JPF Home Page Forums General Messages Songwriter Message Forum Ass in the Sand?????

I have had mine in the sand many times and have no problem with the concept but that phrase from Toes by The Zac Brown Band blaring out of the radio bugs me. And you????

Dang,

I've heard that song on the radio a bunch of times and I always heard:

Toes in the water, "Toes" in the sand --

and I could never figure out why they repeated Toes. Was it a radio "edit" or did I just never hear it correctly?

If it is "ass" in the sand -- that's pretty lazy writing.

Kevin

Colin
He also says "Ass In A Lawn Chair" in the song.
Shock value?
Now If Carrie Underwood sung "My Ass In The Sand" I'd like it more.
Better image than Zac Brown.

I think I'd be bothered more by "Roll a Big Fat One" than "Ass in The Sand" it's the "roll" model thing. No pun intended

But I'm more bothered by Zac wearing a Knit skull cap down over his ears on a 90 degree summer day at the beach than by the lyric.
That has to be hot.

On the other hand... look at the color of our hair. And Kevins

I just went a listened to a video of this song -- and they definitely changed the lyrics to fit a more family friendly radio format (I wouldn't have missed that). There were also a few internet discussions on the radio lyric changes. Interesting.

Kevin

It's not the first time they released a radio version and an album version of a song.
Even Johnny Cash had one
A Boy Named Sue.

It's a song that the artist wrote. Fans like it.
Radio plays the song & bleeps the naughty parts or plays the disney version.

There's plenty of songs with much more offensive language

like:

Closer
by 9 inch nails
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/nineinchnails/closer.html

or

You Oughta Know
by ALANIS MORISSETTE
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/alanismorissette/yououghtaknow.html

or

Why Can't I
by Liz Phair
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/lizphair/whycanti.html

&

bunches of songs
by Prince


In comparison to these, ass in the sand is extremely tame. There's always a backlash & a reaction to songs that push the edge.

years ago people were offended by:

Elvis Presley's hips
Wake up little suzy,
Louie Louie,
Jerry Lee Lewis,

Shania Twain stirred things up in country in the 90's when she showed her belly.

It's music, it's art. It's hard for non artist songwriters to get songs with dirty words cut, but artists can write and do whatever they want. Songs express human emotions and life situations. There's nothing new under the sun, we're all trying to say the same old thing in a slighty different & a new & exciting way.

ande

I don't overly mind off-color language in a song, but to me there is no prosody in the sound and it just isn't "conversational". Now I've heard this on the radio 50 or more times and I've always heard it as "Toes in the water, toes in the sand" so maybe it just sounds so different (of course, "toes" twice never sounded right either). The rest of the song is pretty good -- I really like the chorus.

Hmmm, I wonder what the radio played for the "lawn chair" part?

Kevin

The radio station here plays the ass version. I am not a prude, but that word sticks out like a sore thumb from all the other country radio lyrics that they play.......which is probably the reason Zac Brown and company did it. I understand Ande's point - rap songs like lollipop are far worse - but they are pretty much all that way and are on the stations that I never listen to.

Should have used butt IMHO.

keister

now that is a good word..got my toes in the water, keister in the sand..LOL

I am not a prude either..it kinda surprised me the first time I heard it on an awards show, but I also smiled at the thought..but was not wild about roll myself a fat one...I know in the video is shows like a burrito or something..but everyone knows it means a joint..

BUT saying that, I really like the Zac Brown Band...got some really cool songs...Love Highway 20 Ride and that boy can PLAY the guitar..I think they will be another success story as far as bands go.

Kim

I don't see a reason for cussin' in any songs. They are becoming more common place in country music. I really like Zac Brown's music overall but using "curse words" (even if they're in the Bible) is a cheap way of doing it. He's very talented and didn't have to do it to make his point. He did it for shock. He sold out.

I've heard people talk about the "roll a big one line." I never listened close enough to hear that line.

Bill mentioned "A Boy Named Sue." I didn't know they did a family friendly version. I thought they just bleeped it, which is different from doing a family friendly version.

