I always find it mystifying how difficult it is for many of us to pick up irony in a song--I know I've missed it in various songs, then had to be "educated" by someone--and it's totally changed my frame of reference and attitude toward the song. I'm wondering if wee little drummer and Bonnie Shaljean, through looking at the very bitter and ironic sentiment expressed (i.e. "Stop complaining said the farmer, who told you a calf to be") and realizing how this reflects so much the "blame the victim" state of our society can now appreciate the brilliance and the sadness of this song.

It's hard to portray complexities in popular songs, I realize. I love to perform songs where the audience is encouraged to observe the narrator's (or a character in the song's) point of view without feeling that this is what the song is preaching. For example, Randy Newman is a most obvious exponent of that.