# Tom Lehrer dies at age 97 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [July 27, 2025, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-lehrer-dies-at-age-97/1021386 "2025-07-27T17:38:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2025, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-lehrer-dies-at-age-97/1021386/21 "2025-07-27T19:38:13Z")
Oh, thanks, good to know the long-term memory is still kicking in. Now, where did I put my teacup? So the songs were written for the weekly show, and then amalgamated into the “year” album. I wonder who sang them on the original show, since it clearly wasn’t him. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2025, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-lehrer-dies-at-age-97/1021386/22 "2025-07-27T19:40:28Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > Dammit. This one hurts. Agreed. A great deal of mostly justifiable anger, turned into excellent twists of words; which he set free as one of his last acts. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2025, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-lehrer-dies-at-age-97/1021386/23 "2025-07-27T19:48:14Z")
I was around for _That Was the Week That Was_ and I think that introduced me to Lehrer. He was the greatest. If the dictionary had a picture next to the word “wit” it would be of Lehrer. I bought all his albums, of course, and I even have a 10" version of his original _Songs by Tom Lehrer_, although it’s the fourth pressing. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2025, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-lehrer-dies-at-age-97/1021386/24 "2025-07-27T19:51:21Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > My introduction to him was from my very Catholic stepmom, of all people, who had all his albums. I got them all, too. I was about 13. Full on Catholic family (didn’t take, though). All three of his albums, Allan Sherman records and Mad Magazine were part of my life even before the first grade. I was really hoping he would make 100. 🎶 So long, Tom…🎶 ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2025, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-lehrer-dies-at-age-97/1021386/25 "2025-07-27T19:53:40Z")
I remember going to see _Tomfoolery_ in San Francisco ages ago, and the performer who sang _The Elements_ sang it twice - once slowly, and once full speed - while using a long pointer stick (that simply must have a real name) to point out the respective elements on a large periodic table behind him. For the full speed version, he didn’t even turn to look at the table, but remarkably managed to hit every single element without looking. It was hilarious. Also, when our youngest was in high school, they impressed their chemistry teacher by singing _The Elements_. ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2025, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-lehrer-dies-at-age-97/1021386/26 "2025-07-27T19:54:13Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > 🎶 So long, Tom…🎶 Nice! ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2025, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-lehrer-dies-at-age-97/1021386/27 "2025-07-27T20:20:11Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > These threads are usually very eulogistic, so perhaps I shouldn’t mention that. I don’t think Mr Lehrer would approve if this thread were pure hagiography. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Tride](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tride/32/13907_2.png) [@Tride](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tride)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2025, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-lehrer-dies-at-age-97/1021386/28 "2025-07-27T20:50:17Z")
Undisputed master of the fractured rhyme! What talent. I don’t think anyone could do musical satire/commentary/humor like he did. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2025, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-lehrer-dies-at-age-97/1021386/29 "2025-07-27T20:50:19Z")
I absolutely agree. And i think he stopped performing in part because _he_ was no longer as good an audience for his songs as he had been when he recorded them. His website says “This website will be shut down at some date in the not too distant future, so if you want to download anything, don’t wait too long.” I wonder if he posted that because he knew he was old, and expected it to go down shortly after he died? ---
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2025, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-lehrer-dies-at-age-97/1021386/30 "2025-07-27T21:02:08Z")
I learned of him from an old Uni prof who played a song of his many years and became a fan, he’s pretty cool. However, I’m quite glad that we, in fact, did not all go together when he passed. Cheers Lehrer. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2025, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-lehrer-dies-at-age-97/1021386/31 "2025-07-27T21:03:59Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > Years ago I met an Australian couple who were fans of Tom Lehrer. They told me that his records were once banned in Australia, but people would smuggle them in to sell them in secret. True in some states. Five songs banned in South Australia, and Vatican Rag also looked down upon. Despite, and perhaps because of that ban he was popular in Australia. His two 10" records stayed right through to the final cull of my collection, but the CD box set is still there and will be cracked open later on this sad day. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2025, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-lehrer-dies-at-age-97/1021386/32 "2025-07-27T21:11:10Z")
