This is all part of a game we play. We collect these songs from their creators and the particular culture from whence they come - in this case, kids. Then we think we ought to not let kids see them. Silly. So why do we do it?

I think it's because of appearances - adults are supposed to keep this stuff from kids. It's part of the game. I don't think the words of these songs really matter in the long run. Children aren't going to learn anything hideous from them - children created them. Maybe it's because adults feel it's like letting little Janey play with that bad kid down the street and folks are worried about influences. Once Janey has a bike and can get out of your field of vision, she IS gonna play with that 'bad' kid. Adults make rules to give the appearance of protection that are hollow, without any real reason, and are destined to be broken.

So maybe, keeping in the spirit of the game, we could just label lyrics the grownups have problems with as 'PG'. We could even have a 'PG' section with all the lyrics indexed on one page. That way, the little kids won't be exposed and kids who are ingenious enough can still find the songs - and we've made it easier to spot the really good ones - we may even increase hits by kids. All that, and we're still giving the appearance of doing the lame rule-making that some adults do. We'd still be fulfilling our role in the game, and the kids would have a lot more fun if they feel like they've found something secret.