# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![UES\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/76d3ee/32.png) [@UES\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UES_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-lyrics-in-popular-radio-songs/181422/21 "2003-06-13T17:12:43Z")
Back in the day, I remember being amazed at the obscene words that sometimes were allowed to slip onto the radio. Pearl Jam’s “Jeremy”: _clearly I remember_ _pickin’ on the boy_ _seemed a harmless little fuck_ although sometimes you’ll hear the radio edit version, which just drops the “fuck”. Alice in Chain’s “Man in the Box”: _I’m the man in the box_ _buried in my shit_ I think I’ve also heard a radio version of that song in which “shit” is replaced with “spit”. Tool’s “Prison Sex”: _I have found some kind of temporary sanity in this_ _Shit, blood, and come on my hands_ The subject matter of the song is not something you hear too many musicians tackle, either 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![widdershins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f0a364/32.png) [@widdershins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/widdershins)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-lyrics-in-popular-radio-songs/181422/22 "2003-06-13T17:40:09Z")
One of our local classic rock stations, back when they still played “deep cuts” and non-singles used to get away with playing “Some Girls” by the Stones quite often. I was always surprised how many stations used to play “Rough Boys” by Pete Townsend. I never heard a comment about it or a DJ make a joke about the gay theme of the song until after that minor uproar in the early 90s when Townsend talked about his own homosexual experiences, then it was open season. But you rarely heard the song on the radio (around where I live anyway) after that. And I’ve been wondering lately, would the Hank Williams song “Kaw-Liga” be considered offensive by Native Americans these days? ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-lyrics-in-popular-radio-songs/181422/23 "2003-06-13T18:02:18Z")
“Come on Eileen” I mean, really, how do they get away with that? ---
**Author:** ![Polairis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@Polairis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polairis)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-lyrics-in-popular-radio-songs/181422/24 "2003-06-13T18:40:46Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by astorian_ > Someone who knows FCC regulations better than I may be able to explain it… a friend of mine who is in the radio business told me that the FCC does not directly get involved in what can and cannot be said or sung on a local radio station… rather, it is the local community themselves that have the right to complain and possibly restrict content on the station ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-lyrics-in-popular-radio-songs/181422/25 "2003-06-13T20:09:57Z")
Does anyone listen to [DMX](http://www.dmxmusic.com/) on their digital cable or satellite systems? I listen to the Hard Rock channel and some of the songs leave in the profanity, while others have the profanity muted or cut out altogether. I find this inconsistency rather odd. The web site even warns that on the Hard Rock channel that the songs contain explicit lyrics. ---
**Author:** ![Sister\_Vigilante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Sister\_Vigilante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sister_Vigilante)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-lyrics-in-popular-radio-songs/181422/26 "2003-06-13T21:49:22Z")
Another part of Semi-Charmed Life, that doesn’t usually get airplay, but does on my local station is: “F\*\*\* her with her belly face down on the mattress.” Unbleeped. ---
**Author:** ![amy\_shamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c4cdca/32.png) [@amy\_shamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amy_shamon)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-lyrics-in-popular-radio-songs/181422/27 "2003-06-18T02:15:49Z")
also in semi charmed life it says “how do i get back to that place where i fell asleep inside you” or something like that ---
**Author:** ![Krisfer\_the\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Krisfer\_the\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Krisfer_the_Cat)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-lyrics-in-popular-radio-songs/181422/28 "2003-06-18T03:52:04Z")
You all listen to WAY to much Third Eye Blind… and no one even commented on the sexual quality of the band name… shame shame the offensive lyrics I am occasionally forced to hear are all those rah rah we are awesome because we are Americans crapola on the country stations… Give me a little sex any day:cool: ---
**Author:** ![SanibelMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@SanibelMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanibelMan)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-lyrics-in-popular-radio-songs/181422/29 "2003-06-18T05:58:15Z")
I don’t know the song or the band, but there’s a line: _It’s been awhile, but I can still remember just the way you taste_ Okay, so maybe he’s talking about her saliva. But somehow I don’t think that’s it. And I had no idea there were so many “dirty” lines in “Semi-Charmed Kind of Life” – the only one I knew was the _How do I get myself back to the place where I fell asleep inside you_ part. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-lyrics-in-popular-radio-songs/181422/30 "2003-06-18T06:29:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SanibelMan \* > \*\*And I had no idea there were so many “dirty” lines in “Semi-Charmed Kind of Life” – the only one I knew was the _How do I get myself back to the place where I fell asleep inside you_ part. \*\* The part that always offended me in that song was when he starts saying _Doot doot doot, doot da doot doot_ ---
