I Read the News Today, Oh Boy…

Sez here that "United States poster companies have airbrushed the classic Beatles Abbey Road album cover to remove a cigarette from Paul McCartney's hand."

Somebody had better do something right away about such dangerous Beatles lyrics as "Found my way upstairs and had a smoke…" You know, like find a clean, healthy rhyme for "smoke" and splice it into all future pressings of Sgt. Pepper. What would work? "…had a bloke"? A "yolk"? A "toke"? Censors tend to lack much imagination. Helpful nominations are open.

Comments

[Anonymous]

I vote for "poke."

[Buck Hicks]

I like poke but it may be confused with puke and who knows where that could lead. How about HOPE. It would certainly fit into this brave new politically correct world we are being forced to live in.

[Amy Phillips]

If they substituted "Coke [TM]", I'm sure there'd be a lot of money in royalties to be had. Plus, it would fit in nicely with the other Beatles drug references transparently disguised as harmless fun.

Amy

[Harry Tuttle]

Noting the age of the surviving Beatles, I suggest, "stroke."

[Anonymous]

I nominate "gimp". So it doesn't rhyme!?

[fyodor]

Seems I recall reading once that even back in the day (the early day, Beatles-wise) "the boys" protested being pressured by the public to drop the butts to match their chirpy image.

At the risk of sounding politically correct (SO politically INcorrect in these parts), I'd like to (facetiously I assure you) suggest they switch the cig from Macca's hand to George's -- since that's what killed him!!

[Keith]

Didn?t humanitarian Josef Stalin do something similar to Leon Trotsky in a photo of them together? At least they only rubbed out a cigarette.

[Windminstrel]

Artichoke

[Steve]

Chicken-choke?

[scott]

I think it would have to be "soak" as in a bath

[Russ]

How about "bloke"? Oh wait, that would be Pete Townshend. Never mind.