uproar when they were released. If you listen to _Money for Nothing_ on their greatest hits CD you’ll note that MfN is expurgated. Where the ‘little faggot’ line comes in there is instead ‘Move-a Move-a’ that normally occurs later in the song. I seem to recall a big flap about it from gay rights groups when it was released and for a while MTV wouldn’t play the full version so the popular video was bowdlerized. Same thing for the initial single release of ‘Walk on the Wild Side’. The ‘giving head’ verse simply didn’t exist on the initial single release and only appeared on the LP. Sometimes even labelling does get it. There’s a (possibly apocryphal) story that when the Rolling Stones released ‘Paint it Black’ as a single the label read ‘Paint it, Black’. Hoo boy. All those songs **astorian** mentions up there (Who are you, Money, and Jet Airliner) were released on single for radio play with the offensive words removed prior to release. No complaints were required to have that happen, the label just released it that way. But what do I know? I listen to XM. They don’t censor a damn thing on the stations I listen (though they do on others). ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-lyrics-in-popular-radio-songs/181422/14 "2003-06-13T01:26:11Z")
Jefferson Starship’s _Miracles_: “I got a taste of the real world When I went down on you girl” This line is from the LP edit usually played on FM stations while it was edited out of the AM version. ---
**Author:** ![nitroglycerine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c5a1d2/32.png) [@nitroglycerine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nitroglycerine)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-lyrics-in-popular-radio-songs/181422/15 "2003-06-13T01:49:39Z")
Chuck Berry pushed the line with “My Ding-A-Ling”, and nobody mentioned ZZ Tops ode to titty fucking, “Pearl Necklace”. I still laugh evey time I hear that song on the radio. Lots more Stones too. “Let It Bleed” (We all need someone we can cream on…") Star Star (Not sure if the Steve McQueen head reference came [no pun intended] before Lou Reeds or not), Bitch and probably a bunch more that get classic rock radio airplay. Relax (don’t do it) is kind of explicit too, and who can listen to “Come On Eileen” without thinking of that old joke (Whats worse than shit on Farrah Fawcett…) 🙂 Jon ---
**Author:** ![White\_Lightning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@White\_Lightning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/White_Lightning)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-lyrics-in-popular-radio-songs/181422/16 "2003-06-13T03:37:39Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by_\* astorian \*\*\* > 3) Steve Miller singing “I don’t want to get caught up in any of that funky s\*\*\* going down in the city.” Actually they almost always play the single version as **JC** mentioned which goes “funky _kicks_ going down in the city”. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-lyrics-in-popular-radio-songs/181422/17 "2003-06-13T04:12:22Z")
Any time you hear about “jelly roll” in a blues song… well, it ain’t got nothing to do with a bakery. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-lyrics-in-popular-radio-songs/181422/18 "2003-06-13T12:17:17Z")
Puts a whole new context on ‘Jelly Roll Morton’, doesn’t it? Let’s not forget that Chuck Berry’s original Johnny B Goode wasn’t a ‘country boy’ but a ‘colored boy’. No way he’d get popular airplay then. But he did get some of his own back with ‘Brown-Eyed Handsome Man’ in which he extolled the virtues of Brown-eyed men for which he meant himself and others who had brown eyes and skin. Go, Chuck, Go! ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-lyrics-in-popular-radio-songs/181422/19 "2003-06-13T13:18:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Biffy the Elephant Shrew \* > \*\*Hmm. I’ve always heard that line as “Romeo, my Romeo” (a direct quote from “Romeo & Juliet”), not the more sexually suggestive “roll me over.” But a Google search shows that not one lyric source agrees with me. \*\* Having just checked the LP (through good headphones), I’m convinced that I was right all along. Van sings “Romeo, my Romeo.” ---
**Author:** ![Hamadryad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6de8d8/32.png) [@Hamadryad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamadryad)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-lyrics-in-popular-radio-songs/181422/20 "2003-06-13T13:34:48Z")
This is wholly unresearched so I don’t know why I’m posting but OH WELL… I have seen, more than once, in trivia questions, “What color are the colored girls in Lou Reed’s ‘Walk on the Wild Side?’” with the correct answer being “White.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-lyrics-in-popular-radio-songs/181422.md?page=2)