Political Science

Album: Sail Away (1972)
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Songfacts®:

  • This song runs to a mere two minutes and three seconds, but how long does it take to tell somebody to blow up the world?

    Also known as "Political Science (Let's Drop The Big One)" or simply "Let's Drop The Big One", Americans who have studied their country's foreign policy might indeed ask themselves if in certain cases it might not indeed be better to drop the big one, or simply to abandon some nations to their own devices.

    Of course, since Newman wrote this song, there has been a lot of water under a lot of political bridges, and the situation has grown even worse, but in many ways the United States is a far bigger enigma than the old Soviet Union ever was, inspiring love and hate, contempt and admiration in equal measure, often with the same people.

    "Political Science" is one of Newman's most popular songs, especially with American audiences. It was produced by Lenny Waronker and Russ Titelman. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Alexander Baron - London, England
  • By 1974, Randy Newman was a bit irritated with critics and journalists who didn't get the irony in his songs. A frustrated Newman told NME that year: "I had it with 'Political Science' when someone read this song all about bombing Paris and London and turning Australia into an American amusement park, and wrote: 'I do hope it's not serious.' They actually said that."

    Newman added: "Do I look like the sort of guy to bomb London, import black slaves to America, tickle people for kicks or think that all that the Chinese do is eat rice all day?"

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