Aw Shucks: Softened Swears in Song

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Elliottmarx, May 2, 2021.

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  1. ajsmith

    ajsmith Senior Member

    Location:
    Glasgow
    ‘Heck Hound on my trail’ by Mark Prindle.
     
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  2. Folknik

    Folknik Forum Resident

    When the Lettermen covered this on their first live album, they even censored what had already been censored by saying "Gee, Officer Krupke, get lost!" They also changed "Social disease" to "Mental disease." We couldn't have the wholesome and clean-cut Lettermen being even close to the "cutting edge."
     
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  3. Folknik

    Folknik Forum Resident

    Kiss: "I just want to fuh---I just want to fuh---I just want to forget you." Years later, Paul McCartney pulled the same trick on "Fuh (for) You", and then said that no double entendre had even crossed his mind and expected us to believe it.
     
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  4. Folknik

    Folknik Forum Resident

    In "The Only Sinner In Salt Lake City" ( a deep cut on Paul's Ride 'Em Cowboy album), he says, "I love Jesus but I love to take a drink and I've been known to cuss out loud." Then he whispers, "****."
     
  5. Folknik

    Folknik Forum Resident

    On Johnny Cash Live At Madison Square Garden, he did "A Boy Named Sue", mocking the censored version by doing the "Beeeeeep!" vocally, and then says, "You can't say 'Son of a *****' on stage."
     
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  6. thnkgreen

    thnkgreen Sprezzatura!

    Location:
    NC, USA
    Classy
     
  7. Celebrated Summer

    Celebrated Summer Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    I'm not sure this fits the thread, but it sure is funny.

    When Stevie Wonder performs his hit "If You Really Love Me" live, he sometimes sends it up. And on the line "What am I supposed to do?" he sometimes sings "Well what the ffffffff" and then continues with the line (to much hilarity).

    It comes up at 3:15 here:

     
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  8. pbuzby

    pbuzby Senior Member

    Location:
    Chicago, IL, US
    On the expanded version of Van Morrison's Moondance there's an outtake of "Caravan" where he sings "so I can fuh....feel you"
     
  9. blackdograilroad

    blackdograilroad Forum Resident

    Location:
    Devon, UK
    John Martyn- Over The Hill- second verse “Can’t get enough of sweet cocaine, get enough of Mary Jane” - JM rerecorded the line for 45 radio play “Can’t get enough of dry champagne.....” but Mary Jane was left in......
     
  10. Wildest cat from montana

    Wildest cat from montana Humble Reader

    Location:
    ontario canada
    When ' John Lennon \ Plastic Mono Band ' was released the lyric sheet was missing the two f-bombs in ' Working Class Hero '
    " Omitted at the insistence of EMI " was substituted in their place.
     
  11. boyjohn

    boyjohn Senior Member

    At least in Australia they got Snoopy and the Red Baron. In Canada, they had to settle for Squeaky and the Black Knight.

     
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  12. MikeInFla

    MikeInFla Glad to be out of Florida

    Location:
    Kalamazoo, MI
    CDB "Devil Went Down To Georgia". I had it on a K-Tel comp and it was "I done told you once you son of a gun I'm the best there's ever been".

    And when I first heard Extreme "Get The Funk Out" on the radio I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I thought "Wow, they allow the F word now on the radio???"

     
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  13. jeendicott

    jeendicott Senior Member

    Guess the substitutions in every live version of Zappa’s Trouble Every Day?

    And it's the same across the nation
    Black & white discrimination
    They're yellin' "; You can't understand me!";
    And all the other jazz they hand me
    In the papers and TV
    'N all that mass stupidity
    That seems to grow more every day
    Each time you hear some nitwit say
    He wants to go and do you in
    Because the color of your skin
    Just don't appeal to him
    (No matter if it's black or white)
    Because he's out for blood tonight.
     
  14. “Aw Heck” John Prine
     
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  15. pbuzby

    pbuzby Senior Member

    Location:
    Chicago, IL, US
    Of the officially released live versions I only found one where he sang that verse (You Can't Do That Onstage Anymore Volume 5), and he did change those two words, the first to the still mild "crap" and the second to a more colorful word.
     
  16. guidedbyvoices

    guidedbyvoices Old Dan's Records

    Location:
    Alpine, TX
    Elvis ‘won’t you wear my ring around your neck, to tell the world I’m yours by heck’
    Sounds so clumsy but the band is hot and elvis somehow makes the rest of the song near perfect.
     
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  17. 1983

    1983 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Appleton, WI (USA)
    Huey Lewis does the same thing for "a$$" in "The Heart of Rock & Roll": "But it's still the same old backbeat rhythm that really kicks 'em in the <drum fill>."

    Def Leppard does something similar in "Armageddon It": "Then you jangle your jewels while you're shakin' your <guitar chord> and drive the pretty boys out of their heads."
     
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  18. bRETT

    bRETT Senior Member

    Location:
    Boston MA
    There was also a promo single of Mr. Clean-- "If I get the chance I'll MUCK up your life."
     
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  19. bRETT

    bRETT Senior Member

    Location:
    Boston MA
    Jumpin' Jehosaphat!

     
  20. uncle

    uncle Senior Member

    Location:
    Mass
    Ed Vedder sometimes changes the lyrics of the song Leash live from "get outta my f-ing face" to "get outta my lucky face". Not on televised shows which I would understand but at regular shows. Changes the whole song for me personally.
     
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  21. Juan Hitwonder

    Juan Hitwonder Forum Resident

    Location:
    NYC
    Beach Boys:
    "Darn my Dad," "Gosh, it's dark."

     
  22. Elliottmarx

    Elliottmarx Always in the mood for Burt Bacharach Thread Starter

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Definitely one of the classic soft swears - that line is so prominent it is like a hook.
     
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  23. RageRomano

    RageRomano Idiot

    Location:
    NJ
    In Faith No More's "Epic" they had to change two lines for the album version, but would always use the original lyrics in live performances.

    Album: "It's so groovy, it's outta sight"
    Live: "It's so groovy, s***s outta sight"

    Album: "So you lay down on it and you do it some more"
    Live: "So you lay down on it and you f*** it some more"
     
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  24. majorlance

    majorlance Forum Resident

    Location:
    PATCO Speedline
    Must have been a Canadian thing. My US lyric sheet had them loud & clear, so to speak.
     
  25. Elliottmarx

    Elliottmarx Always in the mood for Burt Bacharach Thread Starter

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Surely the highlight of thousands of high school productions of West Side Story through the years.
     
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