The Randy Newman Lyric That Satirized U.S. Foreign Policy in the Early ‘70s

Satire and parody are often attempted by musicians, but the hit-to-miss rate isn’t all that encouraging, truth be told. Finding songwriters who can deliver pointed commentary while also making people laugh is no easy task.

Randy Newman has come through again and again in those departments during his illustrious career. On his 1972 song “Political Science,” Newman took aim at those who would propose nuclear weapons as a problem-solver, doing so by embodying one of them and making them sound as brazen and destructive as possible.

“Science” Class

At the start of the ’70s, Randy Newman was building a reputation as a songwriter whose work could be covered by a wide swath of artists. But he wasn’t receiving a lot of hype as an artist in his own right. Heading into the making of his third album, he still hadn’t built up much of a following or reputation outside those in the music industry, many of whom understood and appreciated his talents as a writer and performer.

When he made Sail Away in 1972, he leaned into a style of writing that few other artists were even attempting at the time. He dared to trust his audience would get it when he portrayed unsavory characters in his songs, understanding he wasn’t promoting their behavior, but rather castigating it (as he did with the slave trader-narrator of the title track).

Newman’s willingness to broach touchy topics also earned him critical love and separated him from the competition. On “Political Science,” he was attacking, in one fell swoop, isolationists, war hawks, and proponents of nuclear weapons. To do so, he approached it almost like a comedy record, a tactic he’s tried to use sparingly over the years, as he explained to Performing Songwriter:

“I think I got into a character, this sort of jingoistic type of fellow. You know, it isn’t the type of song I wanted to write much of. Not that I didn’t love Tom Lehrer, but I don’t want to be, like Don Henley says, ‘What’s this, another novelty song’ (laughs). And I do write a lot of those, songs that are meant to be funny in a form that listeners take the people in it more seriously than literature.”

Examining the Lyrics of “Political Science”

“Political Science” displays Randy Newman’s ability to couch his barbed messages in benign music. In fact, when you listen to the bouncy backing and somewhat innocent way Newman delivers the words, you might be reminded of the Pixar movie songs that brought his music to a whole new generation in the past few decades.

He frames the song as if the character is pleading his case to the skeptical folks around him. No one likes us, he sings. I don’t know why. The lack of self-awareness is telling, as it’s this kind of blowhard behavior that could conceivably sour America’s allies. His solution: Let’s drop the big one / And see what happens.

The narrator paints these allies as ingrates: No, they’re spiteful / And they’re hateful. Newman then has some fun going through a geographical list and detailing each region’s perceived faults, which relate to demographics, climate, and, in one case, a petty grievance: South America stole our name. If he convinces the powers that be, all arguments will cease: There’ll be no one left to blame us.

He spares Australia, what with their kangaroos and surfing, but then quickly knocks off famous cities like London and Paris. This guy wants no signs of difference or dissent: And every city the whole world round / Will just be another American town. We’ll set everybody free, he promises in a bit of sinister euphemism.

With “Political Science,” Newman erases all the prettified language such a person might use to sugarcoat their views, laying bare their true intent. It’s a technique he’s used time and again through his career, during which he’s often played the role of satirist extraordinaire.

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