McDonald's Kidz Bop CD Pulled for Kid-Unfriendly Language

by Brett Singer (Subscribe to Brett Singer's posts) May 15th 2009 6:00AM

Is McDonald's teaching kids to swear? Photo courtesy of sxc.hu.

Some Alabama parents are upset about a track on the Kidz Bop 6 CD that is being given away with McDonald's Happy Meals. They say the supposedly kid-friendly version of Gavin De Graw's "I Don't Want To Be" includes the F-word. The Boaz, Alabama McDonald's has pulled the potentially offending CD from the Happy Meals after parents complained. One parent told station WAFF-TV: "In the song the word is supposed to be 'looking,' but they're saying the f-word with the -ing on the end." (Friending? Finding? Frying? No, not those...)

Sounds pretty innocuous, right? Then parents started listening to the free CDs. Some thought they heard something they didn't expect on the Kidz Bp cover version of Gavin DeGraw's "I Don't Want To Be." What were they hearing? Well, there are a couple of options.

Here's the original lyric from DeGraw's tune (emphasis added):
I'm tired of looking 'round rooms wondering what I gotta do
You can watch the video for the song here; the lyric in question occurs about 45 seconds in.

What some parents think they hear on the Kidz Bop disc is the following:
I'm tired of f**king 'round rooms wondering what I gotta do

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Is this a horrible marketing error, or a case of parents overreacting? One ParentDish reader told us that she doesn't know what all the fuss is about. "I listened to the whole thing twice and heard no F Bombs - 'tired of lookin' round' in the chorus was the closest thing..."

KidzBop.com has a video of the song in question; again, the lyric we're talking about is about 45 seconds in. Our take: It may or may not say that four-letter word. It definitely has a weird giant dog in it and makes very little sense. To make things a little easier for us, NBC New York put the versions together. The first version is DeGraw's, the second is the Kidz. Click here to listen. Same content warning applies.

Personally, I think it's just poor diction. I doubt that anyone at Kidz Bop would risk their popular franchise by changing a song's lyric to something dirty. Heck, even Weird Al doesn't do that. That said, I do think that in the Kidz version, it sounds quite a bit like they are saying the f-word.

So listen (with headphones on if you're at work) and tell us what you think. Does the new "kid-friendly" version of the song put an extra "f" in "fast food"? Or, to paraphrase another part of Mr. DeGraw's song, are we surrounded by liars everywhere we turn?

Brett Singer is the editor-in-chief of DaddyTips.com. You can follow his tweets at Twitter.com/brettsinger.

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Comments (236)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 12)

Beckosa la Famousa 5-19-2009 @ 11:00PM

This is SO ridiculous!! IF these "intellectually challenged" parents just ignored what their minds told them was profanity, then the kids would never be the wiser about the word in question. I suspect NOW the kids know what the word is; as a side-effect of the subject being brought up at all. These parents must have profanity on the brain for them to hear what they think they hear on that track. I hope they realize now the ramifications of what they've stirred up. Do-gooders CAN go too far. They should have just shut the eff up :)

Matt W. 5-14-2009 @ 8:05PM

This just sounds like another situation where someone had just a little too much time on their hands...and still didn't hear it right! It is definitely "lookin'", no question. This verse is heard three or four times in the song, and sometimes he is a little bit relaxed on the "l" at the beginning and the word before it is "of". However his accent actually makes the "oo" sound like an "i", so if he's saying anything other than lookin', its "lickin'", which doesn't make sense at all!

I first heard this song when it was still used as the opening theme for "One Tree Hill" in its first four seasons, and this verse was used...now would a TV network such as the WB let that word be heard on a weekly basis by its teen-based audience? I don't think so! Whatsmore, DeGraw guest starred on that series on one occasion in the show's fifth season and sang the song live with only piano accompaniment, and was joined by the show's 7 year old co-star Jackson Brundage...need I say more?!

sarah 5-15-2009 @ 4:07PM

no offense but i must have heard the 'f-word' st least 10000 times before my second birthday. i know its not 'appropriate' in todays society for kids to listen to it publically but you have no idea what these kids talk about. and yes it includes the 'f-word' i think this whole thing is a waste of time

