No I don't listen to this around little children. But then again I don't read Stephen King novels to them either.

Tell me Dr. What do you think of these lyrics. Do you find anything wrong with them?

My daddy left home when I was three
And he didn't leave much to ma and me
Just this old guitar and an empty bottle of booze.
Now, I don't blame him cause he run and hid
But the meanest thing that he ever did
Was before he left, he went and named me "Sue."

Well, he must o' thought that is quite a joke
And it got a lot of laughs from a' lots of folk,
It seems I had to fight my whole life through.
Some gal would giggle and I'd get red
And some guy'd laugh and I'd bust his head,
I tell ya, life ain't easy for a boy named "Sue."

Well, I grew up quick and I grew up mean,
My fist got hard and my wits got keen,
I'd roam from town to town to hide my shame.
But I made a vow to the moon and stars
That I'd search the honky-tonks and bars
And kill that man who gave me that awful name.

Well, it was Gatlinburg in mid-July
And I just hit town and my throat was dry,
I thought I'd stop and have myself a brew.
At an old saloon on a street of mud,
There at a table, dealing stud,
Sat the dirty, mangy dog that named me "Sue."

Well, I knew that snake was my own sweet dad
From a worn-out picture that my mother'd had,
And I knew that scar on his cheek and his evil eye.
He was big and bent and gray and old,
And I looked at him and my blood ran cold
And I said: "My name is 'Sue!' How do you do!
Now your gonna die!!"

Well, I hit him hard right between the eyes
And he went down, but to my surprise,
He come up with a knife and cut off a piece of my ear.
But I busted a chair right across his teeth
And we crashed through the wall and into the street
Kicking and a' gouging in the mud and the blood and the beer.

I tell ya, I've fought tougher men
But I really can't remember when,
He kicked like a mule and he bit like a crocodile.
I heard him laugh and then I heard him cuss,
He went for his gun and I pulled mine first,
He stood there lookin' at me and I saw him smile.

And he said: "Son, this world is rough
And if a man's gonna make it, he's gotta be tough
And I knew I wouldn't be there to help ya along.
So I give ya that name and I said goodbye
I knew you'd have to get tough or die
And it's the name that helped to make you strong."

He said: "Now you just fought one hell of a fight
And I know you hate me, and you got the right
To kill me now, and I wouldn't blame you if you do.
But ya ought to thank me, before I die,
For the gravel in ya guts and the spit in ya eye
Cause I'm the **** that named you "Sue.'"

I got all choked up and I threw down my gun
And I called him my pa, and he called me his son,
And I came away with a different point of view.
And I think about him, now and then,
Every time I try and every time I win,
And if I ever have a son, I think I'm gonna name him
Bill or George! Anything but Sue! I still hate that name!

Which radio station plays "this" version? As far as I know...none!

Now the hacked up one can be found on just about any hard core country station. Sometimes even some decent college radio.

Don't blur Johnny Cash with Eminem...it doesn't wash.

Typical answer. Johnny Cash is fine but Eminem is bad for the youth. Even though both sing about fighting, drawing guns on people, and killing people.

You can't have your cake and eat it to Dr. If one is bad its all bad. Now who is being middle of the road?

If you can't see the differences in the two, then I certinly won't point them out to you!

Pretty childish answer. Well then I'm going to take my ball and go home.

Seriously, why is on person singing about fighting, guns, and killing ok and another not? At what point is this acceptable song content and when is it not?

I can take MM or leave him. I'm about tired of the whole rap genre anyway. After awhile it all sounds the same with few exceptions. There's enough negativity in the world without having some angry young man whining about how tough life is. Those of us that came from humble beginning know that it sucks and those that didn't really aren't going to understand just because they hear it in a song. I'd much rather listen to someone who can sing and not just recite lyrics.

What's next? Are you going to try comparing Chef Boyardee to Chef Emeril Legasse? They're both chefs after all! Are you going say that there's no difference between The pope and Jimmy Swaggart? They both preach the word of God? Really, if you aren't wise enough to know the differences then keep buying his music! Keep him up on his pedastal, instead of some other decent musician getting their music out and being heard, no let's listen to this jagoff nursery rhyme about his pathetic exisitence! Let's keep music in the quagmire that it's in, yeah we want this guy and dinosaur rock acts out there. Nothing new or fresh. Keep on defending his unexcusable behavior. A guy like that wants all of your money! Yeah, he's got it soo bad. He's a sell-out cutout of what he waves his arms in the air about! Boo-frickety-hoo! Life IS difficult, only when you come to that realization does it become fathomable to live.

Johnny Cash and MM, that's a hoot! Shave of 20 years, no...10 years and put them both in a room together with a guitar. MM would walk out of that room looking like a popsicle! See, Johnny Cash has style. He can give you your "Boy, Named Sue"(which he didn't write!!!!)but he can also give you "Ring of Fire", "I Walk The Line", and "There You Go", but MM can only sing about whores,drugs and how high he is on substance dujour! Nobody took Johnny Cash serious with "Sue", they didn't think he was singing about some life experience that he had. All you have to do is read an interview of MM and know that what he nursery rhymes about is ALL he knows! Baggy pants, pair of pantyhose on his head, a pointed finger, a mouth beat-box, and a truckload of swear words is all this butt munch has got, but hey! YOU like him!

http://www.freep.com/realestate/renews/sale6_20030206.htm 

http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/oreilly012103.asp 

You know you keep saying he is nursery rhyming. Then you bring of Ring of Fire. Have you read the lyrics to that song. Don't tell me you think that is a great work of art. If its so simplistic I challenge you to come up with something as creative.

