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The Worse Word Lyrics by John Mulaney

New In Town

2012

It's wrong to make fun of people, you know, but it’s so fun sometimes. I've written for some TV shows, and, you know, on a major TV show you have to be careful about what you say about people 'cause a lot of people get offended, or so it has been explained to me.

I was once — I’ll tell you this, I was writing for an awards show once, and I got into some trouble. I wrote a joke for this awards show that had the word "midget" in it. And someone from the network came down to our offices and he said to me, "Hey, you can't put the word midget on TV," and I said, "I sure would like to." And he said, "No! 'Midget' is as bad as the 'n-word.'" First off: no. No, it's not! "Do you know how I know it's not," I said to him, "is because we’re saying the word ’midget,' and we’re not even saying what the 'n-word' is! If you're comparing the badness of two words, and you won’t even say one of them? That's the worse word.

Also, I don't mean to gloss over what, like, little people have been through in this country, but you cannot compare the plight of midgets to African-Americans. That is outrageous! Midgets were never enslaved... unless you count the Wonka factory. So we get into this argument, we're going back and forth, he goes, "You can't put that word on TV.”
And I said, "I want to," and he said, "If you put that word on TV, there could be a protest of midgets on this building!"
And I said, "Promise?" How tempting would that be?
Credits
John Mulaney

John Mulaney

About “The Worse Word” by John Mulaney

Read the complete lyrics to "The Worse Word" by John Mulaney from the album "New In Town" in 2012. On Lyrks you can follow along with the full text, explore the artist's discography, and discover related songs. The track is often categorized under Comedy, Live, Non-Music.

"The Worse Word" is performed by John Mulaney. from the album "New In Town" in 2012 This page provides the full lyric text for fans who want to sing along, study the songwriting, or compare versions across releases. Lyrks organizes lyrics by artist and song slug so you can bookmark and share a stable URL. Music lyrics help listeners connect with emotion, narrative, and rhythm in a track. Whether you are learning English, researching a favorite chorus, or preparing for karaoke, having accurate line breaks and section labels (verse, chorus, bridge) makes the experience easier. We link to the official artist profile on Lyrks where available, including biography snippets, top songs, and chart placements when we have that data. If you enjoy "The Worse Word", explore more songs by John Mulaney using the links below. Chart and trending pages on Lyrks highlight what listeners are searching for this week. For copyright or correction requests, see our DMCA and contact pages.

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Frequently asked questions

"The Worse Word" is credited to John Mulaney. Songwriting credits may include additional writers listed on the release; check the credits section on this page for linked collaborators.

"The Worse Word" appears on "New In Town" in 2012.

Visit the John Mulaney artist page at /artist/john-mulaney for biography, popular tracks, and links to more lyric pages.

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