I lived in NYC in the late 60’s and early 70’s. The air was horrible. I used to take 3 showers a day. Then we got the Clean Air act. The improvement was incredible.
I once worked at a landfill in WV. The old guy that had been there for decades told me that the whole Upper East used to send their hospital waste, AIDS bodies, and mob corpses out here. I'd believe it considering the landfill in question started as the locals found a sharp cliff and went "Well, why not just throw it off this ledge?"
Lehrer used to tweak the lyrics to customize them for his local audiences. For instance, I remember a version of this which he performed for a Bay Area, California audience, in which (at 2:11) instead of "throw out your breakfast garbage and I've got a hunch, the folks downstream will drink it for lunch," he sang, "the breakfast garbage you throw into the Bay, they'll drink for lunch in San Jose."
Tom will not be offended because he NEVER spends time reading comments under the videos on TH-cam. As for his status, Lehrer is a lifelong bachelor who - according to himself - just "skipped a few divorces" :-)
It’s silly really to think of the past as some arcane totally alien land. Especially when it’s a time period that still has survivors (one of which remains Tom Lehrer himself as I type this). Tom’s humour would have been relevant before his time and will likely outlive us all.
Gigas0101 because good satire never dies. Yes he bashed people, but he bashed everyone. Plus he did his satire in a world where people weren't giant softies who had to have "Safe Places" in colleges.
We used to listen to this album endlessly when living in Italy in the 1960s when my father was stationed there. The songs were so well written and funny that I still recall most of the songs and the lyrics now more than 50 years later.
I discovered Tom thanks to a friend in high school in the late 60s. I've loved him ever since. Poisoning Pigeons In the Park is a favorite; and The Elements. Only a Harvard professor would work long enough to make a song, grouping the rhyming elements.
The elements were grouped as rhymes? I once said, "If you call me a Nazi, I won't even frown, because my name is ... and I don't rhyme." I still manage to keep an advertisement from 2013 as my You Tube username.
www.fanfiction.net/s/10524433/3 Although Chapter Four is more funny. That's when Mickey Mouse gets in a fight. As you may expect, he's not good at fighting, and ends up with duck poop on his head, then falls off a roof. I hate to give away the story, but I was laughing just typing that.
- I worked in Ford's River Rouge complex. When I went to my car to drive home, it was often covered with metal dust. - Some years later, I worked in downtown high-rise. Looking out the window on a sunny day, the air was orange. - But pollution is not just industrial: Lake Erie is polluted by agricultural run-off transported by multiple rivers. Many beaches are therefore "Look but don't touch."
Tom, thank you so much for sharing your genius with us for free. He's got to be one of the best satirist ever. I wonder how he discovered this wonderful talent!
It *_used to be_* almost true. It hasn't been in a very long time. *_We finished the job_* of cleaning up pollution in America. With the exception of some isolated toxic waste sites, almost everything significantly polluted in 1960 is *_now very clean._*
The "pollution" people fret about now is mostly only detectable with sensitive instruments. The water & air pollution problems that Lehrer parodied killed fish, darkened the sky, and literally *_stank._*
Most of the fretting about "pollution" now is about things which *_nobody_* even considered to *_be_* pollution, in 1960. The propagandists for parasitic "renewable energy" industries have even got most young people thinking of carbon dioxide as a pollutant, now! That's insane, because objective scientific evidence shows that CO2 emissions are beneficial, not harmful.
