Top-40 hit lyrics of the past that would not be acceptable today

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Panther, Dec 12, 2019.

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  1. Jmac1979

    Jmac1979 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Louisville, KY
    Actually there is. I only hear the censored version anymore which completely omits the second verse and goes straight to Sting's "got to install microwave ovens" bridge. Every time I hear it flipping radio, I actually am curious to find out if they're going to play the uncensored version, and they never do.



    As a gay man, I'm actually not offended by this song, nor am I offended by Fairytale Of New York by The Pogues which surprisingly hasn't shown up on this thread (huge UK standard, only knew to alternative/college rock US listeners)
     
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  2. bRETT

    bRETT Senior Member

    Location:
    Boston MA

    Had no idea this existed, but apparently this is how it was originally released as a single (and it's on the compilation album which I own and never play!) And very good point on "Fairtytale."
     
    DavidD likes this.
  3. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product

    I certainly don't believe in belligerently offending people. From my perspective it often seems people are looking for something to be offended about these days.
     
  4. Joy-of-radio

    Joy-of-radio Forum Resident

    Location:
    Central ME
    I got pictures, got candy, I'm a lovable man
    I'd like to take you to the nearest star!

    Terrific record and group! :)
     
  5. Danby Delight

    Danby Delight Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston
    Or anyone who is anywhere near a station playing Christmas music this time of year, when it is so inescapable that even as someone who cried actual tears over Kirsty's death, I get sick of it within days. (To be fair, this is Boston where the Pogues are revered as drunken gods.)
     
  6. Joy-of-radio

    Joy-of-radio Forum Resident

    Location:
    Central ME
    I don’t see where “You Don’t Own Me“ would be offensive these days. In fact, with the rise of feminism, I would think that the song would be embraced.
     
  7. Danby Delight

    Danby Delight Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston
    I think that's exactly what he was saying, actually. Lesley is a gay icon, incidentally. I have a friend who does her songs in his drag act, and they always go down a storm.
     
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  8. zebop

    zebop Well Known Stranger

    I "remember" another. Here's a write-up.

    In 1978, Pat Boone had a surprise hit on the Warner/Curb label called, "Hey Lady! You're Fat!" It hit the top 40 before all singles were destroyed and the tapes were erased. :nauga::D
     
  9. seed_drill

    seed_drill Senior Member

    Location:
    Tryon, NC, USA
    I don't think Jim Croce's tails about inner city hoodlums, "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" and "You Don't Mess Around With Jim", would pass muster today, particularly when he slips in dialect.
     
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  10. seed_drill

    seed_drill Senior Member

    Location:
    Tryon, NC, USA
    Plus he wrote that song to/about his then girlfriend, still wife.
     
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  11. thehatandbeard

    thehatandbeard Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    Coincidentally I’ve got the telly on and it has just now been used in an advert so I think it’s probably OK!
     
  12. seed_drill

    seed_drill Senior Member

    Location:
    Tryon, NC, USA
    You don't need to make up stuff to put Pat Boone on this list. While Pat wasn't a writer, this was his final top 40 hit.


    On the other hand, I think Pat excised the "Let Me A** Go Loose, Bruce" line from his cover of Tie Me Kangaroo Down. Rolf Harris himself later said he regretted the lyric. Probably not as badly as he's regretting the rapes, but I'm sure it weighs heavily on his conscious.
     
    Last edited: Dec 12, 2019
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  13. lastdamdown

    lastdamdown Forum Resident

    Location:
    Hillsboro, OR
    "Rock You Like A Hurricane"-SCORPIONS
     
  14. MikeM

    MikeM Senior Member

    Location:
    Youngstown, Ohio
    That was exactly what I was saying — in response to the poster who asserted that "practically anything Lesley Gore recorded" would fit the theme of this thread. I cited "You Don't Own Me" as the most obvious counter-example.

    And yes, "You Don't Own Me" has been embraced just as you indicate — to the point that an entire segment on NPR's Morning Edition was devoted to this song earlier this year.
     
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  15. seed_drill

    seed_drill Senior Member

    Location:
    Tryon, NC, USA
    Of course Randy Newman wasn't body shaming. But, when it became a hit his intentions didn't mean that the larger kids didn't use the song to tease the short kids at school.

    Not that I believe Newman, or any songwriter, should harbor concerns about kids misconstruing lyrics. Well, except Harry Chapin and his song "Sniper." A first person active shooter song was probably a bad idea then, and should be an absolute no-no in today's environment.
     
  16. Ryan Lux

    Ryan Lux Senior Member

    Location:
    Toronto, ON, CA
    My wife and I play this one at senior's homes. Goes over really well! Haha
     
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  17. CliffL

    CliffL Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sacramento CA USA
    Wow...never heard of that one. I'm off to see if it's on YouTube.
     
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  18. violarules

    violarules Senior Member

    Location:
    Baltimore, MD
    "Maybe I Know" ain't great.... I mean, it's a very good pop song, but the lyrics... :sigh:
     
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  19. Ryan Lux

    Ryan Lux Senior Member

    Location:
    Toronto, ON, CA
    Banned from Christmas radio in our neck of the woods. Disgusting. Not that it's a particularly great tune, IMHO. Honestly, who are these people with 0 understanding of how the sexes often relate to each other?
     
  20. seed_drill

    seed_drill Senior Member

    Location:
    Tryon, NC, USA
    While it only makes it marginally better, I think he follows her up the stairs to her apartment, because she goes up the stairs first, and then in her door.
     
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  21. seed_drill

    seed_drill Senior Member

    Location:
    Tryon, NC, USA
    I'm just mad about saffron
    A-saffron's mad about me
    I'm-a just mad about saffron
    She's just mad about me

    They call me mellow yellow (Quite rightly)
    They call me mellow yellow (Quite rightly)
    They call me mellow yellow

    I'm just mad about fourteen
    Fourteen's mad about me
    I'm-a just mad about-a fourteen
    A-she's just mad about me

    They call me mellow yellow
    They call me mellow yellow (Quite rightly)
    They call me mellow yellow
     
  22. Veggie Boy

    Veggie Boy still trudgin'

    Location:
    Central Canada
    I consider I'd Love to Change the World the greatest rock song ever BUT that one verse bugs me now:

    "Everywhere is freaks and hairies
    Dykes and fairies, tell me where is sanity"
     
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  23. CliffL

    CliffL Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sacramento CA USA
    Prince Buster "Ten Commandments" probably wouldn't pass muster today.

     
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  24. MikeM

    MikeM Senior Member

    Location:
    Youngstown, Ohio
    I'm not gonna re-litigate "Run for Your Life" again — been there and done that — other than to point out, as an earlier poster did, that it would be hard to make a case against that song's one allegedly offensive line in the wake of the hyper-violent and misogynistic lyrics of many rap songs of the last several decades.

    What's interesting about "Mellow Yellow" is that if you worked hard at it, you could probably find some alternate explanation to the "I'm just mad about fourteen" lyric — if it weren't for the fact that on the live version of this song from Donovan in Concert, Don sings "I'm just mad about fourteen-year-old girls"!
     
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  25. CliffL

    CliffL Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sacramento CA USA
    I've heard (and I'm not sure if its factual or not) that the "Donovan In Concert" version is what Donovan's original lyrics were, but the record company nixed it.
     
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