Thanks Joe: I can actually buy into the explanation cited above. Good songwriters have been known to use innocent parties as the vehicle for their message.
I remember watching a whole family disintegrate before my eyes while I was performing this song in a club, one time. They had just lost a family member to Alzheimer's.
I also remember a Dutch couple doubling up in laughter at the stereotyping, while I sang it at another venue.
Point to note re stereotyping. There are probably some UK folk here who could tell you that wooden shoes were, for a while, part of the attire in post WWII Britain.