What was that lyric!

A couple of weeks ago, I was working on an article for examiner.com about the Grammys 2014.  I wanted to mention Bruno Mars’ song “Treasure” as an example of a modern song with an older flavor.  I liked the 70’s feel to it.  The video was like it was filmed during the heyday of Earth, Wind and Fire, right down to the camera angles shooting into the dazzling lights on stage. Also, in my opinion, the lyrics were sweet,  as he crooned to his lady how she should realize what a “treasure” she was, not just to him but to the world.

 However, when I looked up the lyrics on line, I jolted; I felt like someone had thrown cold water on me. The first line of the song had a curse word with the initials MF in it. I thought this website must have it wrong, but the more I searched, it became evident that this was indeed the true lyrics.

I decided not to use this song in the article and cited other songs instead.

 It’s not the first time I've heard a curse word as part of lyrics. I remember in school when a classmate brought in The Who’s album for a project, he couldn't play the song “Who are You?”   for this very reason. My shock wasn't that there was a swear word in this song "Treasure". Rather, my puzzlement was why this particular curse word was used in this love song. It didn't seem to fit—like ordering a piece of chocolate cake and being presented with the dessert with a buttery lobster tail on it.   

I decided to research and see if this word has morphed into something else. Back in my day, this word was a true insult and would make the recipient’s blood boil. Maybe, something’s changed; I believe language is a living thing. As Stephen Covey said, “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” 

When I typed in the search engine “Bruno Mars Treasure lyrics”, now the information that dropped down was clean version. Aha, so there is another version of the song! That’s the one I heard on the radio and video. Dang, if I had known, I would have used that link in my article! 

These first words “Give me all, give me all, give me all, your attention baby” in my opinion fit much better with the feel of the song rather than “Baby squirrel,you’s a sexy MF” --though “baby squirrel” is sort of endearing.

In the end, I didn't find anything noting what was behind the explicit lyrics. Also, I did confirm that this curse word hasn't changed in its meaning. I’m not as out of touch as I once thought!

My opinion of Bruno Mars remains unchanged: I still enjoy his work and think he’s very talented. What he decides to put in his songs is his prerogative.  I did notice that in his terrific and energetic Super Bowl’s performance that he sang only the second stanza of “Treasure.” Good call!