# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2024, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/121 "2024-08-21T18:43:59Z")
> [@veryfrank](#): > > “The Sick Bed of Cúchulainn” drops an antisemitic slur Though in the context of “he decked some f\_cking black shirt who was cursing all the y\_ds” which is ok IMO. I mean it’s literally about physically assaulting a Nazi for abusing Jewish people. I have more problem with “Now you’ll sing a song of liberty for blacks and p\_ks and jocks”. Abbreviating Pakistani is literally the UK equivalent of the N word. ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2024, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/122 "2024-08-21T18:44:13Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > > [@xizor](#): > > > > Or go back to the 1970s and Peter Gabriel’s _Games without Frontiers_ where they get pissed on. The rest of the song is not much better. > > Huh? I’m totally perplexed. Where do Blacks get pissed on in that song? That song was on the same album as fucking “Biko”, not exactly a racist hymn. > > ETA: wait, I have a theory: did you perhaps totally mishear the line “we’re kissing baboons in the jungle”? Else I have no explanation. > > ETA2: I also have no idea what else is objectionable in the song. It’s a cryptic song, but I always took it for being about the Cold War, war in general and mankind’s general stupidity. Likely misheard, “Whistling tunes we piss on the goons in the jungle” ---
**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 21, 2024, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/123 "2024-08-21T18:46:34Z")
> [@74westy](#): > > Likely misheard, “Whistling tunes we piss on the goons in the jungle” Ah, how could I have forgotten that line? Yeah, that’s the likely explanation. ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2024, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/124 "2024-08-21T18:49:42Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > Though in the context of “he decked some f\_cking black shirt who was cursing all the y\_ds” which is ok IMO. I mean it’s literally about physically assaulting a Nazi for abusing Jewish people. > > I have more problem with “Now you’ll sing a song of liberty for blacks and p\_ks and jocks”. Abbreviating Pakistani is literally the UK equivalent of the N word. Fair 'nuff on the first though it’s still pretty rough. I’d forgotten about that last verse as I was writing my contribution here. But yeah…horrible. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2024, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/125 "2024-08-21T18:51:57Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Ah, how could I have forgotten that line? Yeah, that’s the likely explanation. That is the line I am talking about. I have heard both sides (the lyrics listed don’t match the word sung vs no, you misheard it). ---
**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 21, 2024, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/126 "2024-08-21T18:54:27Z")
It’s definitely “goon” and not “coon”. If you look at Peter Gabriel’s career and activities, he’s really the last person in music who would be suspicious for racism, rather the very opposite. Again, think of “Biko”, which was a milestone for awareness of the horrors of apartheid and the later “Free Mandela” movement. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/jsVieeccpQs/maxresdefault.jpg "Biko") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsVieeccpQs) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2024, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/127 "2024-08-21T19:27:09Z")
I disagree. She was just being Peggy Lee is all. I highly doubt she sang it mockingly, with some malicious intent. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2024, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/128 "2024-08-21T19:30:33Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > And of course, there’s “Hey Joe.” What’s wrong with “Hey Joe”? Yeah, he shoots his old lady for messing around with another man, but then he has to go way down to Mexico. It was wrong at the time, they knew it, and it’s still wrong now. My example that I’ve used before is Jimmy Buffett’s “Livingston Saturday Night”. Written in the 70s, when most states had legal drinking age of 18, and Jimmy was in his 20s. “Hittin’ on the honeys right out of high school” at a bar is a little more acceptable. Now that the drinking age is 21, and those “honeys” aren’t (generally) in a bar… it’s a little skeevier, especially when Jimmy was singing it in his 50s. Oh, and it is a lot less acceptable for the “15 will get you 20, but that’s all right” > [@kayT](#): > > 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. This song is one of my guilty pleasures. There is nothing socially redeemable in the lyrics (never was). The guy is a total scumbag. But that music… ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2024, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/129 "2024-08-21T19:32:54Z")
I didn’t realize there were two versions; the only one I’ve ever heard was the original one. Then again, I’m not much of a country listener, and most of that was involuntarily when I was younger and my dad and friend’s dads listened to it in the car. Almost certainly pre-1988 too. ---