My point was only that people always accuse only certain styles of music for being bad and ignoring others. Now its Rap. Before that it was heavey metal. And before that it was Elvis and the Beatles that were corrupting the youth.

And as far as him whinning about himself you are right he does do that a lot. But I know another genre of music that does that same thing...its called the Blues. But again its ok for one style of music to do that but not another right?

Please Dr. you are embarassing yourself. You sound like an old man whinning that the music is to damn loud or "Back when I was a kid music was good". Yeah and I bet you walked 5 miles in the snow to school and it was uphill both ways.

So Rick (if you are still reading this) you never told us what you thought of the movie.

You were the one that dragged Johnny into the fray by some twisted form of thinking that he's a menace to society like MM is.

I wouldn't try to classify today's music with any other. I'm not as old as you think, but I do know good music from crap!

Lyrics. Take a look at something by Neil Peart, Peter Gabriel, or even Paul McCartney(Vanilla Sky) and dare to say that MM doesn't seem sophmoric. Does every sentence ending have to rhyme? Is that what rap is all about? Are you supposed to make everyone you're singing to feel lower that a worm's belly? Do you do this yourself? Is THAT what being a musician means to you?

I'm not a fan of Country and am not familiar with a lot of the stuff. I only used Johnny Cash because that is something that I could think off the tip off my brain. I'm sure there is a lot more but I didn't take the time to look.

I'm not familiar with the lyrics of the songwriters that you mentioned so I can't comment on them. But I'm glad to see that you've elevated Eminem from nursery rhymes to a sophomore.

And yes Rap is ALL about the rhyme and the lyrics (it sure ain't about the musical content)..well that and the beat. If you have to ask that question than that proves you don't know what you are talking about in this case.

Of course if you had seen the movie 8 mile and watched some of the additional footage on the DVD your questions would have been answered.

I'll try to give you the gist of it since I know you won't see it (which is fine because not every movie is for everyone). The movie centers on (among other things) lyrical battling. Battling with words instead of fists. Trying to hurt the other guy with what you say instead of getting in a physical fight. It’s this form and technique that Eminem uses on his records. And a lot of other rappers do the same. This often ends up in two rappers hating each other and making songs on their albums to put down the other guy. LL Cool J vs. Cool Moe D, Tupac vs. Notorious B.I.G., just about everyone vs. Vanilla Ice. It’s as common as it is in Country music to sing about loosing your lover.

Sorry plabonte.Johnny Cash is classic country,not to mention he rocks.M+M Blows! Big Time

You are right JJohnson. He does blow. He blows the roof off every place he plays.

As far as Johnny Cash like I said I just used him as an example in refrence to lyrics. But since everyone loves the comparison how many copies of Johnny Cash's first three albums has he sold. Surely it must be much more then Eminem because he has been around so much longer right?

Or any country singer for that matter.

plabonte, fools and their money are soon parted.

Neil Peart - Drummer for a Canadian band called Rush.

Peter Gabriel - Ex-Lead Singer for Genesis, now solo artist.

Paul McCartney - 1/2 of the "brain trust" that crafted THE best music EVER with The Beatles. Formed Wings, and now a solo artist.

http://www.letssingit.com/ 

Look up Rush - The Trees, Freewill, Closer To The Heart

Look up Peter Gabriel - In Your Eyes, Digging In The Dirt, Father,Son

http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Palladium/7821/pm1980.html#lankar4 

If you really don't know about these artists, you SHOULD! They beat wasting time listening to crap like MM and you might learn how to craft your own songwriting skill. Anyone can rhyme. It takes art to paint a picture with words. A picture that you could hang in your home above the mantle. Not just some black velvet Elvis painting in some back bedroom. I hope you can see the difference!

For what it's worth...I used to hang with a DJ in Detroit that went to school with not only MM but Kid Rock too. I met both of them before they were a blip on a radar. Both of them playing in Hamtramack and Detroit clubs that most wouldn't even venture into. You can learn a lot about people after you have a couple of beers with them...Kid had/has potential, MM...still a little angry bitch ass! You can take that for what it's worth!

fellas fellas fellas....c'mon now.....obviously the good Doctor has experienced what we in the business call a generation gap...
in his opinion, Johny Cash is a phenomenal artist worthy of comparisons with the Pope and other praise-worthy figures...
what i think he fails to realize is that a large part of the youth today relates to him...his dad left him, his mom abused him, he was picked on in school...yadda yadda yadda....
He is succesful because he is an amazing lyricist, he works himself to the bone, and he is a fantastic enteratiner.....
He's up there, in this world that "already has enough bad stuff in it", explainin why the youth is goin nuts.....

p.s.

its called opinion, and just cuz you dont like him dont mean hes goin away

Jordo...check the freaking tape! Your man Pla is the one that brought Johnny Cash into the fray. Then he admits he doesn't know of his abilities, just one song! A song that Cash didn't even write at that!!! I can listen to any type of MUSIC, you know with MUSICIANS that play INSTRUMENTS! I'm not about to sacrifice myself to wallow in the gutter with a pack that can't even play a tune on ANY instrument!

Jordo, when your kids knock over their first liquor store, I'm sure you'll be a proud parent. You can look at them and know that they learned their behavior from you! After all they grew up listening to glorious songs in their house with you waving your hands in the air, grunting and pointing and making noises with your mouth that might make others think you just sneezed! Yeah, it's life imitating art, but to you it's art imitating life! What a proud parent you'll be!