(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
RIP Tom Lehrer [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-07-27
Tom Lehrer (April 9, 1928 – July 26, 2025) — beloved and admired mathematician, musician, singer, songwriter and satirist extraordinaire — died today at the age of 97, at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Thomas Andrew Lehrer, born on April 9, 1928, is best known for the pithy, humorous songs that he recorded in the 1950s and 1960s, mixing science, humor and political satire with mathematical precision. Tom never finished his Ph.D. at Harvard, but spent some 30 years teaching math and musical theater at MIT, Harvard, Wellesley, and the University of California, Santa Cruz. Lehrer's musical career was relatively brief; he once mentioned that he performed a mere 109 shows and wrote 37 songs over 20 years. Here are a few of my favorites, although pretty much every song of his is cynically delightful and admirable. We start with The Elements — the celebrated song about the Periodic Table of Elements. x YouTube Video We will all go together — a song about the bomb - x YouTube Video When you attend a funeral
It is sad to think that sooner o'
Later those you love will do the same for you
And you may have thought it tragic
Not to mention other adjec-
Tives, to think of all the weeping they will do
(But don't you worry.)
No more ashes, no more sackcloth
And an armband made of black cloth
Will some day never more adorn a sleeve
For if the bomb that drops on you
Gets your friends and neighbors too
There'll be nobody left behind to grieve And we will all go together when we go
What a comforting fact that is to know
.. When it's time for the fallout
And Saint Peter calls us all out
We'll just drop our agendas and adjourn You will all go directly to your respective Valhallas
Go directly, do not pass Go, do not collect two hundred dolla's And we will all go together when we go
Ev'ry Hottenhot an' ev'ry Eskimo
When the air becomes uranious
And we will all go simultaneous
Yes we all will go together
When we all go together
Yes, we all will go together when we go Poisoning Pigeons in the Park — the lyrics refer to controlling pigeons with strychnine-treated corn. In 1950s Boston, this was how the US Fish and Wildlife Service controlled pigeons in public places. x YouTube Video Who’s Next? exposes the dangers of nuclear proliferation. x YouTube Video First we got the bomb and that was good,
'Cause we love peace and motherhood.
Then Russia got the bomb, but that's O.K.,
'Cause the balance of power's maintained that way!
Who's next? France got the bomb, but don't you grieve,
'Cause they're on our side, I believe.
China got the bomb, but have no fears;
They can't wipe us out for at least five years!
Who's next? Then Indonesia claimed that they
Were gonna get one any day.
South Africa wants two, that's right:
One for the black and one for the white!
Who's next? Egypt's gonna get one, too,
Just to use on you know who.
So Israel's getting tense,
Wants one in self defense.
"The Lord's our shepherd, " says the psalm,
But just in case, we better get a bomb!
Who's next? Luxembourg is next to go
And, who knows, maybe Monaco.
We'll try to stay serene and calm
When Alabama gets the bomb!
Who's next, who's next, who's next?
Who's next? Pollution (1965), a song that helped ignite environmentalism.
x YouTube Video
Time was when an American about to go abroad would be warned
by his friends or the guidebooks not to drink the water.
But times have changed, and now a foreigner coming to
this country might be offered the following advice:
If you visit American city,
You will find it very pretty.
Just two things of which you must beware:
Don't drink the water and don't breathe the air!
Pollution, pollution!
They got smog and sewage and mud.
Turn on your tap
And get hot and cold running crud!
See the halibuts and the sturgeons
Being wiped out by detergeons.
Fish gotta swim and birds gotta fly,
But they don't last long if they try.
Pollution, pollution!
You can use the latest toothpaste,
And then rinse your mouth
With industrial waste.
Just go out for a breath of air
And you'll be ready for Medicare.
The city streets are really quite a thrill—
If the hoods don't get you, the monoxide will.
Pollution, pollution!
Wear a gas mask and a veil.
Then you can breathe,
Long as you don't inhale!
Lots of things there that you can drink,
But stay away from the kitchen sink!
The breakfast garbage that you throw into the Bay
They drink at lunch in San José.
So go to the city,
See the crazy people there.
Like lambs to the slaughter,
They're drinking the water
And breathing (cough) the air!
