I still know all the words to "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park."
1
Great stuff - From my youth.
The first time I saw Tom Lehrer perform this song was on the Today Show (Barbara Walters and Hugh Downs). He also performed "National Brotherhood Week." I was in grade school at the time and immediately declared him a genius. Looking back from today, I now realize I was absolutely right.
3
What a joy to both see and hear Tom Lehrer. I wasn't aware that his performances were available. As a (slightly wacky) child, I knew all his song and had to be restrained from singing them for school-time "show and tell." Even now, when I need a chuckle and some very smart humor, I enjoy them all. I had the pleasure of meeting him over lunch at UCSC--and though I followed a friend's strong advice not to bring up his musical history, I still treasure the fact that I had the honor of shaking his hand. Wonderful commentator!
2
Loved it. Many thanks. Great sound quality.
I was on a 2 lane road and drove past a 60 something chevy going the other way yesterday and the stench from it's exhaust was terrible. I think anyone that wants to get rid of pollution laws need to ride behind a car without pollution controls for a few hours, or days if needed, until they realize the blessing pollution controls are. And maybe only have water from Flint to drink while doing it.
4
Delightful. Since childhood, when I was allowed to stay up for "That Was The Week That Was" as "educational ", I have remembered and adored Tom Lehrer. Witty, still (mostly) relevant , wonderful voice and musicality -- I thought I was one of only a few who remembered him.
I hope he is alive, well and THANK YOU Paul Krugman for the link bringing forward this inimitable talent and satirist.
2
He is 90 years old. Retired. From math and musical creating.He sated diverse peoples during the conflicted 1950s-60s. Somas and souls.His pointed, unforgiving humor, and cadenced melodies, captured his listeners THEN. Who, THEN, as NOW, remained challenged. Physically. Psychologically. Spiritually. Socially. Economically. THEN, as NOW, a toxic, infectious, divisive WE-THEN daily culture, which violated selected and targeted “the others,” was enabled. As meaning was mantrafied. Then, as now,influential individual and systemic stakeholders existed with their faithless-principles-of faith agendas. Which Lehrer captured. Unfortunately, musical satire doesn’t save lives lost amidst man-made conflicts. Enabled by the actions of unaccountable policymakers and flawed policies. Which violate viable, equitable for ALL, achievable, well being. Or because known, necessary policies, designed to enable and sustain delineated types, levels, and qualities of well being, within existing frameworks of available and accessible human and nonhuman resources, are not planned.Enacted. Assessed so as to learn from them. 'Tis a pity that Tom Lehrer did not create a song based upon Samuel Beckett's "Fail Better:" "Ever tried. Ever failed. No Matter. Try Again. Fail Again. Fail Better." His words and music might have stimulated US, to create effective ways to prevent the daily “Failing-Worse” of a range of active-shameless -personally-unaccountable-policymakers.At all levels of government.
2
He was a mini Sat night live in song. We need to hear him again !
2
"Once all the Germans were warlike and mean,
But that couldn't happen again.
We taught them a lesson in 1918--
And they've hardly bothered us since then!"
From "The MLF Lullaby", same album.
1
Not mean to spoil everyone’s moods, but, I cannot engage myself to this music. So, I googled to see lyrics. I casually chose some by titles. ***** His work is satirical. With piano’s pop pun pun and melody + voice + physiognomy, it becomes very funny, I got. But, I read lyrics only. ***** The Vatican Rag = deep. Poisoning Pigeons In the Park = dark. The Irish Ballad = Stephen Kingish. Chanukah in Santa Monica = the best for me among I read. Pollution = presque anti-civilization with a possible ecological flavor. ***** In my childhood, the familiarity to music came from TV for me. Without knowing what it was (speaking of the genre), I heard and listened to. That was Jazz - the 50s + 60s versions.
