Top 10 Songs That'd Be Wildly Controversial Today for Their Politically Incorrect Lyrics

The Top Ten
1 Money for Nothing - Dire Straits

1985.
Circa 2010 this song was even banned in Canada for these lyrics:
"See the little f****t with the earring and the make-up
Yeah buddy that's his own hair
That little f****t got his own jet airplane
That little f****t he's a millionaire"
(I guess the song isn't on their Greatest Hits collection because of the controversy)

Maybe they should have said "poofter" instead.

It's astounding that this line isn't from an oldschool hip hop song.

2 Brown Sugar - The Rolling Stones

They're not promoting slavery, they're just describing it. Seriously, why do people get offended by these topics so easily?

Is this song glorifying this, or is he just describing the scenery? I don't know the context of the song.

I'm amazed this one still gets so much airplay. Killer riff but disgusting lyrics.

3 One In a Million - Guns N' Roses

I think this song was already deemed controversial to begin with. I remember reading that they got dropped from the lineup for an AIDS-related benefit concert because of the song.

1988.
“Immigrants and f****ts, they make no sense to me / They come to our country and think they’ll do as they please"

This line on the other hand is pure crap. Then again, I'm neither American nor straight.

4 Walk on the Wild Side - Lou Reed

Not just Holly Woodlawn, but Candy Darling and Jackie Curtis, both of whom were also transwomen, were mentioned. But "and the colored girls go..." would probably be the most controversial line.

I don't think this was in any way meant to be negatively as Lou Reed was bisexual. He just namedrops her and celebrates her lifestyle.

5 Island Girl - Elton John

Still a great tune, ...but I noticed that EJ
avoided both this selection, and "Honky Cat" on his most recent Farewell Tour.

6 He Hit Me (It Felt Like a Kiss) - The Crystals

Difficult. When I included "Love on the Brain" on my best of 2016 list, I knew the song dealt with contradicting feelings of being abused and still loving the man, and the song was written and performed by a victim. This here... was made by a third party and also doesn't do much to create an inner conflict. It's basically just saying "hooray, my boyfriend beat me, and that's the greatest thing ever! ". Whether that's intentionally or not, it's horribly executed.

I looked it up and it was intended to be mocking the mentality. The message was ruined because the record company wanted them to sing it like they meant it.

1962.
Today this songs sounds like a domestic abuse approval:
"He hit me and it felt like a kiss / he hit me and I knew he loved me"
(the song was inspired by the tragic true-life story of singer Little ever, who told them that her boyfriend's beatings were motivated by love. Hmm...)

7 When I Kissed the Teacher - ABBA

Agnetha's belting is awesome and powerful in this song. I love singers who can belt like that. Hands down.
The lyrics? Yes, they would be perceived as controversial today:
"I was in the seventh heaven when I kissed the teacher
One of these days
Gonna tell him I dream of him every night"

8 Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright) - Rod Stewart

I don't get what's so wrong about this either. It's a line about having sex for the first time. If you mean the "don't say a word" line sounds like "don't struggle, I know you want it, and no means yes"... it doesn't. What it means is "just don't listen to what the conservative people who think that sex before marriage is horrible say, and give in to the feelings you naturally have".
I somehow have the feeling that sexual lyrics are generally seen as politically incorrect these days. Ten years ago, the consensus was "sex is normal and positive".

9 Under My Thumb - The Rolling Stones

Maybe that's just my non-native speaker English, but I have no idea what he's talking about. Like... he has a woman and a dog under his... finger?

10 Rape Me - Nirvana

Just because it has the word "rape" in the title and in the lyrics doesn't mean that it's glorifying it. Ironically, this is actually meant to be an anti-rape song.

The Contenders
11 Kung Fu Fighting - Carl Douglas
12 Fat Bottomed Girls - Queen
13 My Sharona - The Knack
14 Too Drunk to F*** - Dead Kennedys
15 Used to Love Her - Guns N' Roses
16 A Most Disgusting Song - Rodriguez
17 Pumped Up Kicks - Foster the People
18 Stray Cat Blues - The Rolling Stones
19 Killing an Arab - The Cure
20 Kissin' Cousins - Elvis Presley
21 Short People - Randy Newman
22 My Name Is - Eminem

What makes me very sad is that artists like Eminem or Marilyn Manson fought for the discussion about fiction and reality in music, and for years, people agreed that such music is an artistic expression - and now, 20 years later we're back at the same stupid standards that artists aren't allowed to be edgy.

23 Chocolate Salty Balls - Isaac Hayes
24 Rock N Roll N***er - Patti Smith
25 You're Sixteen - Ringo Starr
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