# 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:** 9
**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 22, 2024, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/161 "2024-08-22T02:05:07Z")
I picked up a little Czech when I was in Prague. She was fantastic! > **NSFW hidden by What Exit?** > > > [Sarka Lukesova.jpg (1282×2254) (babepedia.com)](https://www.babepedia.com/pics/Sarka%20Lukesova.jpg) (Probably NSFW.) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2024, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/162 "2024-08-22T02:50:55Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > “Die Wacht am Rhein” (“The Watch on the Rhine”), a patriotic nationalist anthem dating back to the 19th century, was used instead. And not at all Nazi. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2024, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/163 "2024-08-22T02:53:18Z")
> [@YellowDog51](#): > > Randy Newman - “Rednecks” (liberal use of what we now call the “N-word). I love Randy Newman, but you’re not going to hear this one anytime soon! But it really pokes fun at the bigots- _We talk real funny down here_ _We drink too much and we laugh too loud_ _We’re too dumb to make it in no Northern town_ _And we’re keepin’ the n\*\*\*\*\*s down_ _We got no necked oilmen from Texas_ _And good ol’ boys from Tennessee_ _And colleges men from LSU_ _Went in dumb, come out dumb too_ _Hustlin’ 'round Atlanta in their alligator shoes_ _Gettin’ drunk every weekend at the barbecues_ ---
**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 22, 2024, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/164 "2024-08-22T03:02:35Z")
- killing an arab - The Cure … probably very problematic today - pretty much anything by David Coverdale (slide it in, lay down - stay down, ready and willing, spit it out,…) - Flying (I jumped out the window to get to the parking lot) - Living Colour (an extremely cynical 9/11 reference which always surprised me for its lack of pushback) ---
**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 22, 2024, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/165 "2024-08-22T03:10:37Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > _Lied_, BTW, is German for “song.” It’s pronounced _leed_. Heh. It never occurred to me that it might be pronounced another way. ---
**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 22, 2024, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/166 "2024-08-22T03:20:19Z")
You never mistook it for the English word “lied”? ---
**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 22, 2024, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/167 "2024-08-22T03:43:01Z")
No, I haven’t. (Lots of German in high school and college.) ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2024, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/168 "2024-08-22T03:51:46Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > > [@YellowDog51](#): > > > > Randy Newman - “Rednecks” (liberal use of what we now call the “N-word). I love Randy Newman, but you’re not going to hear this one anytime soon! > > But it really pokes fun at the bigots- But not the bigots you might be thinking it is. It starts out this way: > Last night I saw Lester Maddox on a TV show > With some smart a\*\* New York Jew > And the Jew laughed at Lester Maddox > And the audience laughed at Lester Maddox too > Well he may be a fool but he’s our fool > If they think they’re better than him they’re wrong The “New York Jew” was Dick Cavett, a Nebraskan who was not Jewish. (Here’s a [gift link](https://www.nytimes.com/1970/12/19/archives/gov-maddox-quits-in-huff-during-cavett-show-taping.html?unlocked_article_code=1.E04.oM1C.IIrx6kViD_Gp&smid=url-share) to a contemporary NYT article about the incident.) The character singing the song talks about all the stereotypical things Northerners believe about Southern bigots who are trying to “keep the n\*\*\*\*\*\*s down.” But then he talks about how black people in the North have it better. > Down here we’re too ignorant to realize > That the North has set the n\*\*\*\*\* free > Yes he’s free to be put in a cage > In Harlem in New York City > And he’s free to be put in a cage > On the South Side of Chicago > And the West Side > And he’s free to be put in a cage > In Hough in Cleveland > And he’s free to be put in a cage > In East St. Louis > And he’s free to be put in a cage > In Fillmore in San Francisco > And he’s free to be put in a cage > In Roxbury in Boston > They’re gatherin’ ‘em up from miles around > Keepin’ the n\*\*\*\*\*s down. So the listener starts out with a smug sense of superiority over this redneck character, but by the end realizes that Northerners may not be quite so much better than Southerners after all. And the redneck knows it. ---
**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 22, 2024, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/169 "2024-08-22T03:54:58Z")
Ausgezeichnet! ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2024, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/170 "2024-08-22T04:47:07Z")
The word is “goon”, not “coon.” ---
**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 22, 2024, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/171 "2024-08-22T07:57:53Z")
> [@Al128](#): > > killing an arab - The Cure … probably very problematic today Along with Monty Python’s “Never Be Rude to an Arab.” ---