Listen to the man who took over Einstein's job, the man who was, by general consensus, America's most distinguished living scientist, until his death a few months ago:
_“…non-climatic effects of carbon dioxide as a sustainer of wildlife and crop plants are enormously beneficial… possibly harmful climatic effects of carbon dioxide have been greatly exaggerated, and …the benefits clearly outweigh the possible damage.”_ *Freeman Dyson*
Not really…pollution was a bad concern at the time…rivers would catch fire, smog was common… The situation nowadays is, in some ways, even worse, but it was bad then
Zeyev, yes, that's true, and Lehrer sometimes changed the lyrics just a little bit :-) Today I uploaded 4 new versions which will (eventually) play in HQ. Spread the word about this rare comedy history :-)
I have to listen to Tom Lehrer at least a couple of times per year.He never gets out-dated! This recording must be from the time he was in Oslo, - fiords and such😀 (Greetings from a Norwegian fan)
God folks be like "soft gen z" but they don't realize that like a LOT of gen z thinks his humor is funny cause it's still relatable. Like the golden gens satire hits well with gen z humor
@@nilcarborundum7001 what's real language? Is there an exact classification of the ever evolving creation we use to express ourselves. Is real language only old language we are use to? If that is the case isn't all old language, not real language. Also why does the way one person speak such a bother, I find the concept presented here quite interesting. The fact a little comments slightly 'improper language' bothered you enough to present this opinion has peaked my interest. Didnt your parents scold you for how you spoke like you do here?
@@nilcarborundum7001 also I'm not very interested in being cool. Cringe culture is dead, and I'm like 20 ish so I'm just being my own thing now tbh. But thx for the comment, I'm killing time before bed.
There were several versions for one verse. The one recorded at the hungry i in San Francisco referred to the breakfast garbage thrown in the Bay being drunk at lunch in San Jose.
No, not all all. I first saw this man on TV in Scandinavia when I was twelve years old. The videotape from that performance was forgotten for fourty years, but then...
Fireicee1, yes, I do. But I also want to make sure that Tom Lehrer can spend his time quiet-LY, because that's he wants to do. Leave Lehrer alone, but enjoy the songs and keep them alive!
Yes, this is true. As a matter of fact, I would not risk what I have done if it was not for the fact that Lehrer is one-of-a-kind. Winston Churchills biographer, Sir Martin Gilbert, wrote that Tom Lehrer is the greatest satirist who ever lived. To me, that is totally true. Click on my user name and enjoy "All you need to know".
The Flint water crisis was not an environmental pollution problem. Rather, it was a problem with a liberal Democrat city government, running a municipal water supply, and poisoning the citizens by their gross incompetence. Read the report: www.michigan.gov/documents/snyder/FWATF_FINAL_REPORT_21March2016_517805_7.pdf
The Flint water crisis was not an environmental pollution problem. Rather, it was a problem with a liberal Democrat city government, running a municipal water supply, and poisoning the citizens by their gross incompetence. Read the report:
www.michigan.gov/documents/snyder/FWATF_FINAL_REPORT_21March2016_517805_7.pdf *_We finished the job_* of cleaning up pollution in America. American cities don't dump their garbage in the ocean anymore, and American factories don't vent toxic emissions into the air anymore. With the exception of some isolated toxic waste sites, almost everything significantly polluted in 1960 in America is *_now very clean._*
The "pollution" people fret about now is mostly only detectable with sensitive instruments. The water & air pollution problems that Lehrer parodied killed fish, darkened the sky, and literally *_stank._*
Most of the fretting about "pollution" now is about things which *_nobody_* even considered to *_be_* pollution, in 1960. The propagandists for parasitic "renewable energy" industries have even got most young people thinking of carbon dioxide as a pollutant, now! That's insane, because objective scientific evidence shows that CO2 emissions are beneficial, not harmful.
Listen to the man who took over Einstein's job, the man who was, by general consensus, America's most distinguished living scientist, until his death a few months ago:
_“…non-climatic effects of carbon dioxide as a sustainer of wildlife and crop plants are enormously beneficial… possibly harmful climatic effects of carbon dioxide have been greatly exaggerated, and …the benefits clearly outweigh the possible damage.”_ *Freeman Dyson*
Rachel Carson isn't the only one who is now dead because she lived. She also has on her hands a large share of the responsibility for the blood of *_about 100 million_* pregnant women and children under the age of five, who died needlessly, because of her now discredited DDT hoax. junksciencearchive.com/malaria_clock.html
No, it was the sixties. Tom Lehrer’s tame by our standards, but his songs could only be performed in nightclubs and such back then. He still had to avoid swear words and stuff.
I lived in NYC in the late 60’s and early 70’s. The air was horrible. I used to take 3 showers a day. Then we got the Clean Air act. The improvement was incredible.
