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Coffee Break

9:30 Coffee Break: Slang in Songs

by Jill Riley and Sean McPherson

April 28, 2015

Coffee Break_Old
What songs do you want to hear for today's coffee break?
MPR Graphic / Tracy Kompelien

Earlier today, we shared examples from a recent article by MPR News that looks at seven American slang words that have fallen out of use. (One of the words — "bazoo," a 1940s word meaning "mouth" — is a word Sean McPherson says he'd like to try to bring back into fashion.)

The article reminded us that countless songs contain slang terms; in fact, it's what we on the Morning Show call a repeatable topic — we explored outdated slang in a Coffee Break back in November 2014 and got 200 requests.

Today, we're interested in slang words in general — outdated or not — that appear in song lyrics. Depending on your inclination, we hope you'll find this topic anything from "swell" to "groovy" to "totes amazeballs."

So for the 9:30 Coffee Break, what songs do you want to hear that prominently feature slang words in the lyrics? Send us your requests.

(And if you can find a song that includes the word "bazoo," please let us know about it.)