Irony. Humor. These are not easy things to put into popular songs. Randy Newman is a master at the art form. His song "Short People" outraged an entire subset of height-challenged humans, who felt he was poking fun at them. The entire album "Good Ol' Boys" is about the way southerners look at themselves, and it infuriated more than a few people. "I Love LA" is a song that isn't necessarily about loving La La Land.
But before he wrote those songs, Newman composed a piece of political poetry that manages to do two things: it serves to speak for a large contingent of Americans who actually believe America would be better off if we "dropped the big one now" on those ungrateful countries who "despise us and they hate us." On the other hand, he gives those who do not feel that way a little comic relief. It's a political win/win, hard enough to do in 1972, nearly impossible today. But Newman does it here.
So, in honor of the UN General Assembly last week, here is Randy Newman's "Political Science."
Enjoy.
Do you have a favorite Randy Newman song? Tell us what it is in the comments.
