"Political Science" is a song written and performed by singer-songwriter Randy Newman on his 1972 album, '' Sail Away''. In going along with the theme of the rest of the album, the song is a

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...

of a particular part of American culture and history, namely its foreign policies at the time. The unnamed narrator describes the state of the world, and suggests, "Let’s drop the big one and see what happens." Newman later said of the song, "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 Thomas Andrew Lehrer (; born April 9, 1928) is an American former musician, singer-songwriter, satirist, and mathematician, having lectured on mathematics and musical theater. He is best known for the pithy and humorous songs that he recorded in ...

, but I don’t want to be, like Don Henley says, 'What’s this, another novelty song'. 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." Newman performed the song on ''

The Old Grey Whistle Test ''The Old Grey Whistle Test'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''Whistle Test'' or ''OGWT'') is a British television music show. The show was devised by BBC producer Rowan Ayers, commissioned by David Attenborough and aired on BBC2 from 1971 to 1988. ...

'' in 1972. "Political Science" is prominently performed by Newman on the final credits of the 1999 film '' Blast from the Past''. Newman also rerecorded the song for his 2003 release ''

The Randy Newman Songbook Vol. 1 ''The Randy Newman Songbook Vol. 1'' is the eleventh studio and first songbook album by Randy Newman and contains newly recorded, stripped-down versions of some of Newman's best-known songs, performed by Randy Newman singing and playing the pi ...

''. In October 2006, Newman performed the song on ''

The Colbert Report ''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late-night talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert that aired four days a week on Comedy Central from October 17, 2005, to December 18, 2014, for 1,447 episodes. The show fo ...

'' after being interviewed by Stephen Colbert. Artists including Don Henley,

Pedro the Lion Pedro the Lion is an American indie rock band from Seattle, Washington, United States. David Bazan formed the band in 1995 and represented its main creative force, backed by a varying rotation of collaborating musicians. In 2006 Pedro the Lion wa ...

, Glen Phillips, Natalie Merchant, and

Wilco Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently d ...

have performed live covers of this song.Don Henley Solo Tour 2004/2005
The song is also performed in an episode of '' Ally McBeal'' by

Jennifer Holliday Jennifer Yvette Holliday (born October 19, 1960) is an American actress and singer. She started her career on Broadway in musicals such as '' Dreamgirls'' (1981–83), '' Your Arms Too Short to Box with God'' (1980–1981) and later became a ...

References

1972 songs Jennifer Holliday songs Randy Newman songs Political songs Satirical songs Black comedy music Songs about the United States Songs about nuclear war and weapons Songs written by Randy Newman Song recordings produced by Lenny Waronker Song recordings produced by Russ Titelman {{1970s-rock-song-stub