Songs you didn't know were edited on the radio

[Nitefly]

Sometimes songs get edited on the radio and re-recorded with alternative lyrics to become less offensive. The most obvious recent examples that come to mind are Cee Lo Green "Forget You" and Black Eyed Pea's "Lets Get It Started".

Well this morning I found out after all these years that I've been listening to the edited version of Money for Nothing by Dire Straights! Popped on the album and was listening away when the word 'faggot' hit my ears like a sledgehammer. Wut! When did that get included?! From day one apparently. All through my 90s childhood, I'd never once heard the original version. It's interesting that their best of album, from 1988 and called money for nothing, only includes the edited version of the song as well (an entire verse comes out). It's said in satire but I guess it was outdated language even in the 80s so I can understand why it came out.

Anyway there must be more interesting examples like this - any others of note?

 

[SilverTongue]

Didn't even no there was a radio edit version, only ever heard the original that includes faggot.

One that surprised me was a Maroon 5 song whose name escapes me. But wasn't until I heard it on the album that I heard that swearie version.

EDIT: It would be Payphone:

Radio Edit lyrics are "All those fairy tales are full of it, one more stupid love song, I'll be sick"
Album version rhymes with sit and stupid is replaced with something that rhymes with clucking

 

[MookJong]

I was about 14 and at a party after my cousins Christening. My Uncle put a Beautiful South album on and I heard the original version of "Don't marry her **** me"

Good times

 

[Semple]

Pretty much every song with a swearie. I'm not even sure if the radio has some kind of watershed where it's allowed to play explicit songs after 9pm - frankly seems a bit ridiculous to me. I mean what kids these days are going to choose to listen to the radio after 9pm?

 

[Nitefly]

I was about 14 and at a party after my cousins Christening. My Uncle put a Beautiful South album on and I heard the original version of "Don't marry her **** me"

Good times

Ah yes that's a good one!

 

[cheesyboy]

I was about 14 and at a party after my cousins Christening. My Uncle put a Beautiful South album on and I heard the original version of "Don't marry her **** me"

Good times

Had literally no idea there was a sweary version of this.

Am off to check it out

 

[markweatherill]

When I heard Justin Bieber's 'Love Yourself' I immediately expected it was the radio friendly version of a song called '**** Yourself'. But apparently not!

I do remember being sick of 'Doctor Pressure' by Mylo on the radio all day long with the endlessly repeated 'Mother****** Mother****** Mother****** Mother****** Mother******'. Yes, rhymes with 'clucker'.


OP has made me chuckle by referring to 'Dire Straights' using the word 'faggot'.

 

[james.miller]

album version of Games Without Frontiers by Peter Gabriel

"Whistling tunes while we **** on the goons in the jungle"

 

[v0n]

Two you probably never knew:
The Doors "Break on Through" - has a radio version due to notorious "everybody loves my baby, she gets high, she gets high" lines in single version, in radio recording (rather than edit) "high" lines are replaced by just "she gets, she gets" then ineligible "eeeeey".
James Blunt "You're Beautiful" - there is "****** high" swear line in album version that somewhat changes the meaning of the song, radio edit is clean and thus cheesy.

 

[Vonhelmet]

Not quite what you're after, but I remember the radio edit of 99 Problems being ridiculous.

Now once upon a time not too long ago
A BEEP like myself had to strong-arm a BEEP
This is not a BEEP in the sense of havin' a BEEP
But a BEEP havin' no BEEP sense, try and push me

 

[whiskycycle]

Imagine kids listening to Prince's "squiggle" sign album... Mind = blown when the proper version of Sexy ** plays instead of the radio friendly unit shifter version!

 

[smogsy]

pretty much every song is edited for the radio now days

i heard that silly katy perry song on their the other day swish bish somthing? it on the radio it was swish swish

 

[Destination]

Cake by the Ocean by someone, or maybe cake by the ocean was the band, but the six year daughter liked jumping around dancing to it... until the youtube version played, now she listens to something else.

 

[something daft already!!]

Hey Ya had some racy lyrics which were not edited AFAIK.

 

[Bluecube]

The original Money for Nothing has a one minute intro building up to the guitar solo. Brilliant tune!

Fairytale of New York has faggot in it somewhere. I’ve only heard that version so no idea what it was changed to.

There was a dodgy song a few years back called Living Next Door to Alice. The band recorded a version with Roy Chubby Brown, who’s contribution entailed him saying “Alice, Alice? Who the ef is Alice?” It was censored with a beep on the radio.

 

[Vonhelmet]

"Cake by the ocean" was a mistranslation of sex on the beach, so I imagine there is some filth in there.

Living next door to Alice had already been covered with the "who the fudge is Alice" bit, Chubby Brown was added later for the UK.

And Fairytale of New York plays unedited, faggot and all, on the radio.

I remember when people got RatM to Christmas number one instead of the X factor single and they were on the radio to play it live. They were explicitly told not to play the tail end of the song but... they did. Whoops.

 

[Destination]

Luckily they didn’t do as they were told.

 

[Deleted member 651465]

You also misspelled Dire Straits

TBH I don’t listen to the radio, so all my songs are album versions. I actually have the reverse experience where I’ll hear a song playing somewhere and think “they cut that guitar solo”.

 

[Vonhelmet]

I hate hearing them cut bits of songs. Watching Strictly can be terrible for it Most recently I got upset when they cut a chunk of Mr Blue Sky from Guardians of the Galaxy 2.