Thought control runs rampant in the Great White North. Canada’s Broadcast Standards Council has banned “Money For Nothing,” a 25-year old song by Dire Straits.
In its supreme wisdom, the Council has decided that the song’s lyrics are unacceptable for sensitive Canadian ears because the word “faggot” is used repeatedly.
Here are the lyrics that are now scandalizing our northern neighbor twenty-five years after the song was a number one hit:
The little faggot with the earring and the makeup
Yeah buddy, that’s his own hair
That little faggot got his own jet airplane
That little faggot he’s a millionaire
There is, however, one small problem with the Thought Control Council banning “Money For Nothing.” That is, the song is a parody specifically written to put down people who express such unenlightened opinions.
Mark Knoopfler, Dire Straits’ lead singer and co-writer of the song, describes his inspiration in Wikipedia:
“The lead character in “Money for Nothing” is a guy who works in the hardware department in a television/custom kitchen/refrigerator/microwave appliance store. He’s singing the song. I wrote the song when I was actually in the store. I borrowed a bit of paper and started to write the song down in the store. I wanted to use a lot of the language that the real guy actually used when I heard him, because it was more real….”
In 2000, Knopfler appeared on Michael Parkinson’s interview program and explained again where the lyrics originated. According to Knopfler, he was in New York and stopped by an appliance store. At the back of the store, they had a wall of TVs which were all tuned to MTV. Knopfler said there was a man working there dressed in a baseball cap, work boots, and a checkered shirt delivering boxes who was standing next to him watching. As they were standing there watching MTV, Knopfler remembers the man coming up with classic lines such as “what are those, Hawaiian noises?…that ain’t workin” etc. Knopfler asked for a pen to write some of these lines down and then eventually put those words to music.
So the song is actually a brilliant parody of redneck ignorance, something that the Royal Canadian Mounted Thought Police should celebrate, not ban.
But comprehending that concept would require actual thought, something that was banned in Canada at about the same time that “Money For Nothing” was a hit.
It really is a great song. Here’s the original video. Crank up the volume and enjoy it while you still can, because it won’t be long until the American thought police decide it’s unacceptable here, too.
H/T: Jammie Wearing Fool
Source: Wikipedia.org
