Stoled: The Copyright Infringement Incident
Cledus T. Judd Lyrics
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Where I just heard a song that I had to howl out
My lawyers told my to proceed with caution
Or I'd make a whole lot of songwriters mad
Uh-huh
And I said
If I take a song and make it mine all mine
Like I did so many times with old Tim McGraw's
Yeah I never heard anything sound so fine
Mind if I borrow one or two of your lines
Well I stole it once stole it twice
I STOLE it from a writer on Music Row
Well he just moved to town and he didn't know
About ASCAP, SESAC, or BMI
So he might as well kiss his song goodbye
I had my number two pencil going about a mile a minute
Till I had his ideas all written down
And I knew I really went and did it
When the police came and hauled my butt downtown
And I said
Hey John Michael Montgomery won't mind
If I steal a song and make it mine all mine
Like I did so many times with Tim McGraw's
Yeah I never heard anything sound so fine
Mind if I borrow one or two of your lines
Well I stole it once stole it twice
I STOLE that song and I must confess
When I went to court I plead no contest
Got a big fat lip and two black eyes
Never should have messed with his copyright
Yeah
I told the judge I had writers block but he hauled my butt away
And now it hurts too much to laugh about the song I stole that day
When I said
Hey John Michael Montgomery won't mind
If I steal a song and make it mine all mine
Like I did so many times with Tim McGraw
Yeah I never heard anything sound so fine
Mind if I borrow one or two of your lines
So I stole it once stole it twice
I STOLE it from a writer on Music Row
Well he just moved to town and he didn't know
About ASCAP, SESAC, or BMI
So he might as well kiss his song goodbye
(GASP)
EYE
STOLE
WHEE!!!!
The song "Stoled: The Copyright Infringement Incident" by Cledus T. Judd tells the story of a songwriter who attends a Music City function and hears a song that he wants to make his own. Despite his lawyers warning him to proceed with caution, the songwriter proceeds to steal the song, lyrics and all, from a new and naive writer who was not yet familiar with organizations such as ASCAP, SESAC, and BMI that protect copyrights. The songwriter boasts about his previous song-stealing experiences from John Michael Montgomery and Tim McGraw before ultimately getting caught by the police, pleading no contest in court, and suffering the consequences for his actions.
The song highlights the issue of copyright infringement in the music industry and the fact that many artists have been accused of stealing lyrics or melodies from songwriters without proper credit or compensation. It also pokes fun at Judd's own reputation as a comedic country artist known for his parodies of popular songs.
Line by Line Meaning
Well I went down to a Music City function
I attended an event in Music City
Where I just heard a song that I had to howl out
I heard an exceptional song that I couldn't help but sing out loud
My lawyers told my to proceed with caution
My legal advisors advised me to be careful
Or I'd make a whole lot of songwriters mad
Otherwise, I might offend many songwriters
Hey John Michael Montgomery won't mind
I thought John Michael Montgomery wouldn't have any objections
If I take a song and make it mine all mine
If I plagiarize the song and claim it as my work
Like I did so many times with old Tim McGraw's
Similar to how I have copied Tim McGraw's songs before
Yeah I never heard anything sound so fine
I had never listened to anything better
Mind if I borrow one or two of your lines
Can I take inspiration from one or two of your lyrics
Well I stole it once stole it twice
I plagiarized the song twice
I STOLE it from a writer on Music Row
I took it from a songwriter in Music Row without permission
Well he just moved to town and he didn't know
The songwriter was a new resident and wasn't aware of the music copyright organizations
About ASCAP, SESAC, or BMI
The songwriter was unaware of the three main music copyright organizations
So he might as well kiss his song goodbye
The songwriter might have to let go of his song
I had my number two pencil going about a mile a minute
I was writing the song ideas rapidly
Till I had his ideas all written down
Until I had written down all of his creative ideas
And I knew I really went and did it
I knew I had committed plagiarism
When the police came and hauled my butt downtown
The authorities arrested me and took me to police detention
I STOLE that song and I must confess
I admit that I plagiarized the song
When I went to court I plead no contest
I proposed no argument in court
Got a big fat lip and two black eyes
As a consequence, I got physically hurt
Never should have messed with his copyright
I should have respected his copyright
I told the judge I had writers block but he hauled my butt away
I tried to convince the judge that I had writer's block, but I was still sent to jail
And now it hurts too much to laugh about the song I stole that day
It is painful for me to talk about the song I plagiarized that day
EYE
A vocalization expressing excitement and satisfaction
STOLE
The act of plagiarism or stealing something not owned by oneself
WHEE!!!!
An expression used to depict happiness and delight
Contributed by Sophie O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.