Peggy Lee, The Siamese Cat Song | Controversial Tunes 😈🎶

In the 12^th edition of Controversial Tunes (2023), we explore the controversy behind the song, “The Siamese Cat Song / What’s Going on Down There?” by Peggy Lee.

Bring on the controversy! Controversial Tunes 😈🎶 is a column that provides background information and insight into songs that raised eyebrows and totally stirred the pot.  The records that grace Controversial Tunes are old and new alike, with all genres of music welcome.  In the 12^th edition of Controversial Tunes (2023), we explore the controversy behind the song, 🎵 “The Siamese Cat Song / What’s Going on Down There?” by 🎙 Peggy Lee from Lady and the Tramp (1955).

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“We are Siamese if you please (meow) / We are Siamese if you don’t please (meow).” C’mon now! How can a children’s song, from one of Disney’s most beloved animated films, 🎦 Lady and the Tramp, be the slightest bit controversial? Easy, to be honest. You see 🎵 “The Siamese Cat Song / What’s Going on Down There?” plays on Asian stereotypes 👎 👎 👎.  Early in Disney’s history, the company, despite changing the face of animation and serving up timeless films, had issues with insensitive depictions of minorities and, honestly, racism. Personally, I am and always will be a Disney kid, even as a fully grown adult, but I also acknowledge the sus choices made, particularly early on.

Everything about this 🎙 Peggy Lee performed record, featuring 🎙 Oliver Wallace, would be scrapped in the 2020s. No, it isn’t about being woke, it is simply about a negative depiction of Asians.  Notably, in the 2019 live action remake, the problematic Siamese Cats are eliminated.  In the original, Si and Am are a hot mess – they create sheer havoc in Lady in the Tramp.  They want to make the swimming goldfish drown – homicidal thoughts! Furthermore, they want to steal milk from a baby – SCANDALOUS! The point is, they are troublemakers and given the distinct Asian accent the song is performed in (Siamese cats originate in Thailand), with improper grammar, it feels sus and insensitive, at least by 2020s standards.  Also, the instrumentation, particularly the use of the gong, only makes things worse…  There are far more controversial tunes than 🎵 “The Siamese Cat Song / What’s Going on Down There?” but, given this caricature (including intentionally slanted eyes visually speaking), as well as Disney’s history of unflattering depictions of Asian characters, the controversy is justified.

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🎙 Various Artists • 💿 Lady and the Tramp • 🏷 Disney • 🗓 1955

Peggy Lee, “The Siamese Cat Song / What’s Going on Down There?”: Controversial Tunes 😈🎶 No. 12 (2023) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Disney; Anand Kulkarni, Aykut Bingül, Luân Phan, mohammadreza merhvand via Pexels; Anna, Gordon Taylor, harshahars from Pixabay; christian buehner on Unsplash]