Sunny 5-14-2009 @ 8:08PM

How many times have we misunderstood the lyrics to songs??
Lucy in the sky with diamonds?
Please...these yuppie super overachieving uberparents have too much time on their hands protecting their perfect children from everything..
How STUPID do they think McDonald's would be?

shelby 5-14-2009 @ 8:16PM

i hate kidz bop..like i would rather the kids listen to the regular song..theyre going to hear it anyways!

pledge2rock 5-14-2009 @ 8:28PM

I agree, ever since I saw "Supersize Me" I never ever went back to McDonalds, let alone fast food joints. but what the hell is the "gay agenda"? I've never heard that before. Is that what the gay community is working on now? Idk

Relaxed Parent of Happy Kids 5-14-2009 @ 8:30PM

holy crap cakes...seriously? Overprotective parents getting their only exercise by jumping to conclusions. Obviously, it's doesn't say that. It wouldn't even make sense in the context. They should be more worried about stuffing their children with McDonalds. Some song lyrics sounds like other things. Happens all the time. That's why there are a bajillion lyric sites!!!

I still sing "there's a bathroom on the right" when I hear CCRs Bad Moon song...LMAO

debm 5-15-2009 @ 4:06PM

Hilarious and true. And it ain't just song lyrics that confuse us: We used to recite the Pledge of Allegiance in school, and throughout kindergarten, I solemnly intoned "...one nation, under God, invisible..." every morning. I guess that made a weird kind of sense to a 5-year-old.

Momof 2 7-21-2009 @ 11:02AM

I totally agree with you. It clearly does not say the f-word. Do these parents really have nothing better to do. Are they just trying to get a little bit of attention?

Zippy 5-14-2009 @ 8:35PM

There's a simple thing to remember if you are not sure about what you are about to say or do. For behavior/language, you think -- "How would it be if EVERYBODY did it, or said it.
That's pretty simple, but it works. It works if you have any pride in yourself, that is. Remember kids, you ARE going to grow up. Be proud when you are young - and you will certainly be proud when you grow up. It's a pretty good way to go through life!

terry 5-14-2009 @ 8:42PM

Even if the cd does not directly use this offensive word, it may be taken "as offensive". And since McDonald's is supposed to so children friendly you would think they would stop the cd promotion, regardless of popularity. Lately mcdonalds decisions on other items led myself, my entire family, many friends to stop supporting mcdonalds. This just happens to be another adder.

Mindfull 5-14-2009 @ 8:48PM

It's just poor diction. But hey, if it sinks that God awful Kidz Bop kidsploitation racket, we can all rejoice!

babyRNLiz 5-14-2009 @ 8:53PM

I did hear it, it is muffled and open to interpretation. I don't believe that "f-ing" was put in on purpose, but if I were listening to that and my kid was singing along and said what it sounds like I think I would be upset too. They curse in everything anymore, and no one thinks it is a big deal and the "moms have nothing better to complain about", but when your 4 year old starts using them it IS a big deal. Try to remember that if you had never heard the original version and this was all you had to go by, you wouldn't know what you should be hearing.

shell 5-14-2009 @ 9:06PM

ok if they are buying a meal they have money so might work and they have to go to McDonalds so they are getting out of the house...

amma 5-14-2009 @ 10:09PM

No question what it says. Alot of todo about nothing. Well, at least Micky D's got some free advertising.

sandra 5-14-2009 @ 10:08PM

F-word or no F-word, young kids don't need to be listening to that crap that some call music.

ryan 5-14-2009 @ 10:46PM

ok, as a master in sound production, I see what the problem is.

You see, some kids (especially those preps and teeny boppers that talk at 150 words per second) tend to use a slight "u" sound in the word "lookin" so it sounds like they're saying "luhkin." Now according to the actual interpretation of the sound. It says "im tirrrrrrrrred oflookinround" and so on. Now, draw the kids version in there with their little pronunciation of it, it sounds like "ahm tirrrrrrrrred ofluhkinround" and therefore those, like grandma, that are hard of hearing can't necessarily pick out the specifics of the song.