Hey, I still listen to it occasionally. It’s a classic. (The A side, I mean. Not the B side.)
The lyrics are completely ridiculous but the music and Muldaur’s voice are great.
Came here to defend Randy Newman’s Rednecks but I see I was beat to the punch.
“Short People” was popular but controversial in its day. Now I suspect it would just be considered to be in generally poor taste.
I read, I think in Greil Marcus’ “Mystery Train”, that when “Short People” was a hit, many people who first met Randy Newman were surprised that he is 6 ft tall because they had assumed that it was a self-ironical/deprecating song.
I mean, if ever there was a population on whom any attacks would be “punching down”…
See? Poor taste.
I like the line “sharks in their souls do it” 
I LOVE Bruce Springsteen’s “Fire.” But as my understanding of consent and pressure became more evolved, a few verses got more and more alarming.
I’m pulling you close
You just say no
You say you don’t like it
But girl, I know you’re a liar
'Cause when we kiss
Oh, fireWell late at night
I’m takin’ you home
I say I wanna stay
You say you wanna be alone
You say you don’t love me
But you can’t hide your desire
When we kiss
Oh, fire
Why? It’s just another song about sex. I think they’re more clever than some.
Nick Lowe’s “I Trained her to Love Me” takes that to the extreme. He said (and most people understand) that he doesn’t approve of the guy’s attitude, but he said he’s found fans that actually applaud it.
I notice you’re letting The Pointer Sisters off the hook.
I kid i kid.
Maria’s greatest crime was not being Melissa Manchester, whom I thought sung Midnight at the Oasis.
Randy Newman is too subtle for the general populace but I don’t think of any of his songs as offensive except to the stupidly literal. Try “Sail Away”.
Moths in your rugs do it; what’s the use of moth balls??
(Can’t believe that line slipped past the record company censors)
She’s the sister-in-law of L.A. Law’s Diana Muldaur.
They also missed Bianca’s line in Kiss Me, Kate:
I’m a maid who would marry
And will take with no qualm
Any Tom, Dick, or Harry
Any Harry, Dick, or Tom
If that’s not overestimating how much greek mythology was taught in 1950s English grammar schools, it it’s definitely over estimating how much Jagger or Richards paid attention during classics classes 
There is also Killing an Arab by The Cure. Which is AFAIK an allusion to Laurence of Arabia but still isn’t getting played anywhere.
No, it’s an allusion to Albert Camus’ novel “L’Étranger” (The Stranger).
The original lyrics to “I’ve Got a Little List” from Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Mikado” contain this line:
“and the n****r serenader and the others of his race”
I doubt anyone sings it like that now. It’s traditional to update the lyrics to include current-day annoyances.
Then again, I’m sure there are people today who think “The Mikado” shouldn’t be performed at all.
That was the one I was thinking of. Not the Queen.