My Dad sang this song to me as an adult. During the early part of my adulthood, I thought I was 5'2". Eventually, I found out that I'm not 5 foot anything. I'm only 4'10". My Dad started singing this to me even more. He also called me a Loompa Oompa. I called him the Jolly Green Giant. It was all in good humor of course.😂 I would give anything to hear him sing this song to me and call me a Loompa Oompa one more time. I lost my Dad in 2020. I miss him so much.
My grandma used to sing this in her trio because she was short and they were both super tall. She passed today. Thanks for posting this song so I could relive this memory ❤ RIP Gramma K80
Dear Randy, It's story time. As a 5-6 year old, I sang and danced this song for tap class. We were dressed in green jumpsuits with hoods that had little silver antennae. We came out on to the stage from behind a giant cardboard space ship sporting a fog machine. I have loved this song my whole life. Thank you for the amazing memory of my short-person years. 💚💚
Well it would be if the song was serious about racking down on short people but it's a poke at the ignorance of those who discriminate so think the message woul go above heads.
Ditto....made my day ironically lol!!! I need to make sure my family knows to play this as they donate my tiny body to an fbi farm so I can at least be laughing while I also help dateline!!
I was a little girl when this came out. I was raised by much older parents who could have been my grandparents, and were very strict, proper and old school. I was raised on Classical and war music and musicals. Well of course the radio played, and I had an older brother who was quite the vinyl collector, and music officionado, even from my earliest of memories. He also had a bit of the devil in him. Mom would rush to turn the radio off if ever anything improper came on, and so now, I've just turned 57, and heard this full song for the first time. Oh my. I blushed. You see, my brother had changed the tune, and only sung me his shortened version which throughout my life, suddenly pops into my mind. "Short people got, no reason, short people got no reason, short people got no reason to cry. They've got tiny hands, they've got tiny feet, they've got no reason why they're so complete. Short people got no reason to smile". Well, something like that, but he made the song much more kind, and he used it to bother my mom, and make me laugh, and it's all just memories now. I'm only getting to realize who the person is, behind so many songs I've loved over the years is, and his name is Randy. Thanks Randy.
I remember when this came out the short people were so enraged, they burned effigies of Randy Newman. They danced around the fire in circles with their tiny little feet, chanting, "eek, eek, eek," it was mesmerizing.
@@CEOofWasrael Ohh no, I saw what your hunger ended up doing to poor Seymour - I will not 'feed you!' - Anyway: I would normally post a check over 2U instead - but I'm a little short this week. ;P
When this song came out, I was working for a supervisor who was 4'8" and she loved the song. She even used to sing it around our part of the office. So many of Randy Newman's songs are written tongue in cheek - people need to stop & think before jumping to conclusions.
Yeah what cracks me up is they ware platform shews on their nasty little feet. Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahha! But I think to an extent this is about real little people. People like Vurn Troier. Cause someone who is 4 foot 10 you don't necessarally have to pick up. Lol. My friend Min who is Viatnamese is 4 foot 10. Awwww how cute. But still you didn't need to pick her up just to say hellow. lol.
My Mom who is 4' 4 And my Dad was 6' 3. She hated this song and he teased her so much when it came on the radio..lol..I miss him so bad..But short people are strong lil folks. She is 93❤
I was in college when this came out and so many people were incensed about it. I'm short and I thought it was hysterical. I still love it to this day. If you can't laugh at yourself then the world is just a harder place for you to live in. That piano hook is also hard to get out of your head too once you've heard it.
Y'know, it's always important to look at the subtext of lyrics, look at the other songs of an artist, and (above all) adjust one's irony detector. Another example: there's a song by German artist Funny van Dannen that has the chorus "Lesbian black disabled people can be annoying too". In this song he sings about an annoying person he meets at a DIY store, and he definitely doesn't mean that all lesbians, black, disabled are annoying. Of course you could be offended by the song if you're black, lesbian and/or disabled or all at the same time. I am not black or lesbian, but I am disabled and I think the song is hilarious. I know a lot of annoying disabled people who think they have every right to be annoying because the non-disabled world is so mean to them. Being woke is definitely good, necessary thing, but overly wokeness can be quite disturbing.
@@jensmoellenhoff I guess what I'm feeling is the fact that you just HAVE to have a sense of humor in Life to get by. Somewhere along the line we've lost that sense of humor. Nowadays everyone seems poised to take offense at everything. I don't feel personally attacked because I'm short - I see that someone else has a different perspective and I can either choose to laugh along or dismiss them in my mind and move on. People with no sense of humor are scary people...
Yeah, cool. But I was in 3rd grade, and being teased and mocked for being small every day before this song came out. When it came out my life was a living hell until finally stopped being played on the radio. Yes, a college kid should have perspective and be able to laugh at themselves - and I did, as a college kid, and I even though about playing it at my wedding - but as a 3rd grader - man this song suuuuuuuuuucked.
