Last night I saw the news that Tom Lehrer had died (July 26th) and, like many other celebrity deaths this year, it pinged my childhood memories. He was 97 and lived a long life, but somehow it still hurts.
Tom Lehrer was a brilliant man. He was actually considered a childhood prodigy and entered Harvard at 15. He graduated from there with two Mathematics degrees, and later taught mathematics and other classes at MIT, Harvard, Wellesley, and the University of California, Santa Cruz. He also taught Political science and his love of math and politics both come up frequently in the career he’s best known for: comical music.
Because despite his years in teaching, his work with the NSA, and his job with the Atomic Energy Commission … most people know him best for his music. He had multiple albums released, did several tours, and even wrote songs for the children’s show The Electric Company.
Read more: TOM LEHRER AND THE MASOCHISM TANGOFor those of you who aren’t familiar with the name, I’m betting you’ve probably heard one of his songs somewhere. The Elements is a famous one, where he sings every element on the Periodic Table of Elements to the theme music from ‘Modern Major General’.
His music ranged from political satire like ‘So long, Mom (A song from WW3)’
To famous biographies such as: ‘Alma’ (Alma Mahler-Werfel)
And… just plain bizarre things like ‘Poisoning Pigeons in the Park’
Listening to the Dr. Demento radio show as a kid, his music popped up frequently and never failed to make me laugh—even when I didn’t understand the lyrics.
I credit Tom Lehrer with introducing me to a lot of topics through humor, some of them I was definitely too young to understand, but that was fine. I laughed and sang along gleefully without thinking any deeper.
I also credit him with teaching me the word ‘masochism’ thanks to his song ‘The Masochism Tango’.
Do I think it had anything to do with me ending up kinky? Naw, but back then there were already signs that I was. I would be spellbound by cartoons and books with spankings, so it’s not really any surprise that a song about submission and masochism (as unhealthy a dynamic as it was in the song) would catch my attention.
And bonus, it always made me think of Gomez and Morticia from Addams Family. That was probably my favorite rerun show as a kid.
Which is how, at 8 years old, I would shock people by singing the song. I knew the lyrics by heart, didn’t understand all of them, but I knew them. I mean… obviously this was going to stick with me, right?
“I ache for the touch of your lips, dear
But much more for the touch of your whips, dear
You can raise welts like nobody else
As we dance to the Masochism Tango”
If you’ve never heard it before, just believe that this was considered very risqué in 1959 when it was written, and was still shocking people in the 80’s. And since all of his work was placed in public domain, I can offer you this:
This isn’t his only work in public domain either. In 2022 he made the news when he generously opened his entire catalogue to the public for free, and renouncing all claim to the copyrights on them. You can find and download all of his songs here: https://tomlehrersongs.com/
Mp3s, sheet music, and lyrics are all provided. There is a note that this website will eventually be shut down, so people should download what they want soon. It’s been there for the whole three years, so who knows how long it will be up.
It’s a beautiful legacy to leave behind, but I’m always going to remember him as the guy who wrote a funny song about BDSM before it was cool to admit you were kinky. So, Tom, thank you for the music. I will continue to giggle every time I listen.
Musings of a Chaotic Mind 