# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2024, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/21 "2024-08-20T21:52:58Z")
> [@Jaycat.again](#): > > In I Saw Her Standing There, she was just seventeen I think the age of consent in England in the 1960s was 16. ---
**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 20, 2024, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/22 "2024-08-20T21:55:34Z")
> [@whitetho](#): > > This is another song which, like Walk On The Wild Side and Lola, still gets regular unedited plays on radio. What’s wrong with those songs? Sure, they’re about trans people, and some of the first ones, but they aren’t denigrating but rather neutral about them. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2024, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/23 "2024-08-20T21:57:18Z")
“Young Girl” by Gary Puckett. Actually, a lot of songs by Gary Puckett. And don’t even get me started on [“Civilization” by Danny Kaye & The Andrews Sisters](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEyDNTLlRgU). > [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > What’s wrong with those songs? Sure, they’re about trans people, and some of the first ones, but they aren’t denigrating but rather neutral about them. These days “Walk on the Wild Side” may be more problematic for the reference to “the colored girls”. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2024, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/24 "2024-08-20T21:58:42Z")
_Under My Thumb_, also by the Stones. > It’s down to me, yes it is > The way she does just what she’s told > Down to me, the change has come > She’s under my thumb ---
**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 20, 2024, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/25 "2024-08-20T22:00:45Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > Brown Sugar by the Stones. Pretty much hits all the notes. And a lot of other Stones songs too. See, I’m a big Stones fan, but I could make a long list of misogynistic songs they did, "Stupid Girl, “Yesterday’s Paper”, “Out Of Time”, “Some Girls” (racist too). And what about “Stray Cat Blues” about sex with a 15 year old groupie (13 years in the live version from “Get Your Ya-Ya’s Out”)? ETA: and yes, “Under My Thumb” too, forgot to put it on my list. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2024, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/26 "2024-08-20T22:05:00Z")
Paul Anka and Conway Twitty are the epitome of skeeve. Mac Davis too. As for a particular song, Oogha Chucka might be racist. (Or whatever it’s name was) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2024, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/27 "2024-08-20T22:10:47Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > (Or whatever it’s name was) _Hooked On A Feeling_ by Blue Swede. I don’t know about the ‘ooga-chaka’ lyric. On one hand, it does sound like stereotypical ‘African Native’ gibberish. On the other hand, it serves the same purpose as ‘sha-la-la-la’ or ‘oom-papa, oom-papa’. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2024, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/28 "2024-08-20T22:14:36Z")
Worth noting that “Hooked on a Feeling” by Blue Swede was a cover. The original was by B.J. Thomas, and did not include the “ooga-chakas.” ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2024, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/29 "2024-08-20T22:15:09Z")
I’d add The Beatles Run For Your Life. I really don’t see any double meaning, it seems pretty clear cut. And for the older folk, The Andrew Sisters Rum and Coca-Cola. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2024, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/30 "2024-08-20T22:16:08Z")
_Island Girl_ by Elton John and _Dreadlock Holiday_ by 10CC. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2024, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/31 "2024-08-20T22:17:37Z")
Please, [Mr. Custer](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Custer) probably won’t be covered any time soon ---
**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 20, 2024, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/32 "2024-08-20T22:18:17Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I’d add The Beatles Run For Your Life. I really don’t see any double meaning, it seems pretty clear cut. Also “You Can’t Do That”, John Lennon was pathologically jealous and didn’t hide it. See “Jealous Guy”. Another song in that vein is “My Way” by Eddie Cochran (not the Paul Anka/Frank Sinatra song), later covered by the Who. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8N9OCGJgWu4/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AG-AoAC8AGKAgwIABABGGUgZShlMA8=&rs=AOn4CLBmOIRDwotm3BNs39H-pMl7kk00zw "Eddie Cochran - My Way") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8N9OCGJgWu4) ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2024, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/33 "2024-08-20T22:22:40Z")
_Funky Cold Medina_ by Tone Loc. It touches on transphobia, slipping aphrodisiacs into your date’s drink, and giving the aphrodisiac to your pet. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2024, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/34 "2024-08-20T22:26:20Z")
King Houdini’s 1939 calypso hit that went to the top of the R&B charts and #7 on the pop charts, “Stone Cold Dead In The Market” is a catchy number about spousal abuse and death.\* \*i discovered my parents’ copy of the record during my dissolute youth. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/EMyTtPZgPsQ/maxresdefault.jpg "L.A. Noire: K.T.I. Radio - Stone Cold Dead in the Market - Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Jordan") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMyTtPZgPsQ) ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2024, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/35 "2024-08-20T22:27:30Z")
“Faggot” in Great Britain actually means “cigarette”, or at least it originally did. “The Homecoming Queen’s Got A Gun” was not played on MTV, but it was played on the much looser “Night Flight” on the USA Network. This doesn’t condone domestic violence, then or now, but it sure has been misinterpreted over the years. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/f20Oz9Yr_So/hqdefault.jpg "The Crystals - He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f20Oz9Yr_So) ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2024, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/36 "2024-08-20T22:27:33Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > And for the older folk, The Andrew Sisters Rum and Coca-Cola. That one was banned on the radio when it came out, in the '40s. Isn’t it an ironic twist that today the offensive part is the faux Trinidadian patois, but the references to alcohol and prostitution are now considered tame? ~Max ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2024, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/37 "2024-08-20T22:28:00Z")
And of course, there’s “Hey Joe.” ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2024, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/38 "2024-08-20T22:28:47Z")
The the moment I saw this thread I thought of Rod Stewart singing “Stay With Me”. Totally makes me cringe, especially since when it first came out I was a lot younger and didn’t listen to lyrics all that carefully. So partially cringing for myself. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2024, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/39 "2024-08-20T22:29:52Z")
In many of those songs, it’s sung from the perspective of a boy or young man who’s about the same age. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2024, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/40 "2024-08-20T22:29:55Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Well, there’s that old Cher song. I’m not even going to mention the name. The one that [got its own thread here](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gypsies-tramps-and-thieves-when-were-you-travelling/1005584) in recent days? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956.md?page=3)