I once worked at a landfill in WV. The old guy that had been there for decades told me that the whole Upper East used to send their hospital waste, AIDS bodies, and mob corpses out here.
I'd believe it considering the landfill in question started as the locals found a sharp cliff and went "Well, why not just throw it off this ledge?"
So long to that...
Lehrer used to tweak the lyrics to customize them for his local audiences. For instance, I remember a version of this which he performed for a Bay Area, California audience, in which (at 2:11) instead of "throw out your breakfast garbage and I've got a hunch, the folks downstream will drink it for lunch," he sang, "the breakfast garbage you throw into the Bay, they'll drink for lunch in San Jose."
I have a phonograph record of that Bay-Area version.
+David Burton that's cool
+David Burton great trivia!!! i love all things tom lehrer
I had one for the South Bay area in Los Angeles County: "The breakfast garbage that you throw into the sea/They drink at lunch in east P. V."
The version with a san Jose is the only one ive ever heard.
Tom will not be offended because he NEVER spends time reading comments under the videos on TH-cam. As for his status, Lehrer is a lifelong bachelor who - according to himself - just "skipped a few divorces" :-)
Legend
I did the same thing.
Amazing
Smart guy.
He won't learn that I love him then. Thanks for the tunes! 😊
Lehrer absolutely nailed the eternal controversies in his songs. So glad he did.
Yeah, I also love "International Brotherhood Week" and "The Vatican Rag".
It’s silly really to think of the past as some arcane totally alien land. Especially when it’s a time period that still has survivors (one of which remains Tom Lehrer himself as I type this). Tom’s humour would have been relevant before his time and will likely outlive us all.
@@carolynzaremba5469 *national
@@kisbieThe biggest problem we have going forward is the lack of ability of the modern population to tolerate satire
Lehrer how do you keep being insanely relevant almost 60 years later?
People, people never change.
Gigas0101 because good satire never dies.
Yes he bashed people, but he bashed everyone.
Plus he did his satire in a world where people weren't giant softies who had to have "Safe Places" in colleges.
Guess the classics never die
>.
- Tom Lehrer
Terrible infrastructure and ineffective government
Yeah, I also love how he smiles when he's playing.
He looks like a fun guy.
1965: "Don't drink the water and don't breathe the air"
2020: "Wear a gas mask and a veil, you can breathe so long as you don't inhale"
@@HeyJinx I wear a mask, it was a joke about Corona which I accept as a fact and not some hoax to kill and eat children.
@@brandondavidson4085 Wait, I'm supposed to kill them first. Ffs can't do anything right 🙄
and very soon there will be lots of nasty stuff in the air and water from climate change
We used to listen to this album endlessly when living in Italy in the 1960s when my father was stationed there. The songs were so well written and funny that I still recall most of the songs and the lyrics now more than 50 years later.
That’s an interesting anecdote! How old are you?
Sheer genius! Have loved him for decades! Sadly, his material is as timely now as it was then!
I'm listening to this channel today to commemorate Mr Lehrer's 86th birthday. The man's songs are totally amazing and still timely after 50 years.
Tom Lehrer is like School House Rock for sardonic adults.
He wrote and sang two songs for the reading show 'The Electric Company'. 'Silently E' and 'ly'.
@@christopherharmon2433 pretty sure he wrote all of the songs, and performed more than that. I can think of Sniff, Snore, Sneeze
It's like Schoolhouse Rock for cringe redditors.
@@RabbiHerschelim devistated.
Thank you. This song is now back in 4:3, and (soon) with a HQ-button. This is comedy history. Spread the word :-)
Comedy became history when he retired.
I discovered Tom thanks to a friend in high school in the late 60s. I've loved him ever since. Poisoning Pigeons In the Park is a favorite; and The Elements. Only a Harvard professor would work long enough to make a song, grouping the rhyming elements.
I believe that most present day listeners to Poisoning Pigeons don't know the context. Boston was actually doing this with poisoned bait!