I've read the lyric to this 'Ass in the sand' song and I'm struggling to spot a cuss word.

Are some parts of the body 'cuss words' but others not?

about the line..roll a Fat one...here is it:)
the verse it is in...
Quoted from the song TOES by the Zac Brown Band...
"Adios en vaya con dios
Yeah I’m leaving GA
And if it weren’t for tequila and pretty senoritas
I’d have no reason to stay
Adios en vaya con dios
Yeah I’m leaving GA
Gonna lay in the hot sun and roll a big fat one
And grab my guitar and play "

just thought I would show ya..:)

and Steve...not that a part of the body is really a bad word, but I wouldn't want a grandkid of mine saying the word alot..ya know...as it has several meanings...though it is in the Bible..as said before..:) It is not a big deal to me, but I was surprised to hear it in country...not as common:) Kim

This is discrimination.

Proctologists are just as entitled to have songs reflecting their interests as any other group in society.

How did I get this label 'serious contributor' and how do I get rid of it?

As soon as you wondered which body parts were "cuss words", the JPF recognized that and made you a "serious contributor". We all go through it.

Kevin

bahahahaa...don't like labels, huh, Steve??



at least it doesn't say...underneath..pay no mind to this poster..LOL

Kim

Some labels are okay. Like 'Two for the price of one'.

The phrase is in the chorus, so it repeats, and repeats. If it were strategic to the communication of the meaning of the song it might have merit. I don't see it as all that beneficial to the quality of the song. It's more a gimmick.

Someone on MTV some years ago had a 'hit' of some degree with a song he sang a line in, "You smack my ass..." As he sang it he grinned like a 4-year-old saying 'Poop' to the delight of other 4-year-olds. It too, repeated and repeated. I'm pretty sure that 'artist' has faded into oblivion, perhaps having nothing else to offer than that gimmick.

Back in the early days of his solo career, Vince Gill did a song called "Everybody's Sweetheart But Mine." It was about his first wife's success as a member of Sweethearts Of The Rodeo with her sister. One of the lines in the song was "I should have kept her barefoot and pregnant all the time" or something like that. The barefoot and pregnant line was in there. It was in there for a while. They changed it pretty quickly. I always thought he should have fought for that line to stay in there.

Take it from me, cuss words in a lyric are just an amateur attempt at sensationalism. It is a sell-out and an easy one at that. The art of innuendo is to say those same things in a more thought provoking way.

I consider myself a professional cusser (retired)so I do get a tickle out of the "kids" playing grown-up. Like Gary said the kids who said "poop" with a poop eating grin. I also agree with the tenant that, sometimes, its the best and only way to express yourself.

So now I'm trying to quit, and its harder than quitting cigarettes. Ask any vet, if they would rather hear a string of epithets or a nice clear and concise "duck".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjkLf_X88WM

Funny!

I haven't heard the Zac Brown song, but 'ass' always seems like a comedy word to me; as far as I'm concerened it's interchangeable with 'butt'. Which makes it even funnier when it is dubbed out. In Nickelback's Rockstar they even dubbed out "Gonna dress my ass in the latest fashion' on some stations over here - crazy!

I'm not a fan of profanities in songs, but sometimes it can be very effective. The aforementioned 'You Oughta Know' is a case in point, the angst just wouldn't work without that turn of phrase.

Oh Man I forgot all about that one. Thanks for posting it Jerry.
There's no way you could have done that song without the Ass word in it.

You're welcome Bill!

From a purely songwriting standpoint (morality aside) the word "ass" fits the lyric perfectly ("...my ass in the sand") good alliteration and it sings wonderfully. In the context of the song it completes the thought of having absolutely nothing else that the singer has to do -"Life is good today..." Its irreverence points up the "bubba" mentality of the singer, hence the popularity of the song.
You know, in the grand scheme this is pretty innocuous especially up against something like Pink's "It's You and Your Hand Tonight".
I concur with Sheila Davis (The Craft of Lyric Writing) that there is a need to be mindful of what your song/lyrics will convey when they are targeted at certain vulnerable groups within a society such as impressionable youth, etc.
In this regard, it's just Jimmy Buffett - a tad over the top. BTW, didn't he write "Why Don't We Get Drunk and Screw"?

