8 Radio Edits That Completely Changed The Song's Meaning

7. Dire Straits - "Money For Nothing"

The Song You Heard On The Radio: Chances are you saw this one on MTV before you heard it on the radio. The song itself plays second fiddle to the intense images of neon squigglies and some terrifying Lego/Gumby hybrids, so you might not remember much of what the song is about beyond the fact that rock stars seem to get "money for nothing" and "chicks for free." And if all you've heard is the radio edit, you definitely don't know what this song is about.

After an initial verse that bemoans how easy rock stars have it (as well as how smart they are for landing such an easy gig), we get a chorus that introduces us to the narrator of the song: your average, blue-collar Joe who has to lug heavy appliances around all day. This simple working man wishes he'd "learned to play the guitar/drums" instead.

The Edit: There's one important little aside the radio version leaves out. Before Ordinary Joe goes back to work, he lets off some steam via one swift, homophobic tirade:

"See the little faggot with the earring and the make-up Yeah buddy that's his own hair That little faggot got his own jet airplane That little faggot he's millionaire"

Those lines didn't seem to translate so well onto the radio. In one short verse, the narrator transforms from an affable, "aww shucks" sort of everyman into a bigoted curmudgeon. After that, it's hard to empathize with his rough life. The offending lines were so despised by Canadian fans that the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council just lifted a ban on the song in 2011.

Now, radio stations are required to edit out the offending verse entirely or at least bleep out the word "faggot."