The elements were grouped as rhymes? I once said, "If you call me a Nazi, I won't even frown, because my name is ... and I don't rhyme." I still manage to keep an advertisement from 2013 as my You Tube username.
www.fanfiction.net/s/10524433/3
Although Chapter Four is more funny. That's when Mickey Mouse gets in a fight. As you may expect, he's not good at fighting, and ends up with duck poop on his head, then falls off a roof. I hate to give away the story, but I was laughing just typing that.
I discovered Tom Thanks to Thomas Benjamin Wild who covered The Masochism Tango.
- I worked in Ford's River Rouge complex. When I went to my car to drive home, it was often covered with metal dust.
- Some years later, I worked in downtown high-rise. Looking out the window on a sunny day, the air was orange.
- But pollution is not just industrial: Lake Erie is polluted by agricultural run-off transported by multiple rivers. Many beaches are therefore "Look but don't touch."
Just a reminder that in 1967 this really was nothing new... well said, Tom Lehrer!
Both a beautiful speaking and singing voice...
93 and still kicking ass!
Born April 9, 1928, and still going 9 Apr 2024.
Wishing a happy 90th birthday to you Tom.
It's amazing that this recording is ~ 50 years old. I was introduced to Tom Leher 55 years ago.
and now it's 60 yo old
Wonderful. He was/is ahead of his time :-)
Irene Haralabatos no, the majority of the singers used racism
@@codehorse8843 The majority. He even made fun of racism in National Brotherhood Week
I have read the comments and cant say it any better. Awesome, timeless, and no one else comes close.
Now this is standup comedy.
walter bishop No man, he's sitting - not standing up😉😂❤
walter bishop At its best. Only better. :-)))
Bastardized later by Mark Russell
If the piano were taller, that could be literal.
A few steps ahead of his time. Tango.
Tom, thank you so much for sharing your genius with us for free. He's got to be one of the best satirist ever. I wonder how he discovered this wonderful talent!
I adore Tom Lehrer. 1967 was a year after I graduated from high school. He was very popular with us back then.
I love this song, it's one of my favourites! It's very sad that it's true though.
It *_used to be_* almost true. It hasn't been in a very long time.
*_We finished the job_* of cleaning up pollution in America. With the exception of some isolated toxic waste sites, almost everything significantly polluted in 1960 is *_now very clean._*
The "pollution" people fret about now is mostly only detectable with sensitive instruments. The water & air pollution problems that Lehrer parodied killed fish, darkened the sky, and literally *_stank._*
Most of the fretting about "pollution" now is about things which *_nobody_* even considered to *_be_* pollution, in 1960.
The propagandists for parasitic "renewable energy" industries have even got most young people thinking of carbon dioxide as a pollutant, now! That's insane, because objective scientific evidence shows that CO2 emissions are beneficial, not harmful.
Listen to the man who took over Einstein's job, the man who was, by general consensus, America's most distinguished living scientist, until his death a few months ago:
_“…non-climatic effects of carbon dioxide as a sustainer of wildlife and crop plants are enormously beneficial… possibly harmful climatic effects of carbon dioxide have been greatly exaggerated, and …the benefits clearly outweigh the possible damage.”_ *Freeman Dyson*
Learn more here:
tinyurl.com/learnmore4
what a great guy, love his stuff.
You tell them, 6funswede! Tom Lehrer is one of the musical satire geniuses of the last century!
if the hoods don't get you the monoxide will xD
IDWpresents The hoods might just get us yet
+T.W. Elliott Be careful when crossing the road,good luck.
Some performer that might have something to do with Twitzid is called monoxide
Genius
Decades ahead of his time
Not really…pollution was a bad concern at the time…rivers would catch fire, smog was common…
The situation nowadays is, in some ways, even worse, but it was bad then
#FlintWaterCrisis
oh, theirs still problems with it. Don't forget about Flint
Hey I am a Flinter, and I must say I am offended.
It was hardly water at the time.
You can barely call it water now.
We listened to this in 6th grade Science class because one of the boys said "THIS IS MY JAM" 😂
I am firm believer that Tom Lehrer is a time traveler.
No need; nothing ever changes anyway
Lots of things change. People... are fundamentally the same.
