# Once-popular songs that are no longer socially acceptable **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [August 20, 2024, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956 "2024-08-20T20:18:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2024, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/201 "2024-08-22T21:51:08Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > “Big Bottom” from Spinal Tap’s _Smell the Glove_ album would never fly today. > > [https://youtu.be/YjC0vMIrOAk?si=GUZebihou5UTkiqY](https://youtu.be/YjC0vMIrOAk?si=GUZebihou5UTkiqY) It’s a joke song. Still works in context like their ballad _Lick My Love Pump._ ---
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2024, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/202 "2024-08-22T23:05:06Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > For decades I’ve led the fight to make “Open the Door, Richard” socially unacceptable. What’s wrong with it? ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2024, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/203 "2024-08-22T23:29:34Z")
It’s personal 😀 ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2024, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/204 "2024-08-23T01:49:07Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I haven’t heard Ahab The Arab by Ray Stevens since it first came out. Still on YouTube. It is not _that_ bad… I give a lot of comedy a pass. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2024, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/205 "2024-08-23T03:34:15Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I haven’t heard Ahab The Arab by Ray Stevens since it first came out. But Achmed the Dead Terrorist is still a popular character. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2024, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/206 "2024-08-23T03:35:57Z")
fat bottomed girls _naughty nanny that made a bad boy out of me_ ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2024, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/207 "2024-08-23T03:44:19Z")
That was the Boomtown Rats only real hit, wasn’t it? Too bad, Rats. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2024, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/208 "2024-08-23T03:51:03Z")
Patti Smith’s “Rock & Roll N\_\_\_\_\_” came up on my Amazon Music shuffle the other day. I gather that it’s fairly popular among her fans. My thoughts were “This song rocks, and I get what she was going for, but I should probably NEVER EVER tell anyone else that I’ve listened to it”. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2024, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/209 "2024-08-23T03:52:41Z")
> [@Tzigone](#): > > I disagree - I still believe “what’s in this drink” is about more alcohol than “should” have been there (deliberately getting someone drunker to get her to go against her good sense and do something she wouldn’t do sober), despite the protestations to the reverse I’ve seen. And, if a person chooses not to stay because if can ruin them (socially speaking - including possibilities for marriage if this relationship fails, which may mean financially speaking), then that is a good reason. “Hey, what’s in this drink?” was a stock joke at the time and the humor was derived, in part, because it was known there wasn’t really anything in the drink. This is what an audience in the 1940s would have understood. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2024, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/210 "2024-08-23T04:19:03Z")
> [@Al128](#): > > fat bottomed girls > > _naughty nanny that made a bad boy out of me_ 🤨 This song is definitely not in the “no longer socially acceptable” category. I hear it all over the place, movies, TV, radio, etc. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2024, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/211 "2024-08-23T05:35:36Z")
> [@Al128](#): > > fat bottomed girls Naw, that exalts them, not insults them. > [@Odesio](#): > > “Hey, what’s in this drink?” was a stock joke at the time and the humor was derived, in part, because it was known there wasn’t really anything in the drink. This is what an audience in the 1940s would have understood. Yep, as I said, one ignorant person heard that and jumped to a conclusion, wrote a blog or something, ---
**Author:** ![UDS1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e47774/32.png) [@UDS1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS1)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2024, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/212 "2024-08-23T05:36:53Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > That was the Boomtown Rats only real hit, wasn’t it? Too bad, Rats. It’s a Queen song. It wasn’t their only hit, obviously. I’m not aware that the Rats ever recorded or performed it; it certainly wasn’t a hit for them. The Rats’ most successful single was _I Don’t Like Mondays_, no. 1 in 1979 and again when reissued in 1994. They also had a no. 1 with _Rat Trap_, as well as few other top 10 hits. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2024, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/213 "2024-08-23T11:07:51Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > > [@Al128](#): > > > > fat bottomed girls > > > > _naughty nanny that made a bad boy out of me_ > > 🤨 This song is definitely not in the “no longer socially acceptable” category. I hear it all over the place, movies, TV, radio, etc. I’ve wondered why that part of the song doesn’t seem to raise more eyebrows than it does. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2024, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/214 "2024-08-23T11:40:54Z")
Yeah, I’ve been thinking about Ross Bagdasarian’s (David Seville’s) _Witch Doctor_ for a while now as an example of non-pc songs. One reason I’ve been thinking about it is that I stumbled across someone quoting the lyrics in a recent sf/fantasy story – the “OO-ee-ooh-ah-ah. Ting Tang. Walla walla bing bang” part. Which isn’t a problem in itself, except that it’s the speech on a non-english speaking ethnic, which seems to shift it back into non-pc territory. Forgive me if this one has been cited already, but I didn’t see it when I looked through this thread: > [@](#): > > " **They’re Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!**" is a 1966 [novelty](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novelty_song) record written and performed by Jerry Samuels (billed as [Napoleon XIV](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon_XIV)), and released on [Warner Bros. Records](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warner_Records). The B-side was just the A-side played backwards: > [@](#): > > B-side (!aaaH-aH ,yawA eM ekaT oT gnimoC er’yehT) > [@](#): > > In his _Book of Rock Lists_ , rock music critic [Dave Marsh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Marsh) calls the B-side the “most obnoxious song ever to appear in a [jukebox](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jukebox)”, saying the recording once “cleared out a [diner](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diner) of forty patrons in two minutes flat.”[[9]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/They%27re_Coming_to_Take_Me_Away,_Ha-Haaa!#cite_note-9) Believe it or not, there were sequels and imitations, which you can find listed on the Wikipedia site [They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa! - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/They%27re_Coming_to_Take_Me_Away,_Ha-Haaa)! > [@](#): > > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=\_xRCbdFrSSc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xRCbdFrSSc) It’s not surprising that this paean to the mental health industry doesn’t get much play today. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2024, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/215 "2024-08-23T13:25:39Z")
In country music, there’s Kawliga (Hank Williams) and Welfare Cadillac (Guy Drake). Although I’m not sure country audiences care. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2024, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/216 "2024-08-23T13:35:44Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > In country music, there’s Kawliga (Hank Williams) No matter how cringeworthy the lyrics are (but let’s not forget that the song is 70 years old), I like the music so much that I just don’t care and enjoy it on every listen. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2024, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/217 "2024-08-23T14:10:52Z")
It ain’t _Ahab the Arab_, but I’m surprised that the cliche-fest that is Maria Muldaur’s _Midnight at the Oasis_ was recorded even in 1973. It’s a song that made me go “WTF?” when it came out. I’m doubly surprised that it was covered multiple times, up through at least 2021. Really? And “Cactus is our friend”? > **[Midnight at the Oasis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midnight_at_the_Oasis)** > > "Midnight at the Oasis" is a song by the American singer Maria Muldaur from her 1973 debut album, Maria Muldaur. Written by David Nichtern, it is her best-known recording. > It reached #6 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and #21 in the UK Singles Chart in 1974. Billboard ranked it as the No. 13 song for 1974. It was also nominated for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 17th Annual Grammy Awards, held in 1975. In Canada, the song reached #2 in the RPM singles charts and #45 in the year-... ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2024, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/218 "2024-08-23T14:15:28Z")
If you’re walking through the desert at midnight, cactus is certainly NOT your friend! ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2024, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/219 "2024-08-23T14:23:16Z")
Cole Porter’s “Let’s Do It, Let’s Fall in Love” is still performed, but usually without the original opening lines: Chinks do it, Japs do it, up in Lapland little Laps\* do it… \*The Sami people of Finland aren’t fond of being called Laps. ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2024, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/220 "2024-08-23T14:34:42Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > Its come up previously on the dope but Under My Thumb by the Stones is extremely dodgy. Its basically boasting about controlling emotional abuse. I don’t think it gets played on the radio anymore? I had a classics professor in college (many years ago) make a surprisingly compelling and coherent argument that the song was actually about [Antigone and Creon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antigone_(Sophocles_play)). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956.md?page=12)