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I swear, these songs are great
By Stock Forrest | September 4, 2008
My editor has been giving me a hard time because of the energy he has to spend removing the profanity from my reviews. It’s not my fault that I can type “shit” faster than I can type “#%$@”
So in honor of my whiny editor, here is a list of my favorite swears in rock:
Pretenders - Precious
“But not me baby, I’m too precious, I had to fuck off”
I always thought Chrissie said “I’m too precious, fuck off.” Looking it up and seeing that it is “I had to fuck off” makes me like it a lot less, but she still sounds cool and tough.
The Who - Who Are You
“Who the fuck are you?”
One of the few fucks you could consistently hear on FM radio.
Steely Dan - Show Biz Kids
“They don’t give a fuck about anybody else”
It’s always funny when nerds swear.
Clash - Stay Free
“We’ll burn it fuckin’ down”
Killer combination of melody and profanity. They also give us shit and piss.
MC5 - Kick out the Jams
“Kick out the jams, motherfuckers”
Avoid the brothers and sisters version.
Pink Floyd - Not Now John
“Oi, where’s the fucking bar, John?”
I like the earlier fuck-all-that’s in the song (especially when they’re repeated by the female backing vocals), but the bar line at the end is my favorite.
Minutemen - Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love
“I got no time to fuck around, fuck you”
The econo kings of song titles with swears (”Shit You Hear at Parties”, “Dreams Are Free, Motherfucker”, “There Ain’t No Shit on TV Tonight”…) cut to the chase on this Van Halen cover.
Prince - Let’s Pretend We’re Married
“I sincerely wanna fuck the taste outta your mouth”
Gotta love Prince showing his sensitive, romantic side.
Blue Öyster Cult - Black Blade
“You poor fucking humans”
I almost didn’t include this one because 1) BÖC covered Kick out the Jams and intro’d it with “brothers and sisters” instead of “motherfuckers,” which is lame and 2) it’s almost inaudible. I changed my mind because everyone should experience turning their stereo all the way up in order to hear the fucking humans line at the end of the song, and then having “Monsters” kick in at full volume and blow out their speakers.
Mercyful Fate - Doomed by the Living Dead
“Say goodbye to all your fucking angels”
I like the way this song builds up. First King Diamond says goodbye to all our holy angels. That’s pretty evil. Then at the end it’s fucking angels. Ooooh….even more evil.
Minor Threat - In My Eyes
“At least I’m fucking trying, what the fuck have you done?”
In sixth grade I won a blue ribbon for an apple pie I helped bake with my mom…
They Eat Their Own - I Need You Like a Drug
“But if you call me I will tell you to fuck off”
Ok, I haven’t heard this in a long time so I might have the lyrics wrong, but I always find it sexy when a chick with a little mousy voice swears.
Rage Against the Machine - Killing in the Name
“Fuck you I won’t do what you tell me”
Lots of good swears throughout their whole debut, but this one is my favorite. Not only do they repeat the line endlessly, they close the song with “motherfuckerrrrsss.” I’m starting to think that band might have been upset about something.
Soundgarden - Big Dumb Sex
“I’m gonna (fuck) (fuck) fuck you”
I know they were taking the piss out of hair bands, but I prefer the literal interpretation I have in my head.
Superchunk - Slack Motherfucker
“Slack motherfucker!”
One of the most melodic motherfuckers you’ll ever hear.
Here’s a couple of bonus live tracks:
Ted Nugent - Wang Dang Sweet Poontang (Live intro)
“Anyone who wants to get mellow can turn around and get the fuck out of here.”
Jim Carroll Band - City Drops into the Night (Live)
“I think that those two are just fucking scum”
This was all off the top of my head so I’m sure I missed some great and obvious ones. Feel free to let me know what I omitted.
Topics: Rock, Uncategorized |
September 6th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
What about Metallica, Damage Inc. - “Fuck it all and fucking no regrets”? Or, Slayer, Necrophiliac - “I feel the urge the growing need to fuck this sinful corpse”? Or, the best yet, Marillion, She Cameleon - “So was it just a fuck, was it just a fuck, just another fuck I bled
Degraded and alone, raped and still forlorn
Betrayed on a lizard’s bed”?
September 8th, 2008 at 10:45 am
Good suggestions, Beach - especially the Marillion.
Thinking about Slayer made me realize I forgot one of my all time favorite swear songs: “Bodies” by the Sex Pisots (”Fuck this and fuck that / fuck it all and fuck the fucking brat”). Check out how similar that song is to Slayer’s Silent Scream:
Slayer:
“Embryonic death
Embedded in your brain
Suffocation, strangulation
Death is fucking you insane”
Sex Pistols:
“Dragged on a table in factory
Illegitimate place to be
In a packet in a lavatory
Die little baby screaming fucking bloody mess”
Punk vs. Metal….why can’t we all just get along?