I had the great pleasure over the weekend of introducing my girlfriend to the genius that is Lehrer, and much hilarity ensued. It did get me thinking, though, about the songs that of his that I find absolutely side-splittingly funny.
A little trawling on the internet gives me the impression that the most popular one is ‘Poisoning Pigeons in the Park’, and somehow that’s never been one of my favourites. To me, the biting sarcasm of ‘Pollution’, ‘The Vatican Rag’ and ‘Lobachevsky’ are much more entertaining, (and of course The Elements has a special place in my heart, if only because I can sing every word of it…). I appreciate Lehrer not only as a musician, but also as a comedian, an ironic political commentator and a very skilled wordsmith, and these songs seem to have more of those elements (cough cough) than PPitP.
The first song I think of when I hear Tom Lehrer is “Poisoning Pigeons in the Park.” Then it would probably be “The Masochism Tango,” “Vatican Rag,” and “Elements Song.”
There’s so many tunes, but definitely “Poisoning Pigeons in the Park” is the one that immediately springs to mind. Is it my favorite? No. I can’t even begin to rank his songs. As a recovering Catholic, I’ve always been quite partial to “Vatican Rag.” As a math geek in grammar school and high school, I always loved “New Math.”
For me, it would have to be either “Vatican Rag,” “National Brotherhood Week,” or “The Masochism Tango.” I think I’ll cast my vote for the last one.
Your eyes cast a spell that bewitches.
The last time I needed twenty stitches
To sew up the gash
That you made with your lash,
As we danced to the Masochism Tango.
Of course, there is also “We’ll All Go Together When We Go” and…
Let’s not forget A Christmas Carol. Hark, The Herald Tribune sings, advertising wondrous things; Angels we have heard on high, telling us to go and BUY!
And let’s not forget his contributions to The Electric Company, with such everlasting classics as Silent E and L-Y. If you’re between 30 and 40 years of age and grew up watching TV in the USA, you know what I mean!
…If you’re looking for adventure of a new and different kind-
and you come across a girlfriend who is similiarly inclined,
don’t be nervous, don’t be flustered, don’t be scared-
BE PREPARED!
I don’t know if it’s the quintessential Tom Lehrer, but I’ve always been partial to “The Irish Ballad,” because (a) I’m half Irish, and (b) it’s one of the first TL songs I ever heard.
My 10th grade chemistry teacher introduced his entire class to Lehrer during a slow day (I think he started out with “The Elements” and “Lobachevsky” to keep it topical, but then played several more). It was love at first listen.
I went home that day and over dinner told my parents, “So, Mr. Robinson played us music from this cool funny guy today–Tom Lehrer. Have you heard of him?”
My dad says, “Just a minute.” He gets up, goes to the closet where my parents keep their old records that they don’t play anymore, and returns with two Lehrer albums, which he hands to me. “Enjoy,” he says.
I spent the rest of the evening cementing my life-long love for Tom’s music. I had to make do with those two until college, when I found “That Was The Year That Was” at the local hippie record shop.
Masochism Tango, I just love that song, My wife (then girlfriend) sang this song to each other in a resturant to get a reaction from others, That’s when i knew she was mine. lol
My parents had That Was the Year That Was, so I grew up listening to that album. We had them all memorized, but I think “Pollution” or “New Math” would have been the favorites.
I had to make do with those two until college, when I found “That Was The Year That Was” at the local hippie record shop.