We will entertain our dinner guests tonite with our collection of Tom Lehrer's music & satire, he was also a very good mathematician.I recall one of my favorite songs with brilliant lyrics ( the names of chemical elements) , set to the tune of the Gilbert & Sullivan's Major General song in the Pirates of Penzance. Thank you for reminding us of Lehrer.
6
It's called "The Elements Song," and it's amazing. I play it occasionally to cheer me up (and then sing "Be Prepared).
4
It’s such fun to see this! Thank you! I remember singing this in my middle school chorus concert in 1972. I still remember the tune and many of the words, but didn’t realize that it was aTom Lehrer song! It’s apropos, once again, in our current climate.
3
Glad to see so many Lehrer fans! He did three on nukes. Here are some of the words:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ky0ROTsD14
So long, mom!
I'm off to drop the Bomb
So don't wait up for me
But while you swelter
Down there in your shelter
You can see me
On your TV
....
Remember, mommy!
I'm off to get a commie
...
I'll look for you when the war is over
An hour and a half from now.
10
'That Was the Year that Was', Lehrer's live album (1968 in SF) is a seminal album for me. I still have the CD, & can sing every song by memory.
'Who's Next' and 'National Brotherhood Week' are classics and at least as apropos as 'Pollution'.
10
Absolutely! And don't forget "I Wanna Go Back to Dixie" tailor-made for Sessions and his ilk!
3
Tom Lehrer's satirical music has remained extremely relevant for decades. I first heard him in my teens back in the 1970s. Sadly, not enough has changed to make his songs outdated in any way, shape or form. I think that "National Brotherhood Week" is more relevant now than it was when I first heard it as a teen. At least then there were some genuine efforts being made. Now, not at all.
13
In the 1950s I was in the U. S. Army. After language studies in Monterey I was assigned to Arlington Hall Station in the Wash. D.C. area along with many other college men (mostly Ivy League) in the national security services, including Tom Lehrer. I remember Tom walking into the mess hall in the morning with the N. Y. Times under his arm. We got to talk over breakfast or lunch a few times until I shipped out to Cyprus in a very secure out-of-uniform job. I remember Tom as exceptionally bright, interesting, amusing and well informed. Thanks Dr. Krugman for bringing back some old memories.
14
Time to cue up "It makes a Fellow Proud to be a Soldier!"
1
"While as a kid, I vowed to be, what luck to be allowed to be..."
"The rockets go up who cares where they come down?" "That's not my department says Werner von Braun."
Send the Marines. One of Lehrer's best & still true. Hello to neo-cons of all stripes, including the departed Mr. LBJ.
9
I'll never forget the first time I heard Tom Lehrer's song, "Poisoning Pigeon in the Park." Hilarious. My dad just loved his humor.
14
All the commenters refer to Lehrer in the past tense. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe he’s still alive, and I hope , well. Everything he ever recorded is still available on CD - no-one needs to excavate attics for LPs and turntables. I remember him being asked, during the Bush era, why he didn’t write and perform any more. He replied that nothing was funny anymore.
I do hope he’s still with us, somewhere comfortable - he’d only be ninety, unremarkable these days, and I hope he knows how loved he is by so many people.
33
Tom Lehrer is indeed still alive. And the name “Lehrer” is German for “teacher”.
3
Yes he is still alive , he turned 90 in April, I believe he was living in Santa Cruz California
3
He famously said the political satire died when Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize...
3
First heard Tom Lehrer at age 14 when one of my junior high teachers put "That Was The Week That Was" on the turntable during class. Still love him. [Side note: When asked why he didn't satirize Bush II and his band of incompetents, Lehrer said: "I don't want to satirize them, I want to vaporize them."]
15
Excellent choice, as always. Very timely for this bunch in the WH.
9
Thanks Growing up with Dick Gregory and the show "That was the Week That was", this was a nice moment/reminder of the battles won We did it once we can do it again
9
Don't forget about "National Brotherhood Week:, another very apropos Tom Lehrer song
13
Meanwhile, America is living its own version of the Masochism Tango.