Decades ..... and I mean decades not even today
..... way beyond his time
I mean, pollution was a problem at that time, too
Zeyev, yes, that's true, and Lehrer sometimes changed the lyrics just a little bit :-) Today I uploaded 4 new versions which will (eventually) play in HQ. Spread the word about this rare comedy history :-)
Thanks for uploading it. I was thinking of this song a couple months ago. I remember my album had San Jose on it.
Marty Feldman sang this on his British TV series, and he had been head writer on THE FROST REPORT when Tom Lehrer was a semi-regular on it.
System of a down most deffinetly got inspired by his singing style and lyrics.
This song itself was probably inspired by the song, America, from the musical, West Side Story.
Was literally just thinking this. Especially clear when you listen to Serj's solo stuff!
@@SaltpeterTaffy when was West Side Story written
He is the best. He always was the best. He will always be the best--at composing, singing, and presenting satire.
I have to listen to Tom Lehrer at least a couple of times per year.He never gets out-dated! This recording must be from the time he was in Oslo, - fiords and such😀
(Greetings from a Norwegian fan)
God folks be like "soft gen z" but they don't realize that like a LOT of gen z thinks his humor is funny cause it's still relatable. Like the golden gens satire hits well with gen z humor
Yup. And the “snowflakes” too…I know a non-binary person who likes his stuff!
@@waytoobiased transsexual here who loves tom lehrer! nice to know i’m in good company :)
d'you really need to say "be like"? it isn't cool anymore, haven't you heard? Tom Lehrer spoke & sang real language.
@@nilcarborundum7001 what's real language? Is there an exact classification of the ever evolving creation we use to express ourselves. Is real language only old language we are use to? If that is the case isn't all old language, not real language.
Also why does the way one person speak such a bother, I find the concept presented here quite interesting. The fact a little comments slightly 'improper language' bothered you enough to present this opinion has peaked my interest. Didnt your parents scold you for how you spoke like you do here?
@@nilcarborundum7001 also I'm not very interested in being cool. Cringe culture is dead, and I'm like 20 ish so I'm just being my own thing now tbh. But thx for the comment, I'm killing time before bed.
Stunning intellectual gymnastics free your mind in your own lunch time.
I love the music and his razor sharp wit. Hilarious!
There were several versions for one verse. The one recorded at the hungry i in San Francisco referred to the breakfast garbage thrown in the Bay being drunk at lunch in San Jose.
That's the one I heard when cassette tapes were still functional. But I recently saw some at Walmart.
Somebody play this to governor Rick Snyder
This is the Bo Burman of another era
And this is why we need the EPA.
You can say that again!
Outstanding!
Happy 90th, Tom.
No, not all all. I first saw this man on TV in Scandinavia when I was twelve years old. The videotape from that performance was forgotten for fourty years, but then...
Tom was a beacon in my childhood.
2:11 I prefer "The breakfast garbage that they throw out in Troy, they drink for lunch at Perth Amboy!"
+David T. Smith ...and no! this ain't a marketing ploy!! (:
Yes! I grew up in NYC, and that's the version I was trying to remember just now.
Love this song! You Tube just went away while I watched. Hmm.....
Born 50 years after he stopped but still find him funny lol
Ooooh ok. Hes that generations bo burnham. Cool
This video is now out on DVD. Please read the updated video description or visit the channel page!
i learned this song when i was a teen... but it is very actual
Excellent and amazing!
This song is meaningful😊
Fireicee1, yes, I do. But I also want to make sure that Tom Lehrer can spend his time quiet-LY, because that's he wants to do. Leave Lehrer alone, but enjoy the songs and keep them alive!
love this guy
Yes, this is true. As a matter of fact, I would not risk what I have done if it was not for the fact that Lehrer is one-of-a-kind. Winston Churchills biographer, Sir Martin Gilbert, wrote that Tom Lehrer is the greatest satirist who ever lived. To me, that is totally true. Click on my user name and enjoy "All you need to know".
Sadly I'm too young to remember when the air was still breathable
Ralph Nader in the 60s worked to limit industrial emissions, among other things.
i lived there this song is all FACTS
00:19 to skip the unnecessary
Damn the time travelers who left me behind; or ahead?..
