well it in many cases it is appealing to the worst in people the establishment tabloid newspapers bang on about social security scroungers earning black money yet ignore serious tax evaders like the owner of the daily mail[ hardly surprising].
divde and rule set one faction of people against another. Apartheid was a classic example, get zulus to fight xhona, so white south africans kept control.
for society to be fairer it is important to appeal to the highest common factor not the LOWEST common denominator and since in my opinion humour in song is a great way of getting a political message across in a subtle manner, the content of humourous songs becomes important, songs that laugh at gay or transevestite people are setting one section of people against another , songs that laugh at domestic cats being killed, are appealing to the kind of ethos that the catholic church used to say animals do not have souls let us laugh about someomes cat being killed. one example is only an extrapolation or extension of the other both are songs that do not encourage either tolerance or sympathy. contrast to this humorous song
IN THESE HARD TIMES

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Things are bad, awful bad,
In fact they've never been worse before
But every single chappie can make a girlie happy
Food is dear, rent is dear,
But love is cheap for the time of year
So grab the nearest Miss
And whisper while you kiss.

Chorus: 'In these hard times you've got to put up with anything
In these hard times you mustn't pick and choose'
And if you're nice, and squeeze her tight
She'll ask you round tomorrow night
If you don't mind sitting without a light
In these hard times.

Farmer Brown came to town
He spent the day at the cattle show
Then went to wet his whistle, inside the hotel Cecil
Lady fair, near him there
Had all her neck and shoulders bare
Said Farmer Brown 'Alack'
As he saw her dainty back.

Chorus: 'In these hard times you've got to put up with anything
In these hard times you mustn't pick and choose
This fancy kind of o' dress ye wear
Leaves all ye neck and shoulders bare
But you're lucky to be dressed to there.'
In these hard times.

Missis Green, rather mean
Went out last Saturday marketing
And saw out in the gutter, a codfish on a shutter
She felt its gums, poked her thumbs
All round the fish and she said 'Oh crumbs
It don't look nice at all'
Then the coster had to bawl

Chorus: 'In these hard times you've got to put up with anything
In these hard times you mustn't pick and choose'
That codfish there's a sacrifice,
And I ask ye Ma'am would you look nice
If you'd 'ave been torpedoed twice, in these hard times?'

PDF Sheet Music

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Performed by Whit Cunliffe (1876-1966)
Written and composed by R.P. Weston & F.J. Barnes
or this
the song of the prune
La-la-la-la
La-la-la-la
Nowadays we often gaze
On women over fifty
Without the slightest trace
Of wrinkles on their face
Doctors go and take their dough
To make them young and nifty
But Doctors I defy
To tell me just why
No matter how young a prune may be
It's always full of wrinkles
We may get them on our face
Prunes get 'em every place
Prohibition worries us
But prunes don't sit and brood
For no matter how young a prune may be
It's always getting stewed

In the kingdom of the fruits
The prune is snubbed by others
And they are not allowed
To mingle with the crowd
Though they're never on display
With all their highbrow brothers
They never seem to mind
To this fact they're resigned
That no matter how young a prune may be
It's always full of wrinkles
Beauty treatments always fail
They've tried all to no avail
Other fruits are envious
Because they know real well
That no matter how young a prune may be
Hot water makes 'em swell


Baby prunes look like their dad
But not wrinkled quite as bad

Every day in every way
The world is getting better
We've even learned to fly
As days go passing by
But how about the poor old prune
His life is only wetter
No wonder he can't win
In the awful stew he's in
No matter how young a prune may be
He's always full of wrinkles
We may get them on our face
Prunes get 'em every place
Nothing ever worries them
Their life's an open book
But no matter how young a prune may be
It has a worried look

Prunes act very kind they say
When sickly people moan
But no matter how young a prune may be
It has a heart of stone