Dirty Words

What Makes A Word Dirty?

February 9, 2022

Remember George Carlin’s “Seven Dirty Words You Can’t Say On Television”? These words were deemed dangerous to young minds, and ultimately to anyone watching the small screen. So words like “shit”, "piss”, “fuck”, “cunt”, “cocksucker”, “motherfucker”, and “tits” are still not allowed on American television or radio.

The late, great George Carlin

Song lyrics like Roger Daltry singing, “Who the fuck are you?”, or Grace Slick’s “Doesn’t mean shit to a tree” line, or the chorus of Dan Bern’s “Missing Link” (below) are too toxic for American sensibilities, but professional dissemblers and white supremacists like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Joe Rogan and Fucker Carlson (good thing this isn’t television or radio, or we wouldn’t be allowed to use the actual name of Fux News’ number one asshole…I mean asset) are permitted to essentially yell “Fire!” in a crowded theater every fucking day (well, Limbaugh is finally dead, but you get the point). There are many more of these verbal assaulters whose names will not be mentioned. Because they are unsafe for public consumption.

Who can forget The Doors who were told they could not sing the lyric “girl we couldn’t get much higher” by Ed Sullivan? Sullivan insisted they change the line to “girl we couldn’t get much better.” Jim Morrison ultimately said fuck you to Sullivan, not literally, but instead by singing the original lyric on live television, and the band was banned from ever appearing on the show again.

Tom Petty had to record two versions of his song You Don’t Know How It Feels, to save listeners from the line, “let’s roll another joint.” In the “clean” version he says, “let’s hit another joint,” which is kind of funny as the savvy listener will understand this is not necessarily much better. But, I digress.

If words could literally hurt like sticks and stones, as opposed to just figuratively or as is too often the case, indirectly, Fucker Carlson would be spending much of the rest of his miserable trust-fund-prolonged life behind bars and gagged.

And aren’t people who threaten the lives of White House occupants immediately visited by the actual men in black – the Secret Service? Are not words like, oh I don’t know, “Hang Mike Pence!” a federal offense? I know I would never risk saying such a thing to a Secret Service agent, on television, or radio, or even on a little-read blog.

What!?
I didn’t say a fucking thing.

And what about when one of the two major political parties calls the violent siege of the Capitol, in service of a sitting president inciting the overthrow of the government, calls beating Capital police with Turmp and American flag poles (literally the sticks of “sticks and stones”) and various other weapons of bodily harm “legitimate political discourse?” have filthier words ever been spoken?

Dan Bern – Missing Link

I. Mangrey, who never has slurred a discouraging word, and whose eyes are not cloudy. OK?

SPECIAL BONUS TRACK:

Frank Zappa - Your Mouth