The first two minutes or so of the song deliberately come across as awkward and preachy. The first-time listener will, of course, assume that the word under discussion is the N-word (either immediately, or once he lists the letters), and the lyrics come across as trite, moralizing statements which clumsily dance around the actual word.
(The gradual build-up in intensity also creates a certain odd tension; the song seems to be building to some kind of climax, and it's easy to guess that he intends to actually use the word at some point in the song. And, if that word were the N-word, such a moment would most likely come across as uncomfortable and tone-deaf at best, and downright offensive at worst.)
But then the music abruptly switches from dramatic, emotional crescendo to a subdued, bluesy riff, and we finally get the payoff to this prolonged set-up when Tim delivers the song's main punchline:
Only a ginger can call another ginger 'ginger'
at which point the tension is released, the listener admires the clever anagram, and the remainder of the song is mostly wordplay on the word "ginger" along with a humorously melodramatic portrayal of the plight of redheads.
The first two minutes or so of the song deliberately come across as awkward and preachy. The first-time listener will, of course, assume that the word under discussion is the N-word (either immediately, or once he lists the letters), and the lyrics come across as trite, moralizing statements which clumsily dance around the actual word.
(The gradual build-up in intensity also creates a certain odd tension; the song seems to be building to some kind of climax, and it's easy to guess that he intends to actually use the word at some point in the song. And, if that word were the N-word, such a moment would most likely come across as uncomfortable and tone-deaf at best, and downright offensive at worst.)
But then the music abruptly switches from dramatic, emotional crescendo to a subdued, bluesy riff, and we finally get the payoff to this prolonged set-up when Tim delivers the song's main punchline: Only a ginger can call another ginger 'ginger' at which point the tension is released, the listener admires the clever anagram, and the remainder of the song is mostly wordplay on the word "ginger" along with a humorously melodramatic portrayal of the plight of redheads.