14
A national treasure.
Randy Newman before there was Randy Newman (and without the gravel.)
8
We loved listening to Tom Lehrer as kids. Little did we know that the same issues he sang about would still be relevant today and many of the same dynamics (e.g. Middle East nuclear proliferation) still in play 50 years later. One has to question how much progress we've really made or did the record just skip to start playing at the beginning again?
15
I grew up listening to my parents' Tom Lehrer albums. Thanks for the memories!
5
Add to the playlist Lehrer's brilliant "National Brotherhood Week". Change Sheriff Clark and Lena Horne for Donald Trump and Alice Waters. Or Rachel Maddow and Sean Hannity.
12
I apologize for lack of context. Clark and Horne "are dancing cheek to cheek". How about Jeff Sessions and John Lewis as well. Or Krugman and Kudlow?
2
Tom Lehrer was brilliant because he attacked the issue at hand dead on and then elegantly dead-panned the idiocy of it.
31
Thank you for the memories!
7
Classic, I sing the chorus all the time. Glad Dr. K attached the whole song. Humor can heal all. Maybe a little Stan Freeburg for all the strict constitutionalist money cult.
5
Tom Lehrer was a genius! And many of his songs — on topics like pollution, nuclear war, race relations, and even the Vatican — are surprisingly, if somewhat depressingly, relevant today.
20
Somewhere I have an LP (remember those) of Tim Lehrer which I bought about the time I became a new father a little more that 50 years ago. I have a lot of LP some in bad shape and for some reason I kept them after 25 years ago why wife convinced me to throw away my turntable. One thing I do remember that even in 1965 as a resident of NYC my drinking water was clean pure and the best in the nation; but in 1965 the air stank and sometime made you cough. The we learned about toxic waste dumps and the Hudson was a sewer. And now let's return to those happy pre EPA days that Tom Lehrer was singing about.
7
Turntables are BACK, as are vinyl records. this new vinyl is much better then we had in the 60's and 70's
1
Gee, I have his EP (Extended Play) Album, the format that preceded LP. Great, subversive stuff!
Refreshing re-visit of a more innocent time, when we could still laugh at our plight, and a guy like Tom Lehrer could deliver delight and social commentary in such an engaging way.
It's a reminder of how much we are forgetting how to laugh at ourselves.
10
The Democrats should use this for one of their myriad of ads that will start running soon.
It should play really well in Flint Michigan.
15
Thank you for this! I haven't heard him in about 60 years. He was so good!
3
I was fortunate enough to see Tom Lehrer in concert when he was sponsored by St. Louis University back about 1959. He was making the collage circuit in those days and always drew a good crowd. He deserved a Grammy Award.
So sad we don't have someone with his talent today.
10
So many great memories of these songs from childhood. Just remember everyone - "we'll try to stay serene and calm - when Alabama gets the bomb." Relevant then and sadly relevant once more.
12
YES! One of his best lines ever, and how a propos!
We have lost our sense of humor. Bring back political humor to family hours from late night.
Although there is nothing funny about what has happened to the Republican Party, its Liar in Chief is hilarious until you realize he is sincere.
19
Tom Leher provided the soundtrack for my childhood, and gave my parents plenty of opportunity to explain to us five impressionable kids how the world should work, and how it really does. Many kids my age may remember "New Math". During this present foray to North Korea, I've been humming "We Will All Go Together When We Go", a cheerful ditty to nuclear holocaust. Truly, that was the year that was.
25
"Pollution" should be played every day as a PSA on all the major networks.
We are Tom Lehrer fans from way back. "National Brotherhood Week" is also a favorite of ours. Also, "Who's Next?"
18
How perfect to have Tom Lehrer back in sight! Thank you. Lines from his songs pop into my head regularly as he was indeed a dark comic for US, and something of a prophet.
10
I have never heard of Tom Lehrer or his music. So thank you, Dr. K., for thinking of a most fitting song for Pruitt's disgraceful tenure at the EPA.
