Remember when the train’s lyrics to “Hey, Soul Sister” seemed innocent, ukulele-driven? Well, Saturday Night Live just reminded us that not everything ages well—especially when you’re considering songs. In a sketch comedy set in 1950s Detroit, SNL takes the song’s problematic undertones and puts them in a new, painfully negative context.
The sketch revolves around Andrew Dismukes and Ego Nwodim, playing an interracial couple who try to get Dismukes’ old-school white parents – played by hosts Michael Keaton and Heidi Gardner – to approve of their relationship. On the other hand, the Nwodim family (Kenan Thompson and Devon Walker) are already on board.
To win over his skeptical parents, Dismukes releases what he believes is the ultimate peace offering: a song he’s written that will change everyone’s minds. That song? Yes, “Hey, Soul Sister,” “soul sister” clearly refers to Nwodim.
Yes.
While Keaton and Gardner’s characters eat it, Nwodim and Thompson don’t. Thus, the painting ends with Nwodim and his family canceling the wedding.
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