https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_Is_Painless#Background
Director Robert Altman had two stipulations about the song for Mandel: it had to be called "Suicide Is Painless" and it had to be the "stupidest song ever written".[4] Altman attempted to write the lyrics himself, but upon finding it too difficult for his 45-year-old brain to write "stupid enough,"[5] he gave the task to his 14-year-old-son Michael, who wrote the lyrics in five minutes.[6][7][8]
Altman later decided that the song worked so well, he would use it as the film's main theme despite Mandel's initial objections.[9] This version was sung by uncredited session singers John Bahler, Tom Bahler, Ron Hicklin, and Ian Freebairn-Smith, and the single was attributed to "The Mash". Robert Altman said that while he only made $70,000 for having directed the movie, his son had earned more than $1 million for having co-written the song.[10]