4
I remember him - and that song - well.
5
Tom Lehrer's earlier songs were pure genius. He skewered everyone with abandon, including himself and his lofty academic peers, and in today's hypersensitive, quit-picking-on-me world would keep half the lawyers in the country employed. But he was honest and clever, not mean, and I loved him. The sound quality isn't great but I still have his CD's.
Paul, thank you for sharing this. Maybe if more people were willing to speak up about issues the way Lehrer did, making people listen and think instead of reacting with instant dismissal or anger, our country could have avoided disaster. As in, Trump.
14
Tom Lehrer was a national treasure, and so are you, Dr. K.
13
The stage is empty now. The characters upon it unworthy of our attention. We look away and bide our time. For in quiet places, there are good people. Huddled with one another. Consoling one another. The world has gone mad. We are frightened. Still, there are occasional glimmers of hope in the darkness. We see kindness. We return to our poets. Is our faith strong enough? We are about to find out.
14
FYI: except for the US, all other countries stay in the Paris Climate agreement, and outside of the US, there are no conservatives in the West proposing to or working hard to destroy their own equivalents of an EPA. And most Western countries go already much further in protecting the environment than the EPA did (banning GMOs, for instance).
So I wouldn't say that "The world has gone mad".
Conservatives in the US have.
But that's only 35% of a country which makes up only 6% of the world's population, in other words 2% of all human beings on earth today.
So there are actually plenty of "good people" all around the world.
What's even more, with the US having the biggest carbon footprint per capita in the world, so being the main culprit when it comes to climate change, all those good people are counting on Americans to stop staying home as soon as their ideal, perfect candidate isn't on the ballot, and to do what they can do to take responsibility and act.
But that will only happen if the other 65% stop looking for "quiet places" and instead go knocking on as many doors as possible, and engage in real, respectful debates with as many GOP voters as possible. THAT is how you get a government "by and for the people" - and accidentally may save the planet ... ;-)
34
I think my dad had several Tom Lehrer LP's in there with all his jazz greats. Seems like it was a much wittier, more sophisticated era than the hell we're living through now.
This also made me think of "Tootsie" in 1982 and their off-off-off-Broadway production of "Return to Love Canal." Not so funny anymore.
3
Loved it when I first heard it back in the late 1960s.
Love it still.
6
Tom Lehrer--my hero! He was a major influence on me when I was a preteen and the effect never went away. Along with Twilight Zone (Outer Limits was never that great IMHO), he made me what I am today.
Interestingly enough, after Trump was elected, I kept hoping (publicly) that Lehrer would come out of retirement and use all the material the Republicans were generating for him to sing about. But that's not happening so I'll just wish him well. He has to be close to 90 (he's old enough and of the right faith to be my father which would have made my life far more interesting than it is now; at worst we could discuss mathematics) by now and I haven't read his obit in the NYT so I guess he's as nauseated as I am while he chugs along.
13
Ah yes, I remember it well. And I remember when the Cuyahoga River caught on fire. And when industries were merrily dumping their waste into the Chesapeake Bay.
After more than a generation of the EPA doing its work, the Cuyhoga is mostly cleaned up, the Bay is back, and on most days I can see blue sky in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, in Beijing, the air is so bad that when you’re at your gate at the Beijing international airport, you can’t see your plane at the end of its jetway, and you don’t see blue skies except in non-industrial areas in the southwest.
Why is it so hard for people to connect the dots? And why do they believe, despite low unemployment in the U.S., that requiring industries to comply with tight environmental standards, will result in big profit, and jobs, being lost?
13
The YouTube clip is unfortunately not from Tom Lehrer’s gig in San Francisco — the audience there would have been screaming from laughter.
This video is from a concert in Norway, I think. I cannot possibly imagine why he would have performed there — his songs are clever plays on the English language. The audience here is subdued because they probably haven’t a clue what he’s saying!