**Author:** ![djbdjb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@djbdjb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/djbdjb)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-lyrics-in-popular-radio-songs/181422/31 "2003-06-18T06:41:53Z")
Back when it was topical to flame the Dixie Chicks, I tried to generate some indignation for their “ode to Lorena Bobbit”:[Goodbye Earl](http://www.geocities.com/dixiechickslyrics/fly_lyrics/goodbye_earl.html) \*Earl had to die Goodbye Earl We need a break Let’s go out to the lake Earl We’ll pack a lunch And stuff you in the trunk Earl … \* Some people mentioned Eminem… I thought two wrongs don’t make a right, but maybe some new catalyitic process has been discovered? ---
**Author:** ![Skijumper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3e96dc/32.png) [@Skijumper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skijumper)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-lyrics-in-popular-radio-songs/181422/32 "2003-06-18T15:03:16Z")
This ought to be a ‘Semi-Charmed Life is dirty!’ thread > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tanaqui \* > \*\*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: > > _She’s got her own motivation > She comes round and she goes down on me > And I make her smile_\*\* it goes on: _Like a drug for you Do ever what you want to do Coming over you_ Also heard on air - ‘live’ at the Grammys, Alanis Morrissette’s **You Oughta Know** : _Are you thinking of me when you f\*\*k her?_ I watched a rerun of it - wasn’t bleeped out. ---
**Author:** ![Muldoon\_s\_Squishiness](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/13edae/32.png) [@Muldoon\_s\_Squishiness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muldoon_s_Squishiness)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-lyrics-in-popular-radio-songs/181422/33 "2003-06-18T15:11:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jk1245 \* > \*\*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. \*\* Compared to what is played on the radio today, **Brown Sugar** is tame and utterly harmless. Plus, Jaggers vocals are purposefully buried so far down in the mix that it’s hard to discern them at all. I just love that when he is asked about **Brown Sugar** in interviews, Jagger says that he isn’t sure what the lyrics are, as it’s been nearly 30 years since the song was recorded. Right. here’s a song that you’ve probably performed in concert no less then 700 times and you rehearsed the damn thing over a 1000 times, yet for the life of you, you can’t remember the lyrics. ---
**Author:** ![Breezy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b3f665/32.png) [@Breezy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Breezy)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-lyrics-in-popular-radio-songs/181422/34 "2003-06-18T16:19:15Z")
Yeah, Alannis gets to say “Is she perverted like me? Would she go down on you in a theatre?” on the radio. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-lyrics-in-popular-radio-songs/181422/35 "2003-06-18T19:37:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SanibelMan \* > \*\*I don’t know the song or the band, but there’s a line: > > _It’s been awhile, but I can still remember just the way you taste_ > > Okay, so maybe he’s talking about her saliva. But somehow I don’t think that’s it. > > \*\* Could it be [Our Lady Peace - Somewhere Out There?](http://www-user.tu-chemnitz.de/~dirhe/our_lady_peace-somewhere_out_there.html) ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-lyrics-in-popular-radio-songs/181422/36 "2003-06-18T21:39:01Z")
> [@](#): > > I don’t know the song or the band, but there’s a line: > > It’s been awhile, but I can still remember just the way you taste Staind - It’s Been Awhile. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-lyrics-in-popular-radio-songs/181422/37 "2003-06-18T22:04:30Z")
**Jonathan Chance** wrote: > [@](#): > > 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’. Huh? How come? (I’m not sure I follow your meaning.) ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-lyrics-in-popular-radio-songs/181422/38 "2003-06-18T22:53:31Z")
As **Polairis** said, the FCC is not in the business of checking the lyrics of every song played on the radio anywhere in the country against some list of forbidden words. It’s only if listeners complain to the FCC that radio stations will be fined. So, what can and cannot be heard on the radio is due to community standards and the decisions of whoever is setting the playlist. But, as has been mentioned, if an artist records a track with potentially offensive lyrics the record label will often see to it that an altered version (the “radio edit”) is released as the single. ---
**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 18, 2003, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-lyrics-in-popular-radio-songs/181422/39 "2003-06-18T23:42:24Z")
> [@](#): > > ## \*Originally posted by spoke- \* \*\ ***Jonathan Chance** wrote: > > ## 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’. > > Huh? How come? (I’m not sure I follow your meaning.) \*\* It wasn’t just the single, but it was only on American pressings of the song. It was a typo, and didn’t mean anything, but some people–what you might call the “Paul is dead” crowd–took it as some kind of racial message. ---
**Author:** ![Qwertyasdfg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/ecc23a/32.png) [@Qwertyasdfg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qwertyasdfg)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-lyrics-in-popular-radio-songs/181422/40 "2003-06-19T04:55:00Z")
There are quite a few Led Zeppelin songs: Whole Lotta Love “way down in side, woman, you need love” “I’m gonna give you every inch of my love” Lemon Song “Squeeze my lemon, til the juice runs down my leg, squeeze it so I fall right out of bed” The entire song “Trampled Underfoot” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-lyrics-in-popular-radio-songs/181422.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/offensive-lyrics-in-popular-radio-songs/181422.md?page=3)