"So those analogies don't really work."....I guess I could have though longer and given better analogies, but the point is that 'some' awkward topics are more easily done and accepted in a mixed group than others, and it simply requires some discretion and sensitivity.

Yet, I do agree pretty much with what you say in the rest of your post McGrath.

As for 'meaning' what you sing...I think many good songs are 'good' because the folks who wrote them did mean them and crafted them well in order to express something meaningful. It is possible to celebrate that tradition and genre' and preserve songs from our past without suggesting that we 'mean' them as they were written.

Perhaps songs about taking advantage of women are a better analogy. There are many good songs with bad concepts, and it is often a good idea to offer a disclaimer about them if you don't know your audience.

Music has always been used to further causes, and thus has 'weight' in many venues, but if the venue is simply 'sharing songs', I watch what I sing...and hope others will do the same.