What was the title of George Carlin’s routine listing seven words he said television could not broadcast?
Answer
Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television
George Carlin’s routine was titled “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television.”
Carlin introduced the routine in his 1972 album Class Clown. It examined broadcast taboos by presenting seven English words that he argued should not automatically be treated as obscene in every context. The bit became one of his signature performances and helped define his confrontational style.
The routine also became part of a major American free-speech dispute. In 1973, a radio station broadcast a version of it, and the Federal Communications Commission later pursued the station after a complaint. The resulting Supreme Court case, FCC v. Pacifica Foundation, upheld the FCC’s authority to regulate indecent broadcast material in certain circumstances.
A common mix-up is treating the title as a list of general swear words. Its importance comes from the combination of Carlin’s language analysis, broadcast regulation, and comedy history.