ERIC F writes ...
None of the songs from any period of history are any more or less appropriate than any others from any other era…, because the concept of “appropriate” is as much a form of fashion (or delusion) as the music itself. Instead, maybe we should ask what makes some folks think they’re worthy of judging as though they speak for society and whether the rest of us need their protection.
SCOTT P writes ...
These fellows had a trilogy of hits that might well qualify:
That’s Gary Puckett and the Union Gap, a Civil War themed pop group from the late ‘60s. (Yes, they wore those uniforms on stage).
In 1968 they hit #2 with “Young Girl”, in which our narrator is crestfallen to find out that the girl who has a crush on him has lied about being of legal age, and tells her to RUN before he gives in to his carnal desires.
A few months later they went to #2 with “Lady Willpower” - in which our narrator tells the titular object of his desire that he knows she’s afraid of what he has on his mind but that he’d be all too glad to teach her “the facts of life”.
Finally, in late ‘69 they went to #9 with “This Girl Is A Woman Now”, a song that can quite well be interpreted as being about (gulp) defloration.
Intentionally or not, the songs form quite a creepy suite and tell a most unsavory tale. The latter two lyrics are allusive enough to mayyyyybe not pertain to sex if you squint hard enough, but they still aren’t gonna pass muster (pun intended) half a century later.