I Wanna Go Back to Dixie mocking southern racism back in 1963 -
x YouTube Video
I wanna go back to Dixie
Take me back to dear ol' Dixie
That's the only li'l ol' place for li'l ol' me
Ol' times there are not forgotten
Whuppin' slaves and sellin' cotton
And waitin' for the Robert E. Lee
(It was never there on time)
I'll go back to the Swanee
Where pellagra makes you scrawny
And the Honeysuckle clutters up the vine
I really am a-fixin'
To go home and start a-mixin'
Down below that Mason-Dixon line Oh, poll tax, how I love ya, how I love ya
My dear old poll tax Won'tcha come with me to Alabammy
Back to the arms of my dear ol' Mammy
Her cookin's lousy and her hands are clammy
But what the hell, it's home
Yes, for paradise the Southland is my nominee
Jes' give me a ham hock and a grit of hominy I wanna go back to Dixie
I wanna be a dixie pixie
And eat cornpone 'til it's comin' outta my ears
I wanna talk with Southern gentlemen
And put my white sheet on again
I ain't seen one good lynchin' in years
The land of the boll weevil
Where the laws are medieval
Is callin' me to come and nevermore roam
I wanna go back to the Southland
That "y'all" and "shet-ma-mouth" land
Be it ever so decadent
There's no place like home National Brotherhood Week — another song about racism in America. x YouTube Video Oh, the white folks
hate the black folks.
And the black folks,
hate the white folks
To hate all but the right folks
is an old established rule — another song about racism in America.
But during...
National Brotherhood Week
National Brotherhood Week
Lena Horn and Sheriff Clark are dancing cheek to cheek, it's
fun to eulogize the
people you despise
as long you don't let them in your school.
Oh, the poor folks, hate the rich folks
and the rich folks hate the poor folks.
All of my folks hate all of your folks.
It's american as apple pie.
But during...
National Brotherhood Week
National Brotherhood Week
New Yorkers Love the Puerto Ricans 'cause it's very chique
Stand up and shake the hand of
someone you can't stand
you can tolerate him if you try.
Oh the protestants hate the catholics
and the catholics hate the protestants
and the hindus hate the muslims
and everybody hates the jews, but during
National Brotherhood Week
National Brotherhood Week its
national everyone smile at
one another-hood week, be
nice to people who are
inferior to you. it's only for a week so have no fear
be grateful that it doesn't last all year
I hold your hand in mine — a bit of macabre humor :-)
x YouTube Video
I hold your hand in mine dear
I press it to my lips
I take a healthy bite from your dainty fingertips
my joy would be complete dear
if you were only here
but still I keep your hand as a precious souvenir
the night you died I cut it off
I really don't know why
for now each time I kiss it
I get blood stains on my tie
I'm sorry now I killed you
for our love was something fine
until they come to get me, I
shall hold your hand in mine
Here in an interesting story from en.wikipedia.org/… — In author Isaac Asimov's second autobiographical volume In Joy Still Felt, Asimov recounted seeing Lehrer perform in a Boston nightclub on October 9, 1954. Lehrer sang cleverly about Jim getting it from Louise, and Sally from Jim, "...and after a while you gathered the 'it' was venereal disease [the song was likely "I Got It From Sally" (in later versions "Agnes")]. Suddenly, as the combinations grew more grotesque, you realized he was satirizing every known perversion without using a single naughty phrase. It was clearly unsingable (in those days) outside a nightclub." x x YouTube Video Publications Lehrer is known to have co-authored 2 papers: R. E. Fagen; T. A. Lehrer (March 1958). "Random walks with restraining barrier as applied to the biased binary counter". Journal of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics. epubs.siam.org/... T. Austin; R. Fagen; T. Lehrer; W. Penney (1957). "The distribution of the number of locally maximal elements in a random sample". Annals of Mathematical Statistics. projecteuclid.org/... A Few Tom Lehrer Quotes
Life is like a sewer... what you get out of it depends on what you put into it.
Bad weather always looks worse through a window.
It is sobering to consider that when Mozart was my age he had already been dead for a year.
Political satire became obsolete when they awarded Henry Kissinger the Nobel Peace Prize.
I wish people who have trouble communicating would just shut up.
I know that there are people who do not love their fellow man, and I hate people like that!
I used to pick up the newspaper and laugh....But now I pick up the paper and I have to wait till breakfast is over because it's just going to ruin it.
I'm not tempted to write a song about George W. Bush. I couldn't figure out what sort of song I would write. That's the problem: I don't want to satirise George Bush and his puppeteers, I want to vaporise them.
Rights
In 2020, the great Tom Lehrer transferred the music and lyrics for his songs into the public domain, making all music and lyrics composed by him free for anyone to use.
The disclaimer on his website ends with -
In short, I no longer retain any rights to any of my songs.
So help yourselves, and don’t send me any money.
Lyrics and songs can be download from the website tomlehrersongs.com
Epilogue
Tom Lehrer’s songs and words ring true as much today as they did more than 50 years ago, more so in this era of trump and republicanism. He had the courage and the skill to take on the destructive forces of his time, using satire and humor. He inspired many in our generation, and much work lies ahead in our struggle to correct all that is wrong with America today and to create a better and more just future.
What are your memories of Tom Lehrer? Did you ever see him perform live? What are your favorites songs? How did he inspire you? How relevant are his songs in today’s toxic environment?
Further Reading
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/7/27/2335453/-RIP-Tom-Lehrer?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web
Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/
