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Cuss words in songs?

#21
Writing lyrics is an artistic venture, there is no wrong or right way, you have to find your voice and find what fits the song. There are times where the song could merit having a swear word but don't force it just to sound cool unless gangsta rap is what you are going for.
I have no problem with an occasional swear word in music but it can come off forced as someone already said, and it can be super cheesy. Take for instance Rattlesnake by Rancid which goes, "Your a rattlesnake, And your full of s--t, I f----n hate you, Your a rattlesnake, You talk that s--t about our crew, we hate you"
It's like really guys, that's the best lyrics you could come up with? Or that Puddle of Mudd song where he says he likes the way the girl, "smacks his a--"
Just be creative and don't force it, or over think it too much.
 
#22
You could replace the cuss words with words that you created. Make the audience figure out what it means for themselves. Bonus points if people come up with different meanings for the same word. Creative cussing can be brilliant if done right. Just a thought.
And as for Mr. Green's famous song, they used it (sort of) in the last Muppet movie. Go to youtube and look up "Cluck You". Not trying to byg anybody, just thought you could use a laugh. It's a kid safe link.
 
#23
IMO, using foul language indicates a lack of education (expletives are unnecessary and there are better adjectives), laziness, and a disrespect for one's audience. You can do without and still get the message across. I think you'll find opinions sharply divided along age lines.
 
#25
With all the words in the English language, is it really necessary to focus on a few cuss words when you can express what you want to say using other words?

If you think that punk music requires it, think again. Many well known punk bands did not use them.
 
#26
We used to have profanity on maybe half the songs on each album. It wasnt intentional at all but it did hurt the band at points because when local radio stations picked songs to play wether it was during the local music hour or for an ad for a show they always seemed to pick songs we didn't even have on the set list. Personally now that I'm a father myself I'm against it but i dont give my singer ultimatums telling him he absolutely cant cuss. In most cases it just seems like profanity is used as a substitution for intelligence. I'm not a bible thumper and I do listen to plenty of music with profanity. some artists like lamb of god for example have done really catchy parts where profanity fits and is a part of a hook. But to much just gives the impression that the writer couldn't think of anything more intelegent to say.
 
#27
If the song is a story and a character in that story is most believable using a "naughty" word then it works. It's unnecessarily prudish not to face the fact that this is simply the way some people speak.

Airplay is an issue though. I just recorded a song that has the phrase, "f***ed it up". In consideration of potential airplay we punched in a, "screwed it up" version.
 
#28
I played in a punk, new metal-core band a while back, and swearing, cussing, bad mouthing, that is what was fun. Now I wouldn't use it too much like fudge the government, and fudge the Eiffel Tower. If you were to use it, you have to use the sincerity behind the word and how it extracts those emotions to morph your lyrics to a point. I am okay with the use of the words and they don't offend me, why? Because they are just words and you are using them to portray how you feel about something or how things affect others.
 
#31
You should use them when they are appropriate...

For instance, if you were to use the word F*** when you hit the biggest climax in your catalog of songs, you would give it much more power and impact than having 20 songs that infuse profanity as though it were the word "the".
 
#34
sevdog said:
Wow. Some really f****** dumb opinions on this thread. What is this a Leave it to Beaver episode? Wish I never bothered reading this.
Click to expand...

Wally, you better go to your room.

Apparently your mother let the beaver out to play and now he's soaking wet. I hate to be this hard on him, but I'm going to have to spank him until he's learned to not track mud through his mother's back door every time she turns around.
 
#35
I understand the correlation that several people are trying to make between salty language and intelligence, but I think there are may exceptions to that rule.
To the OP: As others have said, it is possible to use those words as long as they feel natural and not forced. I always had a hard time imagining cuss words in lyrics until I heard Incubus. Brandon Boyd seems intelligent and articulate, but it probably helps that he has a great voice.
 
#36
sxaxsx said:
Or that Puddle of Mudd song where he says he likes the way the girl, "smacks his a--"
Click to expand...

I'm no prude, and in fact a huge Zappa fan, where the lyrics are often gleefully profane. But that Puddle Of Mudd song is an EXCELLENT example of just how cheezy it can sound when you start using swear words in a pathetic attempt to be "edgy".

My take? Use them if you want. It's called the first amendment, and it's not the 1950's. But be careful you don't end up just sounding false and phony.

I personally think a well-reasoned critique of authority (think Dead Kennedys or Bad Religion) is much more "punk" than simply saying "F The Police" or something.
 
#38
When Slipknot started they had a cuss word about every other word in each song. By the time they got to their third album there wasn't one. And it was their most successful. There are other examples too.

Most people put them in their because they can. A great song doesn't need them. Then again they can make the song too. Mumford & Sons - Little Lion Man comes to mind.
 
#39
Nev375 said:
Wally, you better go to your room.

Apparently your mother let the beaver out to play and now he's soaking wet. I hate to be this hard on him, but I'm going to have to spank him until he's learned to not track mud through his mother's back door every time she turns around.
Click to expand...
:D

I was in a band a few years back whose most popular (and arguably catchiest) song had a VERY prominent F-bomb in the chorus...not quite to the level of Cee-Lo since it wasn't in the song title, but it repeated a number of times. Our management at the time insisted that we record a radio edit version (not that we ever made it on the radio :spit: ), substituting "messed up" for the original "****ed up", and it was simply terrible. It wasn't even an angry song by any stretch, but it just sounded stupid without the expletive.

Come to think of it, I remember another local ska/punk band from that same era that named one of their best songs with the same F-phrase, and while they said it probably dozens of times in 3 minutes, I can't imagine it being better any other way. Eleven years later, I still get that song stuck in my head on a semi-regular basis.

Don't add gratuitous swearing for the sake of swearing, but unless you're to the point of needing to consider broadcast restrictions, there's absolutely no reason to artificially avoid it if it's the most effective wording for the song.
 

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