No one likes us
I don't know why
We may not be perfect
But heaven knows we try
But all around
Even our old friends put us down
Let's drop the big one
And see what happens

We give them money
But are they grateful
No, they're spiteful
And they're hateful
They don't respect us
So let's surprise them
We'll drop the big one
And pulverize them

Asia's crowded
And Europe's too old
Africa's far too hot
And Canada's too cold
And South America stole our name
Let's drop the big one
There'll be no one left to blame us

We'll save Australia
Don't want to hurt no kangaroo
We'll build an all American amusement park there
They've got surfing, too

Boom goes London
And boom Paris
More room for you
And more room for me
And every city the whole world round
Will just be another American town
Oh, how peaceful it'll be
We'll set everybody free
You'll have Japanese kimonos, baby
There'll be Italian shoes for me
They all hate us anyhow
So let's drop the big one now
Let's drop the big one now


Lyrics submitted by yuri_sucupira

Political Science Lyrics as written by Randy Newman

Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Political Science song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

11 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +2
    General Comment

    One of the most blisteringly brilliant satirical songs I've ever heard. It takes on a whole new meeaning after the Iraq war, and has become all the more important.

    I saw Randy Newman on a late night show, and he was brought on to play this thirty-year-old song. That's how important this facetious song is.

    jnb987on December 29, 2004   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    Last time I saw Randy live he intro'd this by saying he'd written it as satire only to see it become prophecy and then reportage.

    pconlon March 24, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    How come there's no comments here? Maybe this is just too obscure a song that nobody knows, but hey, since last september its whole feel has changed. We do this song and these days it gets a huge response!

    russ'llon June 20, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Honestly i love Randy Newman's political songs, but of the ironic twist of his sound.

    Mostly Harmless is actually the best way to describe it, the lyrics have such strength, but the playful sound is just fun. Another great is the song call "rednecks", just don't sing it out loud cause you'll be lyntched.

    St. martanion April 18, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I saw Newman play this on Conan O' Brien as well. I thought he had written it yesterday. It was before I had truly discovered his music, so I was a little uneasy because I thought he might be serious. This song is similar to the Dead Kennedys "Kill the Poor" in that it would be an awesome idea if it weren't so terrible.

    yallon January 14, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I think this song is pretty damn funny.

    That's what I think.

    Java_bean_xon February 13, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    what he says about Australia is interesting and very true... funny too :P. American imperialism has gone too far...

    kikiwon August 23, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Randy Newman was so ahead of his time, everything from just the title of the song make it great. Political Science to describe the growing feeling of American superiority and dislike of other "non-American" countries.

    Nonfactoron February 22, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Is it sad that when I first heard this song, I had to check to make sure it was satire? I'm afraid that if Randy played this song down South, he'd get cheers for all the wrong reasons.

    tommygon September 22, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Tommyq - it's so true that if Randy played this song down South, he'd get cheers for all the wrong reasons. Same reasons Springsteen's Born in the USA was considered a war anthem - everything is grist to the rednecks' mill.

    Yes too brilliantly satirical for Middle America - excuse me while I despair.

    vasnmoGoon August 01, 2007   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines: "Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet" So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other: "I had all and then most of you" Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart "Some and now none of you" Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship. This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Album art
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Album art
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Album art
When We Were Young
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
Album art
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.