I know, and I’ve always known what the song was about. I think the people who thought it was about menstruation didn’t listen to much more that the title.
I don’t doubt it.
And I’ve already proclaimed by song ignorance, but if something is really successful, it become ubiquitous and eventually, you’d think, I would have heard it. Not the case with this song at all.
This one, too, was included in the Dave Barry book.
I don’t recall hearing this one, either. But back in 1962 I wasn’t paying close attention, so it’s not surprising.
Yeah. I agree it’s kinda silly, and very 70’s, but honestly it’s not that bad.
Nope. Oh you can infer one, but she could be 18 from all that the lyrics say.
Run For Your Life-The Beatles.
Boom Boom (Out go the Lights) by Little Walter, but a hit for the Pat Travers Band in the 70’s.
I never been so mad before
When I found out she ain’t mine no more
If I get her in my sight
Boom, boom, out go the lights
There are plenty of blues songs with similar themes (getting back at my cheating girl) but something about the audience participation on the “Boom Boom” part makes it particularly disturbing.
Brown Sugar by the Rolling Stones. Glorifying slavery and misogyny in one fell swoop.
Except the singer in Young Girl is specifically telling her to run away from him. He does admit to being tempted, but that was when he thought she was older and once he discovers she’s too young, he ends it.
In the rest of the mini-opera, the girl comes back when she’s of age (“Lady Willpower”) and they have sex (“This Girl is a Woman Now”). But she tires of him and starts looking for other men (“Woman, Woman”). When she finally leaves, he is hurt (“Over You”).
I think you may have the winner here, plus it hit number one!
“Short People” by Randy Newman was No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks, according to Wikipedia.
It was song against prejudice so I’m not sure it qualifies as in bad taste, but most listeners missed the point he was making.
“Fulsom Prison Blues” by Johnny Cash.
I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die.
Deservedly panned in the recent past, Baby it’s Cold Outside deserves a mention. And what a story - after having been called for being suggestive of date rape, it made the Billboard download top ten.
It gets weirder - the Wiki page tells the story of it being suspended by radio station
You couldn’t make it up.
j
Both mother and daughter are whores servicing Yankees. Just because it whooshed over the Andrew Sisters’ heads doesn’t make it any less offensive.
eta: and what exactly is misogynistic about the Eagles? I can’t think of a single song that fits.
Truly words to live by. You slew me with that one! 
Benny Mardones claimed that the problematic lyrics of *Into the Night * were totally innocent and about a neighbor he was fond of like a younger sister.
The video feels just a little different…
Definitely a hit. It charted in the top 20 twice.
And, though I suspect that the origins of the song are lost to history, there are a lot of theories about what “Black Betty” refers to, which have nothing to do with race (or even people) – Wikipedia has a number of cites, suggesting that the term might be referring to a gun, a whip, a whiskey bottle, or a penitentiary wagon.
Don’t know if it counts as a hit, but Elvis Costello’s Alison. Linda Ronstadt did a very pretty cover of it, but ISTM that murder is in bad taste.
Regards,
Shodan
Somewhat off-topic (thought I consider most hit songs to be in poor taste), but this reminds me of when my son was in a band. When it came to song selection, violence against kids (like Foster the People’s big hit) was off-limits, but songs with spousal beating/killing were allowed.
For some reason I thought that was his ONLY hit, but apparently that didn’t even chart and his only Top 40 hit was Veronica.