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A parody of the official songs in use by the various branches of the United States military. Lehrer explains that the Army "didn't have no official song" when he started basic training; he wrote this one in an attempt to remedy the situation. (The branch adopted
561:" or other patter songs). Lehrer's argument for rewriting the song is that folk songs in general are "so atrocious, because they're written 'by the people'," and that the original "Clementine" has "no recognizable merit whatsoever."
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419:. At his concert in Copenhagen (1967), Lehrer admitted, "I like to play this song every once in a while, just to see if I can still do it!" Indeed, several of Lehrer's fans, such as actor
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241:. In November 2022, he formally relinquished the copyright and performing/recording rights on his songs, making all music and lyrics composed by him free for anyone to use.
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423:, have tried and failed to sing it (that is, he sang it in its entirety, but with slight hiccups). At some concerts he also played a version he claims is based on
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Bowman, John., Zoss, Joel., Bowman, John
Stewart. Diamonds in the Rough: The Untold History of Baseball. United States: University of Nebraska Press, 2004.
342:
to control pigeon populations in Boston public areas during the 1950s. The pianist hired for an orchestral version of the song, arranged and conducted by
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517:" as it might have turned out had it had been written by various composers in widely different styles of music. The first verse was in the style of
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Olivares-Merino, Eugenio M.. Peeping
Through the Holes: Twenty-First Century Essays on Psycho. United Kingdom: Cambridge Scholars Publisher, 2014.
339:
747:: 7 – via DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln, "City-wide pigeon control in Boston, MA using strychnine-treated whole corn".
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Lehrer comments that most popular movies of the time have a catchy title song that helps to draw in audiences. Believing that a recent (1957)
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This song is prefaced by a lengthy commentary about the (fictional) Dr. Samuel Gall, who gained fame and fortune from his "invention" of the
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Siegel, Paul. Outsiders
Looking in: A Communication Perspective on the Hill/Thomas Hearings. United States: Hampton Press, 1996. pg 267
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In
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had failed at the box office because it did not have such a song, he wrote this one in
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style. It was also a reference to the popularity of
Freudian psychoanalysis and the
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625:"Copyright-busting website is invitation to have a laugh with Tom Lehrer"
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810:"Daniel Radcliffe sings The Elements Song on The Graham Norton Show"
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with vocals by Lehrer, fell off his bench when he heard the title.
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in popular culture in the 1940s and 1950s in the United States.
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664:"Satirist Tom Lehrer has put his songs into the public domain"
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717:, “Let's go poisoning pigeons in the park”) on the 10" album
413:" ("I am the very model of a modern major-general...") from
549:"); and the rousing finale was, in Lehrer's paraphrase of
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that were known at the time of writing, up to number 102,
489:. The lyrics refer to three famous Spanish bullfighters,
230:
lecturer. The recording was made on March 20–21, 1959 in
574:" as its song in 1956, one year after Lehrer enlisted.)
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One of the rare parodies of Lehrer's work emerged in
521:(suggestive of "Night and Day"); the second verse an
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828:"Tom Lehrer performs alternate "Aristotle" version"
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338:-treated corn. The latter method was used by the
291:"It Makes a Fellow Proud to Be a Soldier" – 4:50
759:"A Conversation with Tom Lehrer: the full text"
513:"Clementine" is a parody of the old folk song "
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181:
1145:Albums free for download by copyright owner
383:" are a recitation of the names of all the
316:"We Will All Go Together When We Go" – 5:32
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395:since then. It can be found on his albums
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27:
18:
565:"It Makes a Fellow Proud to Be a Soldier"
358:", the traditional signature song of the
330:The lyrics refer to killing pigeons with
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537:"; the third verse in the style of the
340:United States Fish and Wildlife Service
250:"Poisoning Pigeons in the Park" – 2:38
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835:, clip from a live performance in 1967
674:from the original on October 24, 2020
643:from the original on October 22, 2020
623:Sanderson, David (October 22, 2020).
162:
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1050:Songs & More Songs by Tom Lehrer
398:Songs & More Songs by Tom Lehrer
405:. The song is sung to the tune of
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1009:An Evening Wasted with Tom Lehrer
737:"As It Was in Region 5,1949-1964"
735:Faulkner, Clarence (1999-05-01).