There's a lot of hypocrisy around this (not necessarily from yourself, I will add).

For example, some of the commentators who make a big deal about hip-hop artists allegedly promoting violence and bad attitudes towards women don't seem to be at all bothered about the country artists whose songs have celebrated gun culture and paraded misogyny for many decades.

Of course, such characterisations are not true of the majority of artists in either genre.

On a related but somewhat tangential note, I can watch a television show where there are body parts flying, blood spurting, heads rolling, etc.

But, in the same movie, if they show a character's bare bottom (male or female), it is "fuzzed out".

Many, even most, of us have been conditioned to think this is normal and proper. Myself, I have to believe that an alien race who observed this would think humans were completely screwed up.

Scott

Great point, Scott - the moral compass can get pretty screwed up.

Last weekend I watched Sopranos and had to laugh because they blurred someone shooting the bird twice. But Sopranos has showed beatings and shootings many times and last week in this same episode they showed two men kissing (and a resulting beating).

By the way Bill. This has no bearing on the topic, but I like the American flag and saying that is your profile picture. You seem to be focused on a very real and important issue. People have lost their lives so that we can sit in the sand.

And freely and openly discuss the topic of this thread without fear.
Even though I don't particularly agree with some of the opinions.

I'm not a prude either but I have to turn it down when my 7 year old is in the car and that's a drag.

Bill Renfrew
www.writethismusic.com

Geeze...it's already a LONG time since 2008's "(Closer to God) I Wanna F--k You Like An Animal" was a BIG Hit for Nine Inch Nails, which used the Major of the "7 Deadlies" to Great (Bleeped-Out) Effect..on the Airwaves. Prince HAD the F-Word UN-Bleeped on a 1980-Something Hit I heard over KISS FM in L.A. ages-ago. No Big Deal..we all survived it!

The "A" Word's been Out-There for some time now..tho maybe Just NOW Country's Catching-Up with all the Other Genres...belatedly.

&..tho..yeah..It Does Prick My Ears when I hear it...near-everytime..BUT I'll confess I'd rather hear the A Word than "Bootie"..after hearing that "B" Word so-damn-often it's boringly-cliche already.

As far as "Recording Swear Words", it's the "S" Word that's most-often heard LAST on aircraft Flight Recorders when a plane encounters a Mountain unexpectedly..with an "Oh" just ahead of it.

Sometimes..Only A Swear Word'll DO..eh? ;-)>
Best Wishes/Big Hugs,
Stan

Its a Sick sad world

Uh, Bro Marty, you forget John Lennon's 1968 "White Album" Hit.."Why Don't We Do It In The Road"...which beat Buffett by at least a Decade...didn't it?

BOTH Songs prove that Crass Lyrics CAN be Fun..(& Kids WILL Somehow Survive It, too. We did.)

Think it's already been AGES since it was shown "Parental Warning" Stickers INCREASED CD Sales...too?

My guess is that near-every 10-year-old's already heard all-7 of those words/knows they're "shockers"...but doesn't use 'em daily.

(Unless he grows up to be a Comedian...these days.) (Don't get me started on THIS Topic...heh!)

Best Wishes/Big Guy-Hug,
Stan

Oh c'mon, Bill.

You don't have to. It's just that you choose to, which runs counter to your first statement given that 'ass' is pretty much the most moderate word outside of the medical dictionary.

That is your choice, of course. It's your child, your parental responsibility, your car, your radio and your ears.

And, more importantly, it's your embarrassment that's involved, not mine. But let's not pretend that there's no prudery in the equation here 'cause it sure ain't liberalism.

"A prude [...] is a person who is described as (or would describe themselves as) being concerned with decorum or propriety, significantly in excess of normal prevailing community standards. They may be perceived as being more uncomfortable than most with sexuality, nudity, alcohol, drug use or mischief."
(Source: Wikipedia, but plenty of other places concur with this definition.)

