Hi Blanca
I �m aware of the real meaning of �ho � and I explained to my students that it �s an offensive slang term for a woman who has sex for money - a prostitute.
However, this song is very popular and it �s also the song they voted to work on. So rather than scrap the whole song just for one word, we decided to make a joke of it and use the word �hoe � instead ... a gardening tool, as shown in the students � illustration.
In the end, I might get into trouble with parents for this - and also for the lyrics of Bruno Mars � �Lazy Song �. However, I know my students regularly use YouTube, Facebook etc ... so I �m sure they �ll have been exposed to much worse.
Unfortunately, a lot of current pop songs are unusable because of a handful of words or suggestive lyrics. It �s a real shame. In the end, I decided to just go for it. Hopefully I won �t live to regret my decision!
Anyway - thanks for the heads up. And thanks to everyone for commenting.
Brian