610:An Evening Wasted with Tom Lehrer
403:An Evening Wasted with Tom Lehrer
215:An Evening Wasted with Tom Lehrer
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134:An Evening Wasted with Tom Lehrer
22:An Evening Wasted with Tom Lehrer
16:1959 live album by Tom Lehrer
863:, 14 December 2007, para 2-5f, g
715:Geh'mer Tauben vergiften im Park
559:My name is John Wellington Wells
354:This song borrows heavily from "
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326:"Poisoning Pigeons in the Park"
662:Ho, Justin (21 October 2020).
612:. Cambridge, MA: Allmusic.com.
226:, the well-known satirist and
1:
817:, broadcast November 12, 2010
541:"Cool School" (suggestive of
305:"The Masochism Tango" – 3:30
261:"Bright College Days" – 3:03
1120:Reprise Records live albums
572:The Army Goes Rolling Along
391:; sixteen more have been
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1125:Warner Records live albums
1029:That Was the Year That Was
608:Lehrer, Tom (March 1959).
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272:"A Christmas Carol" – 2:54
1060:The Remains of Tom Lehrer
515:Oh My Darling, Clementine
170:
167:
118:
26:
696:. Tom Lehrer. 2022-11-01
932:Fight Fiercely, Harvard
719:Vienna Midnight Cabaret
416:The Pirates of Penzance
857:Army Regulation 220-90
765:. 1997. Archived from
427:'s elements: "There's
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302:"She's My Girl" – 2:53
285:"In Old Mexico" – 6:26
713:cf. "FrĂĽhlingslied" (
350:"Bright College Days"
953:The Old Dope Peddler
555:Gilbert and Sullivan
411:Major General's Song
356:The Whiffenpoof Song
334:-coated peanuts and
282:"Oedipus Rex" – 3:41
158:Professional ratings
105:Warner Bros. Records
1135:1950s comedy albums
1088:Letters from Lehrer
978:Songs by Tom Lehrer
407:Sir Arthur Sullivan
375:The Elements (song)
288:"Clementine" – 4:40
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125:Songs by Tom Lehrer
1140:Live comedy albums
988:More of Tom Lehrer
694:"Tom Lehrer Songs"
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143:More of Tom Lehrer
1110:Tom Lehrer albums
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799:(Flash animation)
769:on March 7, 2021.
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535:one of that crowd
385:chemical elements
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676:. Retrieved
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509:"Clementine"
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381:The Elements
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363:Whiffenpoofs
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277:The Elements
236:
234:at Harvard.
222:recorded by
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1001:Live albums
939:Lobachevsky
668:Marketplace
647:October 22,
551:Shakespeare
519:Cole Porter
483:gallbladder
462:Oedipus Rex
401:as well as
1104:Categories
1081:Tomfoolery
910:Tom Lehrer
861:Army Bands
700:2022-12-16
678:25 October
579:Jim Bouton
393:discovered
336:strychnine
224:Tom Lehrer
114:chronology
112:Tom Lehrer
60:March 1959
42:Tom Lehrer
37:Live album
1019:Revisited
741:The Probe
637:0140-0460
629:The Times
584:Ball Four
495:DominguĂn
487:bullfight
457:Sophocles
425:Aristotle
946:New Math
672:Archived
641:Archived
527:baritone
499:Manolete
491:Belmonte
389:nobelium
279:" – 2:16
177:Allmusic
57:Recorded
49:Released
39: by
1073:Theater
833:YouTube
815:YouTube
539:Beatnik
503:wetback
467:ragtime
459:' play
332:cyanide
228:Harvard
147:(1959)
138:(1959)
129:(1953)
101:Reprise
1064:(2000)
1054:(1997)
1033:(1965)
1023:(1960)
1013:(1959)
992:(1959)
982:(1953)
970:Albums
725:(1957)
635:
531:Mozart
497:, and
218:is an
171:Rating
168:Source
77:Length
71:Satire
917:Songs
595:Notes
441:water
429:earth
220:album
94:Label
66:Genre
680:2020
649:2020
633:ISSN
545:'s "
533:"or
525:for
523:aria
439:and
437:fire
435:and
431:and
409:'s "
360:Yale
52:1959
831:on
813:on
745:200
721:by
505:."
455:of
443:."
433:air
1106::
859:,
840:^
793:.
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591:.
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365:.
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84::
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