@@davidh7300 met a maori sheep shearer near taihape who was a short- arse. He must hav had a inferority complex as he wore platform shoes/ foot-wares.- He hated me and my tall ngapuhi girlfried as we over 6 feet tall and one night he savage attack us and knocked me out and raped her outside the shearing contractors house. - Put her in hospital- Taihape- After that savage attack ahh could not become ''Aryan'' fast enough too gas all - ''Short- Arse's. - Newman wrote a song about the runts but ahh could Go even further concerning the - ''Short- Arsed rapist's.''
I am a teacher and I was having a rough day...my Momma played this song for me and it made me feel so much better. This should be an anthem for elementary and middle school teachers.
Best concert I have ever seen was Randy Newman solo at the Atlanta Symphony Hall. You could have heard a pin drop during most of this performance. The audience was enthralled by every note. When Randy played 'Short People' everyone sang along. It was pure magic! Thank you, Randy, for sharing your incredible tallent!
I could barely reach it but I managed to hit the like button 😂 I think the song is funny. Some people just get mad for no reason and don’t know how to laugh.
Michael gave me a list of his top ten Springsteen songs. Three of them were Huey Lewis and the news, one was Tracy Chapman Fast Car, and my personal favorite, Short People.
OMG 😂 I was 7 years old when I 1st heard this song and I was singing it my grandmother was 4'5 she chased me around the house with a flip flop on her hand, yelling in Spanish.
The amount of dislikes and comments of people who take these lyrics literally, still manages to amaze me. There truly is no end to short people around here.
Im 5'1 my mom is 4'10 and she was watching a show and it had this song on and she just sat there and listened to it with a smile on her face it was hilarious!
Well, as a short person with little hands,, little feet and a little voice that goes peep, peep, peep..... I've always loved this song! It gives me a good laugh every time I hear it. ❤❤
A jew whining about the dominant culture oppressing minorities, meanwhile I don't see him saying anything about his jewish-supremacist state of Israel genociding the native Palestinians.
It’s about racism or whoever you want to vilify, using short people as a ridiculous and humorous example, and negates it in the third verse. I didn’t get it much when it came out but now I thinks it’s a really clever song. Good video!
Newman is just a genius. He can be genuinely funny with ironic songs like this and Sail Away, yet can be so touching in songs like When She Loved Me or You’ve Got A Friend In Me.
I worked on this project with the Rand Corporation. At a small meeting once, the manager told me, “Larry, I’m tired of your sardonic wit”. I started laughing because I realized that is why I love Randy Newman.
He's like Warren Zevon mixed with something I haven't identified yet. I hope people who search or find this video by accident or plan will search out more music by this man. He is one of the great American song writers and composers of our time. There are not many that I hand out this praise to. The world has plenty of people to entertain but Mr. Newman's songs get to the heart. I first heard of him because of this song and it took another 20 or so years before I heard how much he had written. If you buy the greatest hits, which I recommend, you are getting a sampling of his talent. It goes on in depth. This is one of the musicians who I am thankful for because his music appeals to my soul and that is point is it not?
Always got a good vibe from this song...and it made me laugh. It's piano hook is one of the best ever composed...and immediately attaches itself to one's long term memory. A true ear worm.
Yeah the "they ware platform shews on their nasty little feet." line cracks me up the most. The way he says nasty. But I do think well joking obviously he was refering to little mini people. Someone like Vurn Troyer. Cause of "You got to pick'em up just to say hello." Someone 4 foot 10 you don't gota pick up. Vurn had fun with how little he was by the way. Heck he even did a thing where they stacked up doughnuts. He was 20 doughnuts high.
@Kai Colligan I'm not on tinder, but I'm short as all hell. Do Tinder girls have a huge vendetta against me that I am unaware of? This both upsets and amuses me. Alas, I have no Napoleon complex or I'd probably be super pissed.
Lyrics: Short people got no reason Short people got no reason Short people got no reason To live They got little hands Little eyes They walk around Tellin' great big lies They got little noses And tiny little teeth They wear platform shoes On their nasty little feet Well I, don't want no short people Don't want no short people Don't want no short people 'Round here Short people are just the same As you and I (It's a wonderful world) All men are brothers Until the day they die Short people got nobody Short people got nobody Short people got nobody To love They got little baby legs They stand so low You got to pick 'em up Just to say hello They got little cars That got beep, beep, beep They got little voices Goin' peep, peep, peep They got grubby little fingers And dirty little minds They're gonna get you every time Well I, don't want no short people Don't want no short people Don't want no short people 'Round here
auch bei " Kottan" immer zu hören, endlich kenne ich den Text, sarkastisch aber gut, man denkt viel nach. Ob die short people und big people Mutationen sind, wie weit gehen die zurück, wenn überhaupt?