3
"The primary foreign language taught in Norwegian schools is English, considered an international language since the post-WWII era. The majority of the population is fairly fluent in English, especially those born after World War II. German, French and Spanish are also commonly taught as second or, more often, third languages. Russian, Japanese, Italian, Latin, and rarely Chinese (Mandarin) are offered in some schools, mostly in the cities. Traditionally, English, German and French were considered the main foreign languages in Norway. These languages, for instance, were used on Norwegian passports until the 1990s, and university students have a general right to use these languages when submitting their theses."
Sometimes Wikipedia is useful ... ;-)
And if you'll ever meet Scandinavians, you'll notice that they express their feelings much less than other Europeans or Americans (which, that goes without saying, does not imply that they feel less ...).
15
Sorry, but having a working knowledge of a foreign language does not equate with the ability to understand a language’s intricacies and puns.
When Lehrer sings, ‘Gettin’ ecstatican, sorta dramaticin’, doin’ the Vatican Rag,’ or ‘the sandman can linger, we know our buddies won’t give us the finger,’ — a high school English class won’t help you understand.
I can muddle through three languages (besides English), but I certainly don’t the colloquialisms.
Many Europeans think all American’s are uninformed. I watched that Norwegian concert in its entirety. It was cringeworthy — the public really didn’t understand the tongue twisters.
1
You know, one day I had a Finish colleague who was madly in love with me, but although we had many one-on-one dinners together, I never noticed ANYTHING.
We had a lot in common, except for the fact that I like extroverted people and thought he was the most introverted guy I had ever met, so I never took any initiative.
It was only when he was gone and had left me a letter describing his feelings that I realized that he was actually passionately in love with me, but left because he thought that it wasn't mutual ...
Later on, I met someone who became a friend and who's married to a Swedish man. Although she herself is Russian, she confirmed the exact same thing: Scandinavians are extraordinarily quiet and silent ...
Now try to watch some of their (absolutely outstanding) tv series (with subtitles, not dubbed) and you'll discover an extremely monotonous (for us) way of talking ...
Conclusion: the fact that they didn't react as enthusiastically as a LA crowd doesn't mean anything.
And imho all you need to understand why Europeans tend to think that Americans are "uninformed", is to listen to the current US government ... ;-)
As to their English: it's not high school English, many of them work in English all day, and even talk English at home.
So I'd suggest ... that you'd inform yourself a bit about Scandinavian culture before judging ... ;-)
1
Tom Lehrer will always be relevant somewhere for something. Now the hoods are in the White House; fortunately the Pollution Czar is gone, but industrial waste won’t be as easy to get rid of after his brief, but devastating appearance.
7
(1) Tom Lehrer was a genius - and too darned accurate in his analyses. (2) The Abjectly Visibly Corrupt Pollution Czar may be gone, but the next one is just as bad, only quieter about it thus possibly more deadly. What a world....
2
Wheeler, who replaces him, is as bad as Pruitt. He's a coal lobbyist and science denier. So the exact same agenda will be implemented, without any doubt. It's just that after two decades in DC, Wheeler has learned how to stay out of the spotlights, contrary to Pruitt.
1
This is listed as a 1965 version from the hungry i in San Francisco, which I visited in 1959. Is this a later, revised version of the song, which used to end something like "the breakfast garbage you throw into the Bay/they eat for lunch in San Jose"?
4
OMG! I had, perhaps I still have, everything Tom had on a record. The turntable, now there's the rub. But I comment on what Orwell believed was coming in 1984 and the Internet, today. In Googling for the correct lyric I went through several pages of California food. Perhaps the fragment was a bit off. One might try " what they throw into the bay" same ending. One could search on Tom's lyrics. But AI, as it exists today, is so close to perfect without being there. Expect to see more things like the Hawii warning about missiles on their way. Interesting times.
