No genre of popular music is safe from politically-incorrect inclusions, with ill-conceived lyrics showing up in every kind of beloved musical category, from hip…
No genre of popular music is safe from politically-incorrect inclusions, with ill-conceived lyrics showing up in every kind of beloved musical category, from hip-hop and Top 40 pop to country and soul.
Yet, there’s something about rock ‘n’ roll that lends itself to trouble. The genre has cultivated a racy reputation from day one, with its stars over the years indulging in its associated bad behavior, — making it perhaps inevitable that inappropriate content would show up in their songwriting.
And while plenty of eyebrow-raising rock songs exist that still maintain their decency, many rock ‘n’ roll classics that were beloved would almost certainly stoke controversy today for content that runs the gamut of tastelessness.
From the one-hit-wonders to the biggest names in rock history — the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and especially the Rolling Stones — we explore 20 rock hits with lyrics that, in retrospect, almost certainly should’ve been edited out.
The John Lennon-penned opening stanza of “Well, she was just 17 / You know what I mean” are among the more ill-advised lyrics in the band’s songbook.
Another questionable Lennon track, it’s hard to overlook the song’s most egregious lyric, «I’d rather see you dead, little girl / Than to be with another man.”
Rock stars of a certain generation seemed to love singing about 16-year-old girls, and Chuck Berry was no exception here, with the song including the very questionable lyrics, “Sweet little sixteen, she’s got the grown up blues / Tight dresses and lipstick, she’s sporting high heel shoes.”
More: 20 politically incorrect songs that’d be wildly controversial today
Burnette’s ode to an underage girl was less skeevy than Berry’s — which doesn’t change the fact that it’s still an ode to an underage girl, with the chorus, “You’re sixteen, you’re beautiful and you’re mine.
