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Controversial Songs

What do we really mean when we say a song's controversial? We don't mean it's good or bad, and we don't mean it's just offensive, vulgar, or crass. No, controversial songs are the ones making people argue about them. In order for there to be controversy, about an even number of people have to take one side or the other in an issue. When that happens, the artist is really doing their job; they're making us think and challenging our ideals.

Here you will find songs controversial for various reasons. Some of them are perfectly natural songs that wouldn't be on this list except that they happened to make one politician flip her lid. Some of them challenge the social mores of the time but make you wonder what the big deal is now. Some of them are deliberately written to shake people up, to get a reaction out of listeners. After all, as any agent will tell you, there's no such thing as bad publicity...

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  97' Bonnie And Clyde
  Eminem
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  Accidental Racist
  Brad Paisley
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  All The Things She Said
  t.A.T.u.
• 
  Anaconda
  Nicki Minaj
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  Angel of Death
  Slayer
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  Animal (Fuck Like A Beast)
  W.A.S.P.
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  Belsen Was A Gas
  Sex Pistols
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  Better by You, Better Than Me
  Judas Priest
• 
  Blurred Lines
  Robin Thicke
• 
  Break The Rules
  Charli XCX
• 
  Cop Killer
  Ice-T
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  Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue
  Toby Keith
• 
  Daddy
  Korn
• 
  Darling Nikki
  Prince
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  Dear God
  XTC
• 
  Fancy
  Reba McEntire
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  Father Figure
  George Michael
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  Fuck tha Police
  N.W.A
• 
  Get Your Gunn
  Marilyn Manson
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  God Save the Queen
  Sex Pistols
• 
  Goodbye Earl
  Dixie Chicks
• 
  Harlem Shake
  Baauer
• 
  Helter Skelter
  Beatles
• 
  I Don't Even Know Your Name
  Alan Jackson
• 
  I Took A Pill In Ibiza
  Mike Posner
• 
  If You Seek Amy
  Britney Spears
• 
  Independence Day
  Martina McBride
• 
  Jeremy
  Pearl Jam
• 
  Judas
  Lady Gaga
• 
  Justify My Love
  Madonna
• 
  Killing in the Name
  Rage Against the Machine
• 
  Kim
  Eminem
• 
  Lemon Incest
  Serge Gainsbourg
• 
  Letter to Mom
  Iris DeMent
• 
  Like a Prayer
  Madonna
• 
  Louie Louie
  Kingsmen, The
• 
  Maybe I Mean Yes
  Holly Dunn
• 
  Monkberry Moon Delight
  Paul McCartney
• 
  My Name Is
  Eminem
• 
  Not Ready to Make Nice
  Dixie Chicks
• 
  One of Us
  Joan Osborne
• 
  Prison Sex
  Tool
• 
  Relax
  Frankie Goes to Hollywood
• 
  Royals
  Lorde
• 
  Same Love
  Macklemore
• 
  Semi-Charmed Life
  Third Eye Blind
• 
  Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
  Beatles
• 
  Shine On You Crazy Diamond
  Pink Floyd
• 
  Smack My Bitch Up
  Prodigy, The
• 
  Stand By Your Man
  Tammy Wynette
• 
  Strange Fruit
  Billie Holiday
• 
  Suicide Solution
  Ozzy Osbourne
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  The Pill
  Loretta Lynn
• 
  The Thunder Rolls
  Garth Brooks
• 
  Thrift Shop
  Macklemore
• 
  U.O.E.N.O.
  Rocko
• 
  Used to Love Her
  Guns N' Roses
• 
  We Can't Stop
  Miley Cyrus

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