Your Racist Friend

Album: Flood (1990)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • When we spoke with John Flansburgh of They Might Be Giants in 2011, he told us: "I think everybody in the world has had an experience kind of like that. It's really about the problem of just getting through the world and understanding how prejudice exists in the world. You can't confront every person who's making an ass of themselves. But there are times when you want to. So it's really about a subtler idea than over-the-top expressions of race hate. It's more just about the culture."
  • Flansburgh wasn't actually at a party when the events in the song happened. He explains: "I think anybody has had that - you go somewhere, you go to a dinner party, you go to a regular party, you go hang out with distant relatives, whatever, you're going to experience people making casual weird comments, unexamined comments that you wish they would examine. That's now the world we live in. And I think in a way the song's kind of just venting."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Andrew Farriss of INXS

Andrew Farriss of INXSSongwriter Interviews

Andrew Farriss on writing with Michael Hutchence, the stories behind "Mystify" and other INXS hits, and his country-flavored debut solo album.

Jethro Tull

Jethro TullFact or Fiction

Stage urinals, flute devices, and the real Aqualung in this Fact or Fiction.

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: Tarantino Edition

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: Tarantino EditionMusic Quiz

Whether he's splitting ears or burning Nazis, Quentin Tarantino uses memorable music in his films. See if you can match the song to the scene.

Mike Rutherford (Genesis, Mike + The Mechanics)

Mike Rutherford (Genesis, Mike + The Mechanics)Songwriter Interviews

Mike Rutherford talks about the "Silent Running" storyline and "Land Of Confusion" in the age of Trump.

Donald Fagen

Donald FagenSongwriter Interviews

Fagen talks about how the Steely Dan songwriting strategy has changed over the years, and explains why you don't hear many covers of their songs.

Soul Train Stories with Stephen McMillian

Soul Train Stories with Stephen McMillianSong Writing

A Soul Train dancer takes us through a day on the show, and explains what you had to do to get camera time.