Lehrer adjusted the lyrics to his venue. When he sang the song in California it was:
The breakfast garbage that they throw in the Bay
They drink at lunch in San Jose
But when he sang in New Jersey it was:
The breakfast garbage that they throw out in Troy
They drink at lunch in Perth Amboy.
3
He had a few geographically "adjustments" to that verse.... e.g. Troy/Perth Amboy.
For newcomers to Lehrer, try to find his album "That Was The Year That Was." ...a spinoff on TWTWTW. 'Polution' is on it as well as 'The Vatican Rag' and my favorite 'National Brotherhood Week' .. oooh how they would howl about that one today!
17
His two earlier albums "Songs by Tom Lehrer" and "More of Tom Lehrer" ain't bad either.
8
"The Old Dope Peddler" from his first album has a certain relevance in these opiate crisis times...
Tom Lehrer: the best of his era. Scott Pruitt; the 2nd worst of his.
28
Hi Paul, Hope you and everyone has a good week.
I like your contribution this week. It is whimsical (with biting commentary ), and we could all use a little more whimsical these days.
I was just reading about the California gas tax (related to the subject at hand) and the obvious choice for a song is this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-aK6JnyFmk
Enjoy, and a fine weekend to all.
3
Check out "The War on Drugs" which won the Grammy for best rock album recently. I recommend: "Pain", "Red Eyes" and "Ocean Between the Waves." Great stuff.
2
ah... Tom Lehrer, a voice of reason. Sadly, Pruitt's departure will not stop the further destruction of the EPA's regulations.
10
It was a terrific timely repeat of the days I remember back in the 60's and 70's when things were so bad, and like today, we couldn't do anything about it. The country people, the base of the Republican party, living in a largely fresh environment, just don't give a darn about cities.
10
His song on nuclear proliferation was another goodie (who's next?).
9
I have loved Tom Lehrer and his clever musical comedy since I was a kid and these songs were new...and are more relevant.
“So so long mommy.
I’m off to kill a commy.
So send me a salami
and send it C.O.D.
And I’ll see you when the war is over
an hour-and-half from nowww!”
10
I'm pretty sure the line is
So send me a salami
and try to smile somehow.
Lehrer was a grandmaster of the language and would never have missed the rhyme with nowww
2
Which reminds me of:
“So long, Mom, I’m off to drop the bomb
But don’t wait up for me...”
which always came back as I watched Slim Pickens go down with the bomb in “Doctor Strangelove.”
2
A suggestion for when Trump has his annual job review with Putin (Colbert came up with that one): Tom Lehrer's Nikolai Ivanovich Lobachevski.
23
Wow...memories..remember ..."plagiarize....but always call it research"?
2
In these times of strife, Lehrer's "National Brotherhood Week" is relevant:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgASBVMyVFI
13
Perfect pick for the evening to celebrate Mr. Pruitt's resignation.
Only the very elderly can remember rivers catching fire (The Cuyahoga River in 1969), not being able to swim or fish in the Potomac, or Love Canal.
Love Canal was where I came in on the policy fight. I believe PolyChlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) will be in my memory forever.
Thanks to E.P.A. we have finally almost got a grip on pollution and there was no economic catastrophe that many predicted during the fight. Mr. Pruitt and his sponsor clearly did not understand E.P.A.s mission or the health and economic benefits of regulating and controlling pollution.
Have a good roll.
11
Socialists are on the march again, so here is an excellent socialist tune from the English musician Billy Bragg.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjUA3RU4B8E
3
I have every one of Tom Leher’s albums from that era, and have memorized many of his topical tunes. He was a genius at musical satire, and much of his work is relevant again today - maybe more so now than it was when it was first composed and performed.
22
Much of Tim Minchin's work is directly descended from Tom Lehrer (but still quite unique). I believe Minchin was a fan.
1
The Minchin BBC Proms Special from Albert Hall!
I remember that from way back. Thanks for the trip down memory lane!
