# Radio censoring songs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 19, 2018, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-censoring-songs/818205 "2018-07-19T14:49:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Monocracy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monocracy/32/4493_2.png) [@Monocracy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monocracy)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-censoring-songs/818205/41 "2018-07-23T17:33:16Z")
A couple years ago, I heard the word “white” censored from a song, and I knew they had finally gone too far (it wasn’t a racial thing). The bleep puts a lampshade on a dirty line that would only be known as dirty to pervs like me. Now everyone knows! It’s not a common censor though, i had to go through three clean versions to find it (it’s about seven seconds in): [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/glb2U6y-GdU/hqdefault.jpg "Kid Rock - Cowboy [Official Enhanced Music Video]") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glb2U6y-GdU) ---
**Author:** ![TheFaerie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c57346/32.png) [@TheFaerie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheFaerie)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-censoring-songs/818205/42 "2018-07-23T17:39:18Z")
The local classic rock station used to play “Who Are You” uncensored until very, very recently (like, this year recently). It’s like someone finally listened to the lyrics and suddenly noticed that a 50 year old song had an actual ‘dirty’ word in it. “Money for Nothing” is played censored on the radio, but Amazon, iTunes and Pandora all play the album version. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-censoring-songs/818205/43 "2018-07-23T17:44:49Z")
> [@caligulathegod](#): > > Yet strangely, The Who song “Who Are You” never gets censored when he yells, “Who the fuck are you?” I’ve read they did record a version that substitutes “hell”, but I’ve never heard it. I remember hearing “Who Are You” uncensored when it first came out in the 70s. Really surprised me at the time. This was on the album oriented stations (probably WMMR, WYPS, and WIOQ in Philly), not Top 40. I’ve only heard it censored on rare occasions. > [@RTFirefly](#): > > For instance, censorship of ‘goddamn’ exists but is hardly universal. I’ve heard Harvey Danger’s “Flagpole Sitta” both ways (“now I’m an amputee, goddamn you”), ditto Panic! at the Disco’s “I Write Sins Not Tragedies” (“Haven’t you ever heard of closing the goddamn door?”). > > In the latter example, the line comes up SIX TIMES during the song, which makes the bleeping incredibly annoying. (Note to radio stations: when the bleeping reaches that level, either play it for real, or don’t play it at all, goddamn it!) I found it very odd that most of the censored versions seem to omit the “god” but leave the “damned” (“Haven’t you ever heard of closing the [del]god[/del]damn door?”). The same edit also censors the line “What a shame the poor groom’s bride is a [del]whore[/del]”. Took years until I heard an uncensored version that I had any idea what the song was about. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-censoring-songs/818205/44 "2018-07-23T19:06:45Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > I remember hearing “Who Are You” uncensored when it first came out in the 70s. Really surprised me at the time. This was on the album oriented stations (probably WMMR, WYPS, and WIOQ in Philly), not Top 40. I’ve only heard it censored on rare occasions. > > I found it very odd that most of the censored versions seem to omit the “god” but leave the “damned” (“Haven’t you ever heard of closing the [del]god[/del]damn door?”). The same edit also censors the line “What a shame the poor groom’s bride is a [del]whore[/del]”. Took years until I heard an uncensored version that I had any idea what the song was about. And, as has been pointed out already with other things, when that conspicuous one-syllable space in front of “damned” shows up, what are people thinking it was supposed to be? Crapdamned? Fuckdamned? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-censoring-songs/818205/45 "2018-07-24T04:04:49Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I listen to the cable music service Music Choice. They have a channel called “classic rock” and one called “70s”. The 70s channel would play the 45 versions, and CR would play the album versions of the same songs. SO you would get funky kicks and the short 45 version of Who Are You on the 70s, and funky shit and Who the Fuck Are You on CR. Since both versions were “legit” it was easy. > > Now, in the puritanical 2010s, both channels play sanitized versions, but the CR channel plays deliberately bowdlerized versions - the Who Are You is the full length album version, but the fucks have been digitally edited. Pink Floyd’s Money is edited into “do goody good bullssssss”. Knopfler sings of the “little [unintelligble murmur to keep the meter] with the earrring and the makeup” > > I’m not sure why we went backwards. It’s really odd. If it’s anything like satellite radio I assume they play the censored versions so they can be played inside stores and other commercial venues. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-censoring-songs/818205.md?page=2)