This song is a satire of the paranoid, self-righteous worrywart that’s always looking to find a scapegoat for their problems.

Byrne dons this disposition and aims his suspicious animosity at, absurdly, animals. They are the ultimate outsiders (do we even think of animals as part of society?) and thus serve as a perfect caricature of the outside or minority group that might attract this kind of attack.

Paradoxically, though, they are also ultimately naive, and native–they’ve been around long before human society and probably will be long after–and therefore reflect the incredible absurdity of the criticism. Are you really accusing animals of not helping? What does an animal care to change your life?

Thus they act as both stand-in victim and inert sounding board, setting up the (hilarious) satire.