9
This is uncanny, Mr. Krugman, and Tom Lehrer appears to be ahead of the times he lived. Forwarding his 'Pollution' to an international water engineer, once the head of a global children's organization in the department of environment and sanitation. Cheers to Mr. Lehrer on his 90th, and with appreciation!
I was hoping you would continue to give us a little Friday Night Music, and speaking of bicycling, perhaps you will take the Appalachian trail. We have visitors from New York in the summer who take the train with their bikes, and during the presidential elections, on a return to the City on the 4:30 p.m., a passenger and I heard the conductor shout 'whites up front, whites up front!', causing the air to feel heavily polluted. On further clarification, he explained that it was 'bikes up front!', and look where we are now.
Let's bring back these timely goldies, and retrieve our country.
18
Tim Lehrer was great. My fave:
“When Mozart was my age, he’d been dead for six years”.
Lesson for today: There is no time to waste. We must humiliate, discredit, and defeat the greed crazed monsters called “republicans”. This year.
66
When this song came out my mom loved it so much that she took it down in shorthand and then typed it out for me. Many, many moves later, I still have it. I also have a recording of it, which I have on my Nano. Yes, my mom turned me into an environmentalist. Tom Lehrer just turned 90. Let’s celebrate him!
79
Wonderful to hear Tom Lehrer again. It would be a treat if some of Friday's music was folk music, like Pete Seeger and early Joan Baez. Do you like that kind of music dear Prof. Krugman?
17
Joan Baez has a new album out now. Her rendition of “The President Sang Amazing Grace” is as powerful as anything she’s done.
1
@micky ordover: Yes! and I'd add early Dylan. "Masters of War," among others, so very sad to say, is as relevant now as then.
2
Cue "The Folk Song Army" "Remember the war against Franco/That's where each of us belongs/They may have won all the battles/But we had all the good songs..."
Love this song. We sang it in 5th grade chorus in 1971. How appalling that it still needs singing today.
56
I grew up on Tom Lehrer and even when I was young, I could appreciate the how terrific he was.
39
All of Tom Lehrer’s songs are excellent.
35
Hmmm, Dr. K., the non-POTUS 45 demolition derby has been needing a theme song for their really good shewwww; seems like Lehrer's lyrics would be apropos - in Russian, of course !
40
There's also his song "Lobachevsky" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXlfXirQF3A
"Who made me the genius that I am today"
10
And for those who prefer to ignore science of all kinds, Lehrer’s elements table.
1
Sadly, I’ve found myself singing this a lot during the past 18 months. And I doubt that Pruitt’s departure will make any difference.
37
Any "Pre-Nostalgia" out there?
2
Love Tom Lehrer. So many of his songs are timeless!
54
If there's anything that can destroy evil, it's humor. Lehrer did it in his day, and thank goodness for comedians today when they unsheathe their wit and ridicule the malevolent fiends who are ruining our country.
Off topic perhaps, but one of my personal favorites:
https://youtu.be/7jKiunSRzAI
22
I have loved Tom Lehrer since the 60's. You just can't do better than the Vatican Rag. I also wondered why we haven't heard from him since. Apparently, his explanation was that once Henry Kissinger won the Nobel Peace Prize, nothing was funny any more. I am secretly hoping that this Harvard mathematician turned song writer might come out of retirement to rescue us from the Trump administration.
49
A small correction: His quote about Kissinger referred to the death of satire, not humor.
2
When I was in high school Alex Trebek was an announcer on the CBC. He got canned for playing "The Vatican Rag" on a comedy spot he had at lunch-time (I was a loyal listener.) Thankfully, Alex landed on his feet.
2
Tom Lehrer also knew something about nuclear weapons ... those weapons that Donald Trump assumes would never dare to touch or disturb him when he’s securely seated in his gilded tower, at rest, tweeting.
Trump instinctively believes only little people, guys and gals on the sidewalk, would be incinerated in a nuke attack carried out by North Korea.
Title of the song? “We will All Go Together.”
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=frAEmhqdLFs&t=0s&index=4&list=...
16