This song reminds me of The Little Rascals growing up as a kid. The first time I ever got to hear this song is when I watched The Little Rascals which is still my favorite movie.
…….This REMAINS one of the most BUBBLY, RELEVANT, TRACK S EVER✨ It’s sorta ironic so many people fall short of its point. ALL MEN ARE BROTHERS UNTIL WE DIE” Thanks Mr.Randy…..4 all of it ♥️
"my motivation is to change the course of western music. I haven't liked where it's been going so I decided to make a record" lmao this guy is a satiric genius 😂😂
Once upon a time I could smoke in recording studios :) I mean, not really, not the pro ones, and you didn't do it if you were considerate, but still. Ai.
My mom got me this 45 record when I was a kid. She just looked at the title and thought it would be a cute gift. Imagine my surprise when I heard the first line.
mr snoop it’s worked, that means you work together to make it look like a fight instead of actually fighting. It’s not *fake*, you are still falling on your back onto wood, it still takes effort to pick somebody up, to move in the proper way to preform a move, to to land properly from the top rope, it’s still a very athletic sport (even though it’s not exactly an actual sport).
Absolutely brilliant what a lyrical genius he is the man toy story wouldn’t have been such a big su without this great sing songwriter love him to bits cheers
I also do love this songs that I kept playing over and over again it reminds me of so many beautiful memories, This song was sang wisely and beautiful . How are you doing Debbie?
I sent this to my midget friend and in response, he sent a video of the Rwandan genocide with a bunch of Hutus saying "Cut down the tall trees". Well played, midget, well played.
@@aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa790. XD you must be an only child. That's like saying you can't love your brothers or sisters if you make fun of them tease them or treat them disrespectfully. I would argue it is only the people you love the most you can joke around with because they know you love them and don't actually mean to hurt them. You don't joke around with strangers because they don't know you.
5 лет назад
@@aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa790 I bet you are a riot at parties.....
R.I.P to your dad, I also do love this songs that I kept playing over and over again it reminds me of so many beautiful memories, This song sang wisely and beautiful songs. How are you doing Stacifry?
I can’t believe I never looked for this. I’m 5”1 as an adult. My brothers were all under 5”5. We heard pieces of this song on the daily. We all managed to “live through it”. We had tough skin in the 70s. I roared with laughter after just listening after decades. We laughed with the ppl saying it back then
Well guess what most short men are sad about it nowadays it’s a bunch of crybabies that blame their height on all their inconveniences wether it be women or social interactions it’s honestly sad
I love this song because short people do got reason to live, it expresses the sentiments of the tough life through irritation but also how the short people/children could be feeling about themselves. Truly a song of empathy.
@@viniciusgmachado1204 honestly I think they’re both reading too much into it. And I don’t think most people feel he’s genuinely attacking short people. It’s just a comedic piece with no ill intent, not much more to it.
@@TheModShopCO Back in the 70s a lot of people took it the wrong way and felt attacked. The lyrics just get so ridiculous, Randy thought for sure nobody could think he was serious, but they did. He himself in interviews said it was a song about irrational prejudice.
I'm a short guy. Just slightly under 5 foot 6 inches. I was never offended by this song. It was all in good fun and it made people aware of short people. We are people too!!!
In our family you would be considered TALL. We are all short. Four girls and a boy. B My favourite hobby is helping the police fight drugs. I used to argue with the drugdealers in McDonald's. I started in 1992. Now I am secenty-five and still at it.
Very good ! Excellent insight there 👍❤️. (Also, I hope you realise RN is championing “short” folk in his song, not mocking them. He’s actually sending a message to those who look down on “short” people).
Sitting here listening to this song on You Tube. Had'nt heard this song in years. Really enjoyed it. I think there was a lawsuit filed years later against this song. Don't quite remember when thou. Short people are the ones who filed for damages. There is nothing wrong here it's not sn insult to anybody.
I was pretty young when this came out and even then, I knew it was satire, a joke, not for real, just silly. Always loved Randy Newman! Mr. fun cool dude! 😁👍
Short sighted, short tempered and short on common sense, "Short People" remains the song of the day. Oh and thank God for freedom of speech so that guys like Randy Newman could get their point across in such a humorous, catchy and insightful manner. That entire "Little Criminals" album was all metaphoric with messages aimed at explaining the evils of society.
Advantages of being short: We rarely, if ever, bump our heads. We are usually the first to spot loose change or bills laying in the ground. Even a small cars, apartments, and houses seem plenty big to us. We present a small target so we’re harder to shoot at.
So many people missed the point of this song that it amazes me even now, 44 years hence. Short people have never been the problem; small minds, yes! Thanks for the memories, Randy!
The message of this song is "This is you. This is how stupid you sound when you say racist stuff." He wasn't counting on the fact that a lot of people really feel this way about short people.