My introduction to Tom Lehrer was in 10th grade, when our Chemistry teacher played “The Elements” for us in class one day. I loved it, so I asked him who the artist was. Later, I went home and mentioned it to my parents over dinner: “Mr. Robinson played music from this cool, funny guy named Tom Lehrer in class today. Have you ever heard of him?” “Hold on a minute,” my dad said, and disappeared into the other room. He returned with three Lehrer albums, which he gave me. I loved everything on them! I didn’t discover Dr. Demento until a couple years later in college, and was glad to learn there was even more music I hadn’t heard yet. RIP, professor. You made a lot of people laugh–and think. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2025, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-lehrer-dies-at-age-97/1021386/33 "2025-07-27T21:16:01Z")
An awful debility, A lessened utility, A loss of mobility Is a strong possibility. In all probability I’ll lose my virility And you your fertility And desirability, And this liability Of total sterility Will lead to hostility And a sense of futility, So let’s act with agility While we still have facility, For we’ll soon reach senility And lose the ability. While enjoying our compatibility, I am cognizant of its fragility, And I question the advisability Of relying on its durability. You’re aware ofmy inflexibility And my quintessential volatility And the total inconceivability Of my showing genuine humility. Though your undeniable nubility May excuse a certain puerility, Your alleged indispensability Underestimates my versatility, And your boyish irresponsibility And what now is charming juvenility Will in time lose their adorability And appear much more like imbecility. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2025, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-lehrer-dies-at-age-97/1021386/34 "2025-07-27T22:30:25Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Recently, I re-visited them, and to my dismay I didn’t really like most of them any more. There was a lot of clever lyrics and piano work, but there was a lot of bitterness and cheap shots too. The one that always left me cold, despite my best efforts, was “New Math.” As someone who learned subtraction via the “look for the four in the tens place” method, I could never get past my initial reaction of “He’s just using fast-paced tongue-twisting lyrics to make it sound more confusing than it is!” (OTOH, Lehrer deserves credit for keeping the memory of “the old math” alive - without that song, I doubt anyone under 40 would know that the “three from two is nine” method ever existed.) ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2025, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-lehrer-dies-at-age-97/1021386/35 "2025-07-27T22:45:24Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > He must have been apoplectic about today’s politics. In a 2003 interview he noted “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.” ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2025, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-lehrer-dies-at-age-97/1021386/36 "2025-07-28T00:09:18Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > I doubt anyone under 40 would know that the “three from two is nine” method ever existed. Probably more like anyone under 60. “New Math” was introduced in the late '50s and was fairly widespread by the mid '60s. I’m well over 60 and learned “New Math” in elementary school. My parents wondered out loud while they were helping me with homework, “What _is_ this stuff?” Dad was an engineer by education and profession and thought it was unnecessarily fussy. Mom, the teacher, gently explained to me that in their day, they learned subtraction by rote, rather than ‘learning the concepts’. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2025, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-lehrer-dies-at-age-97/1021386/37 "2025-07-28T00:33:56Z")
Damn. I loved his songs. Still to this day whenever I hear “Vatican Rag” I feel an overwhelming urge to get up and dance maniacally. I’m glad he had a long and fulfilling life. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2025, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-lehrer-dies-at-age-97/1021386/38 "2025-07-28T00:35:14Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > Still to this day whenever I hear “Vatican Rag” I feel an overwhelming urge to get up and dance maniacally. And genuflect, genuflect, genuflect! ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2025, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-lehrer-dies-at-age-97/1021386/39 "2025-07-28T00:47:52Z")
First time I heard that I burst out in guffaws, ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2025, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-lehrer-dies-at-age-97/1021386/40 "2025-07-28T02:57:18Z")
I shall remember these words of wisdom and hold them close to my heart for the rest of my days: “_Six parts gin to one part vermouth._” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-lehrer-dies-at-age-97/1021386.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-lehrer-dies-at-age-97/1021386.md?page=3)