**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 22, 2024, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/172 "2024-08-22T08:26:25Z")
> [@Al128](#): > > - killing an arab - The Cure … probably very problematic today I don’t think that many people still have a problem with Albert Camus. ---
**Author:** ![themapleleaf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/themapleleaf/32/14349_2.png) [@themapleleaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/themapleleaf)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2024, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/173 "2024-08-22T08:59:24Z")
I cringe at the lyrics of Tom Jones’ “She’s a Lady.” Some of the gems from it: “But she always knows her place / She’s got style, she’s got grace, she’s a winner” “Well, she’s never in the way / Always something nice to say, and what a blessin’ I can leave her on her own / Knowin’ she’s okay alone and there’s no messin’” “Well, she never asks very much / And I don’t refuse her Always treat her with respect / I never would abuse her” So he’s found himself a woman who is not only sexy and stylish, but also apparently submissive and meek. And he wants a prize for not being abusive to her. Yuck. ---
**Author:** ![JacobSwan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@JacobSwan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JacobSwan)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2024, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/174 "2024-08-22T11:17:25Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > “faggot” used to mean a bundle of brushwood It’s from the same root as the italian word fasces which was adopted as a symbol by a certain political party. Are Fascists ok with being called faggots? Living Doll by Cliff Richard has the worrying line about locking her up in a trunk. The Comic Relief version lampshaded this by having Neil say he felt sorry for the elephant. ---
**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 22, 2024, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/175 "2024-08-22T12:19:56Z")
I haven’t heard Ahab The Arab by Ray Stevens since it first came out. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2024, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/176 "2024-08-22T12:41:27Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > > [@Max\_S](#): > > > > So the notion that the songs aren’t socially acceptable… is false. You all are either wishful thinkers or living in a bubble. > > People listen to and watch all kinds of garbage. Is that really the standard? > > I doubt you’ll hear _Brown Sugar_ played (unironically) in a film, tv show or commercial anytime soon. Yeah, because it’s old AF. I wouldn’t expect to hear it in a film or tv show unless it took place during the Vietnam War or something. OTOH, I actually never read (or could properly hear most of) the lyrics before now. It’s pretty much about having sex with underage black slave girls…so…yeah… Still catchy though. ---
**Author:** ![Pavelb1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/439d5e/32.png) [@Pavelb1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pavelb1)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2024, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/177 "2024-08-22T12:43:10Z")
Played it a billion times on my KTEL record along with Yummy Yummy Yummy ---
**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 22, 2024, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/178 "2024-08-22T12:44:06Z")
Yeah, I forgot. They never play 60s music in films or tv anymore. 🙄 ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2024, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/179 "2024-08-22T13:31:47Z")
> [@Max\_S](#): > > I really can’t think of many modern movies that play the Rolling Stones at all. _Paint It Black_ and _Sympathy For the Devil_ still get quite a bit of play. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2024, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956/180 "2024-08-22T13:42:54Z")
**Moderating** : Please ensure you follow the two click rule for links that are **N** ot **S** afe **F** or **W** ork. Also not sure what this really has to do with the thread and appears to be a random joke. So this is bording on a warning. [https://boards.straightdope.com/tos](https://boards.straightdope.com/tos) > **Two Click Rule from Terms of Service** > > **Pornography and potentially offensive material.** Do not post links to pornography – we will be the judge of what constitutes pornography. Links to nudity or other potentially shocking or offensive material are permissible only in the context of a mature discussion – gratuitous posting of such links is grounds for revocation of your posting privileges. When posting a link to potentially shocking or offensive material, observe the “two click” rule – don’t link directly to the item, but rather to an intermediate page that in turns links to the item. Alternatively, you may use the “spoiler” function – highlight the link, click on the Tool (gear) icon in the posting menu, and click on Blur Spoiler. Then provide an adequate, accurate description of what the blurred link points to. If you’re not sure whether a link is appropriate, contact a moderator or administrator before posting it. Any user who feels a posted message is objectionable should flag it or contact the moderators of the affected forum by private message. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-popular-songs-that-are-no-longer-socially-acceptable/1005956.md?page=10)