Tom Lehrer – ridicule, irony and sharp wit

A maths prodigy with a satirical sense of humour, ‘who revelled in writing tongue-twisting songs of discerning bad taste’, Tom Lehrer has died aged 97.

  An acclaimed musical satirist of the cold war era he became one of America’s favorite prophets of doom building up a cult following before retreating to academia. His dazzling prowess at the piano reflecting his love for up-tempo Broadway show tunes came to a glorious climax in his 1959 recitation of the chemical elements in the periodic table (102 at the time) to the tune of A Modern Major General from the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta The Pirates of Penzance.

‘Well ahead of his time on issues including pollution and nuclear proliferation, Lehrer made his mark with biting humor and zany rhymes. He was also wickedly funny on random subjects including murder, conjugal discord, chemistry and his distaste for pigeons.

Poisoning Pigeons in the Park, one of his signature tunes, conjures up a couple enjoying a spring pastime of slaughtering pigeons with strychnine – “It just takes a smidgen!”

Born on 9 April 1928 in New York to a secular Jewish family, he inherited his love of music from his mother as well as his mischievous sense of humour. He entered Harvard at 15, graduating magna cum laude with a degree in mathematics three years later though he kept up his musical interests throughout. He retired from the entertainment scene after the 1960s into teaching maths at MIT, Harvard and elsewhere.

 In 2022, uniquely for a recording artist, he announced on his website that he was relinquishing all copyright claims on his work, putting all his songs into the public domain.

 He had an upfront Sun Jupiter in Aries square Pluto and in a Fire Grand Trine to Neptune in Leo trine Saturn (and Moon) in Sagittarius. Fiery, inspirational, rarely doubting his abilities. A prominent Neptune is not only musical but oddly enough mathematical; and in his case was in a showbizzy opposition to Mars. His Saturn was square Venus Mercury and possibly conjunct his Moon – he never married and described himself as a loner.

A taste of his lyrics:

 “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.”

A romantic song becomes a lament from a lover who has murdered his girlfriend and cut off her hand as a keepsake: “The night you died I cut it off/ I really don’t know why./ For now each time I kiss it/ I get bloodstains on my tie.”

[“You know,” he said later, off all the songs I have ever sung, that is the one I’ve had the most requests not to”. ]

After he retreated from the musical scene, when people asked him to write a new song about current issues, he likened it to “asking a resident of Pompeii for some humorous comments about lava”.