Short people song

For other uses, see Short people (disambiguation).

"Short People" is a song by Randy Newman from his 1977 album, Little Criminals. With lyrics demeaning to short people, the song was intended by Newman to be a satire about prejudice more broadly.^[2] As with many of his songs such as "Rednecks", Newman wrote the song from the point of view of a biased narrator.

Production and reception

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The song follows a basic musical formula with bass and drums centering on Newman's catchy pop piano line in the key of A major.^[3] A small brass section and an electric guitar occasionally rise into the mix and conga drums (played by Los Angeles–based session musician Milt Holland) also feature prominently in the song.

Although Newman had never charted a single before, and his preceding album, Good Old Boys, had been the first to reach the Top 150 on Billboard’s Pop Albums chart, "Short People" soon gained attention as a novelty song.

The song consequently became a