If we restrict the words we're allowed to use in songs, then we restrict the range of emotions that songs can convey.

If we don't like to hear stuff covering the entire range of human emotion, then we are free to stay tuned into the 'adult contemporary' and religious broadcasters.

I'm all for freedom of speech but I cannot condone songs that use explicit vulgar language, promote violence in a realistic way, promote killing cops, raping women or graphic sex. These songs should not be allowed on free airwaves. If people want to buy them that is their choice.
And it seems to be getting worse.

What's next, celebrating the taking down of WTC or the beheading of Americans?

I don't think I'd equate the right to bear arms with the right to kill cops.

Does Country music cross the line, sure, on occasion, but never to the extent Hip Hop, Rap, and some Pop music does.
Recently? Tobi Keith "We'll put a boot in your ASS"
Offensive? I bet Al Qaeda took offense. So did Saddam. Most Americans thought it was great.
Gretchen wilson. "Come go to bed" was pretty racy. But it had no sexually explicit language in it.

There's nothing wrong with having a little fun with songs. Innuendo can be great and effective. But there should be some limits.
Heck I wrote one called lets have sex and it has a reference to smoking pot in it as well.

Over my 60 years of listening to country music I have never heard any song glorifying guns or murder. However Gangsta Rap appears to have no limits of what vulgar language they will use. While we all abhor censorship self censorship and limits to extremes shows one can write without the need to use excess vugularity. If you need to use a hoard of 4 letter words to get your message across your audience may be limited as well as your opportunities.

Just out of curiousity how many of us have said "I just want to sit my a@# down".

I know I have...many times especially coming home right after work.
I'm on my feet all day.

it makes sense in this lyric.
He didn't sell out. It's the way he talks, the way his band talks. Who ever wrote this song has their own unique way of sounding. Thats it. no more to it.

Its not rocket science.
Sorry I sound blunt but this is a realitively mild word that describes nouns and verbs. (maybe more I don't know)LOL

Sensoring in music/art should not exist other then to decide to turn it off. There is no right or wrong. Just preference.


Enough of my opinion. Thanks for listening.

Kathy,

You are right. Every artist hopes to sell out. Every single night. The key with Zac is he is a musician who has played bars every night for years. That is the way he talks.

The radio was bleeped out in some markets and others they didn't. They did two versions on the song. That happens a lot too. There are often duplicate versions, "safe ones" for certain markets and the regular versions they do life.

On "Friends in Low Places" Duane Blackwell and Earl Bud Lee actually wrote a third verse for the song. They incorporated it into the live version:

Thought I was wrong, I didn't belong but hey I've been there before
It'll be allright, I'll just say goodnight and show myself to the door.

I didn't mean to cause a big scene, just let me finish this glass

An hour from now I'll be back at the bar, and you can kiss my A@@!

Garth didn't want to do that version on the single but did it on the CD and live version.

It depends on the context of the song and the character singing. You wouldn't expect this from someone like Taylor Swift or Josh Turner. That would not be natural to their characters.

"Rolling a fat one", etc. are all part of the lexicon of Zac and his band. So it is natural to them.

It also can go the other direction.

Charlie Daniels has been a consistant rock and country artist since the early 70's. One of his biggest songs is called "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" a rip roaring fiddle piece about a fiddle contest between "Johnny and the Devil." The song is a standard on FM stations and even used in commercials.

One of the lines, that Johnny tells the Devil when he wins is:
"I done told you once you son of a B@tch,
I'm the best there's ever been."

Having undergone a Christian transformation in the early 90's, Charlie no longer does that version. He says "Son of a Gun."

I once opened a show with him and had a conversation on it and he said that the change is very subtle, the crowd sings their own version anyway and that he no longer uses that kind of language.

So it depends on the singer and the song. This is the same thing that we get all the time when people asking for critiques hear something on the radio and say "Hey, so and so just did that on the radio."

My answer is that "When you can see your reflection in the gold and platinum records on your walls, you can get away with anything. Up till then you can't.