**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 21, 2024, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/130 "2024-08-21T19:33:22Z")
Yes, it was ‘piss on the goons’ on the album and ‘kissing baboons’ was dubbed in for the radio edit. If anyone doubts that it’s ‘goons’ check it out live: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/-_bEvJYZNzA/hqdefault.jpg "Peter Gabriel - Games Without Frontiers (Live in Buenos Aires, 2009)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_bEvJYZNzA&t=74) The idea that Gabriel is expressing some racist sentiment is ridiculous. ---
**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 21, 2024, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/131 "2024-08-21T19:44:16Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > Yes, it was ‘piss on the goons’ on the album and ‘kissing baboons’ was dubbed in for the radio edit. If anyone doubts that it’s ‘goons’ check it out live: Ah, thanks, that explains my confusion. I first heard the song on the radio when it came out and bought the single (which had the “baboon” line), but I never had the album or listened to the album version with much attention. ---
**Author:** ![Patx2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/73ab20/32.png) [@Patx2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patx2)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2024, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/132 "2024-08-21T19:48:14Z")
What about L.A. Woman by The Doors? “Are you a lucky little lady in the City of Light, or just another lost angel…” ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2024, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/133 "2024-08-21T20:09:30Z")
A few people have mentioned _Money for Nothing_ by Dire Straits, due to the homophonic lyrics, but this is a rant based on a conversation Mark Knopfler heard in a store in New York and clearly is being sung ironically given the status of the band performing it. _Les Boys_ on the other hand… probably Dire Straits’ worst song. Someone mentioned The Pogues. Their most famous song, you know, the Christmas one, has had its lyrics changed for radio play due to the use of the F word (no not Father Christmas). ---
**Author:** ![Tzigone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Tzigone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tzigone)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2024, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/134 "2024-08-21T20:23:40Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Only by ignorant people. The song is innocuous. 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. Just because your hormones - or even your heart - want something doesn’t automatically make it a good life decision. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2024, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/135 "2024-08-21T20:41:13Z")
That line is completely misinterpreted. The answer to the question “what’s in this drink” was always “nothing.” It was used when someone accidentally spoke the truth and was trying to cover for it (e.g., “Boss you’re ugly!” “What did you say?” “Gee, what’s in this drink.”). It’s clear from the song that the woman _wants_ to stay; there is no lyric that indicates she wants to leave; just that other people’s expectations say she should leave, preventing her from doing what she wants to do. Note also that the man does not dispute any of her excuses (e.g., after “My mother will start to worry,” he doesn’t say, “Don’t listen to your mother.”). Instead, he gives excuses for her to use. The song is feminist in nature, saying a woman can do what she wants without worrying about what society thinks. ---
**Author:** ![TheTooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/919ad9/32.png) [@TheTooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheTooth)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2024, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/136 "2024-08-21T20:45:22Z")
Kate Bush isn’t saying “she’s so popular” in the background either. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2024, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/137 "2024-08-21T20:46:04Z")
_“A Last Request (I Want Your Sex Part III)”_ by George Michaels definitely seem problematic. Opening lyrics: > It’s late > Time for bed > So I sit and I wait > For that gin and tonic > To go to your head > > I know > It’s a devious plan > But it’s the only way that I know > To get those big bad car keys > Out of your hand > You know > That I remain a gentleman > But even so > There’s only so much > A gentleman can stand > Sleep with me > Oh > Sleep with me, tonight ---
**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 21, 2024, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/138 "2024-08-21T20:52:09Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > There was a song called “Hey Wop”, with lyrics like “Hey, wop! Get up and go down to the barber shop!”. Ooh, that Italian accent! I’m guessing Irving Berlin wrote it for a woman to sing, since the first verse is “I got a husband”, but I could only find a recording by a man: [https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/2000151311/3679-Hey\_Wop](https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/2000151311/3679-Hey_Wop) ~Max ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2024, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/139 "2024-08-21T20:52:51Z")
> [@TheTooth](#): > > Kate Bush isn’t saying “she’s so popular” in the background either. Took me decades to figure that out. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2024, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/140 "2024-08-21T21:14:20Z")
I’m astonished that you could find it! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956.md?page=8)