Certified Ohio moment
yup
How prophetic...
Flint Michigan would like to know your location.
The Flint water crisis was not an environmental pollution problem. Rather, it was a problem with a liberal Democrat city government, running a municipal water supply, and poisoning the citizens by their gross incompetence. Read the report:
www.michigan.gov/documents/snyder/FWATF_FINAL_REPORT_21March2016_517805_7.pdf
It's so amazing hoe up to date his songs are
oh god the cc's fish gotta swim birds gotta blah 1:20
he's so pretty.
Best comedy ever...seriously. 😏
Beautiful song 10
What a pianist! Off-rhymes w satir-ist :-)))
Flint Michigan, are you listening?
“The world is changing
the planet’s heatin’ up”
- Bo Burnham, 2021
I love that kind of high
Flew in from outa state for the gig.
After flint Michigan, it's not fun.
I disagree it just keep getting funnier
The Flint water crisis was not an environmental pollution problem. Rather, it was a problem with a liberal Democrat city government, running a municipal water supply, and poisoning the citizens by their gross incompetence. Read the report:
www.michigan.gov/documents/snyder/FWATF_FINAL_REPORT_21March2016_517805_7.pdf
*_We finished the job_* of cleaning up pollution in America. American cities don't dump their garbage in the ocean anymore, and American factories don't vent toxic emissions into the air anymore. With the exception of some isolated toxic waste sites, almost everything significantly polluted in 1960 in America is *_now very clean._*
The "pollution" people fret about now is mostly only detectable with sensitive instruments. The water & air pollution problems that Lehrer parodied killed fish, darkened the sky, and literally *_stank._*
Most of the fretting about "pollution" now is about things which *_nobody_* even considered to *_be_* pollution, in 1960. The propagandists for parasitic "renewable energy" industries have even got most young people thinking of carbon dioxide as a pollutant, now! That's insane, because objective scientific evidence shows that CO2 emissions are beneficial, not harmful.
Listen to the man who took over Einstein's job, the man who was, by general consensus, America's most distinguished living scientist, until his death a few months ago:
_“…non-climatic effects of carbon dioxide as a sustainer of wildlife and crop plants are enormously beneficial… possibly harmful climatic effects of carbon dioxide have been greatly exaggerated, and …the benefits clearly outweigh the possible damage.”_ *Freeman Dyson*
Learn more here:
tinyurl.com/learnmore4
Fantastic! Just found this man, where have you been
What do Flint residents think of this song?
The PM2.5 is currently in three digits, so this is relatable again
watching this while nor cal is on fire 🤠
The problem with Greta Thunberg is that she’s right
welcome to west virginia
April 21 - happy earth day to all you tree huggers!
4
2
0
April 22
HAPPY 107TH BIRTHDAY RACHEL CARSON!!!
27 May 2014
Rachel Carson isn't the only one who is now dead because she lived. She also has on her hands a large share of the responsibility for the blood of *_about 100 million_* pregnant women and children under the age of five, who died needlessly, because of her now discredited DDT hoax.
junksciencearchive.com/malaria_clock.html
1 person is like a lamb to the slaughter.
He sings "lambs to the slaughter".
God, that man is so hot
good song
I'v had a crush on him since I a child, he's dreamy...
The Fallout franchise should add Tom's songs to the radio, especially this and the nuclear one.
perpetualmotion192, he is 81 years old and stopped performing these comedy songs in the late 1960's. Visit the channel's front page.
I saw a recording of him when he was at least 69 years old. And he hoped we would have colored television by then!
WAIT WAIT WAIT Tom Lehrer wasn't right was he?
+Michael “Fishbits” Hraba Hmmmmm
At 1:05 was that a censored lyric?
No?
No, it was the sixties. Tom Lehrer’s tame by our standards, but his songs could only be performed in nightclubs and such back then. He still had to avoid swear words and stuff.
SOAD cover?
So talented
am i the only one who finds him attractive ?
Why didn't use Michael Moore this in his movies? It's even more perfect than "We all go together when we go" is for Fallout.