Say whatever you want to say, however you want to say it. but keep in mind where it might go. For my own process, I try not to do anything I wouldn't say to my 92 year old Grandmother.

MAB

So he sold out when he made the version that replaced "ass" with the word "toes?" IMO, he did it for shock and when he thought it could hurt him in some circles, he compromised.

As for other uses of the words in songs, I think Toby was criticized by some dame from Texas for using the word.

The use of that one word doesn't bother me as much as some other songs using different words. I don't think it's correct to say he didn't do it for shock value.

Sausage,

It has nothing to do with shock value. When you play clubs songs take on a life of their own. There are many songs by artists like Toby, Hank Jr. etc. that the audience gets to know and sings out their own lines. It is normal conversation in that arena the same as it is normal conversation in the rap and hip hop arena the way they talk and issues they relate to.

Most artists who have this type of a song will ship two versions to radio. One for the "safe version" and one the other way. The program director in that particular station makes the decision of which one is played. It is a very common practice. In the days of singles there would actually be one version on one side and the other on the other side.

Back in the 50's there were often versions of songs by Ray Charles, Big Mama Thorton, etc. that were called "Race Music' and had lyrics that didn't fit when more conservative artists recorded them.

This has all been going on for many years and is always something artists are keenly aware of.

MAB

What really makes me laugh is how no one catches that the melody on "Toes" is "The Pina Colada song" by Rupert Holmes, or that the first hit "Chicken Fried" is the same melody as "It's a Heartache" by Bonnie Tyler.

See, we are all writing the same stuff. Only 12 notes.

MAB

Actually, in *this* particular case, I really don't think they shipped two versions. Rather, I think they were caught off guard by public reaction and then they adjusted. I say that because WWKI, which I listen to every morning while taking my son to school, played the original version for a fairly long time. Then for a short time they played a version with the offending words bleeped out (blocked out). Sounded pretty awkward. Then came the TOES version which they now play all the time.

I love that song, but I didn't like hearing the original version on the radio simply because my son was listening. Now, why that word sticks out to me more than some other words in some other songs, I don't know, but it does(did). Us silly humans! Anyway, I purchased a bunch of music from JPFOLKS judging, and some of it is pretty rough, so I specifically listen to KI in the morning to get cleaner music while my son is in the car. And then this song! hahaha....can't win I guess

I shared this thread with my 77 year old mom, and she busted a gut
over such a bruhaha, over such a pittance of a problem, she said
that she wondered if she had some how been time warped back to
the 40'S or 50's, when they didn't show married couples using
the same bed, etc. The word ass is the least of our worries in
todays society.........................Gus

Doug,

Actually there were two versions. This conversation was going on a couple of years ago when Zac was doing showcases and writers shows around Nashville. It had been talked about for some time. There are actually several versions of the song. Very standard for this town.

MAB

I would like to invite your mother to join my band. She sounds alright.

On another songwriting list I used to take part in, someone would post a song with, say, the word 'damned' in it. Not even used as a curse but in its 'proper' context - ie, meaning 'condemned'.

But then someone else would post a reply saying that they didn't think Jesus would approve of such language, using 'cuss' words and all that. So then the original writer would feel ashamed and embarrassed, and come back promising to take the word out.

Or there would be writers who'd express some sort of spiritual doubt in a song and find themselves being told off for that - which would lead to them scrapping that part of the song or dropping it altogether.

And I'd be thinking s/he was a fool, quite frankly, turning a decent song into something that was now mediocre. A lyric that was interesting, which showed understanding of the human condition, turned into something bog-standard.

Then there'd be the people who'd claim that using sarcasm in a song was 'unChristian' or even 'anti-Christian'.

So I'd point out, in case they hadn't read it, that the main guy in the New Testament used that technique quite a few times in order to make a point. Remember the stuff about rich men, heaven, camels and the eyes of needles, for example? Or when he pointed out that the rules of the sabbath should serve the people, not the people serve the rules? And what about the remark about rendering to caesar the things that are caesar's, and to god the things that are god's? And so on.

MAB - okie - thanks.