Tom Lehrer Clementine

[angela1894]

I actually like his conception of Cole Porter's take on the song. Actually it seems Lehrer got his inspiration for this caricature mostly from Porter's "Day & Night".

[quzishen]

Jazz, the rap of the 1950's.

[JohnTranton11111]

yes! Cole Porter!

[waterskippers]

He forgot the obvious: What would it sound like if a gangster rapper did it?

[relsqui]

@waterskippers Do you realize he was writing in the 50s and 60s? Gangsta rap hadn't been invented yet. :P

[Satchmoeddie]

@waterskippers I do not think Mr. Lehrer is dead yet. Maybe he will have added that part. I'd Love to hear it! Gigging Gilbert and Sullivan is more than enough for me. Man I hate "Operetta" and most "Show Tunes" unless Tom Lehrer has reworked them. I doubt he will have any trouble covering "Gangsta Rap" "Crunk" "Hip Hop" or any other Rap style. Since I make Comp Limiters (great for throw down) I have to sound like I am hip on hip hop, though I am not.. Their money spends like any other.

[Vinco]

@Satchmoeddie he's still alive, and apparently he's an assistant professor or something at a college somewhere. a student recognized him, but apparently mr. lehrer just wants to leave it behind. just grew tired of some aspects of it. i for one think that doing a "hip hop" cover of anything has been an overdone joke. i should also note that rap is a subset of hip-hop, and that there's some good stuff out there that simply wouldn't make fun of rapping worth it.

[Finlandfanatic]

Tom Lehrer is a dirty jew!

[elisaface]

OMG. I LOVE HIM!!!! I am becoming completely obsessed with this man. If he still gave concert I would buy tickets in a hot second, he's a genius.

[roughcovers]

great song - great vid - well done

[PEKKH]

There are a couple of CD where Disney tunes are played in the style of various classical composers. Heigh Ho Mozart and Bibbidi Bobbedy Beethoven.

[loverofyugioh]

nice slideshow.

i love the end ''see what i mean?''

SMART you're good

[tikkeltje]

3:07 awesome piano =D

[stefiparks]

GENIOUS

[emilygclarinet]

Interesting how the Gilbert and Sullivan verse has part of the melody of a Sousa march...

[drtmuir]

Pavarotti: not a baritone.

[bizoneee]

@drtmuir but he is one of that crowd

[Alcagaur]

In endeavouring to expose non-native speakers of artistic inclination to the wonders of Mr Lehrer, I have found your beautifully illustrated submission to be useful beyond measure. His savouring of language and flights of fancy are fully reflected therein, so that, even with a great work, this is not gilding the lily.

[rjcrev]

@Alcagaur You're trying too hard.

[Alcagaur]

@rjcrev Professional deformation due to teaching English for Theatre Purposes. The effort, for me, would be to express myself otherwise.

[McFaegle]

@Alcagaur Right you are for expressing yourself as you see fit. Do keep in mind not all souls are sufficiently learned in the English tongue. They also actively seek reasons to bitch. I can only hazard a guess as to why; they do so to rid themselves of the frustrations they suffer from their daily mundane occupations. Paying them no attention is the only way to successfully deal with them. ;)

[GrahamChapman]

@Alcagaur: Sesquipedalian loquaciousness much, yes?

[martin2455]

@GrahamChapman Clearly existentialistic nomenclature of apocalyptic proportionality........or something.......doh

[GrahamChapman]

@martin2455: Yes, though I'd like mine with mustard! *crosses my fingers and hopes my nonsequeturianesque reply made any at all sense in context*

[Greatkingrat88]

@GrahamChapman Do you trope?

[GrahamChapman]

@Greatkingrat88: [[BlatantLies What, no! Absolutely not!]] [[SuspiciouslySpesificDenial Whatever gave you the inaccurate impression that I've spent hours upon hours, sometimes even DAYS just reading about character stereotypes and plot points?]] To put it blunty: [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepart­ment No. No, no, no, no, and a thausand times a thousand times over, NO!]] [[{{Beat}} ...]] [[TVTropesWillRuinYourLife Yes. T__T]]

[Greatkingrat88]

@GrahamChapman Always a pleasure to meet a fellow troper.

[GrahamChapman]

@Greatkingrat88: And a fellow Swede, none the less.

[Greatkingrat88]

@GrahamChapman A fellow Swede too? My oh my, this is a rare occasion!

[GrahamChapman]

@Greatkingrat88: I bet you it's a ContrivedCoincidence... But, yeah, we Swedes do seem to flock around Tom Lehrer. (There is a Swedish guy who has uploaded a lot of Lehrer's live-recorded performances to YouTube.)

[Greatkingrat88]

@GrahamChapman 6funSwede, right? Man, this is cool... to meet a swede at a non-swedish site is rare enough, but a fellow troper too? Cool.

[GrahamChapman]

@Greatkingrat88: Uh-huh, that's the guy... Or gal, I'm really not sure, truth to be told... Yeah, I'm honestly a little baffled myself... Uuh, I think I'll attempt to move this conversation over to PMs. Wouldn't wanna litter the comment page here with, what I suspect is going to be, a nerd-tastic conversation.

[Greatkingrat88]

@GrahamChapman See you therek, then.

[angela1894]

This is briliant.

[TWICEfan3125]

I'm sorry, I meant to ask who the man in the image from 4:23 is.

[TWICEfan3125]

where's the image from 4:27 from?

[madasaferret]

The video just detracts from the brilliance of the song... sorry.

[tomwmloppe]

There does exist, a long lyric of 'My Darling Clementine'...

One line is funny, one is witty, and I'm sure there must be a sad line...

google search , or utube search...

Also, a movie featuring Henry Fonda, copyright 1946 ...

(I hope I got that right)...

comment: Sometimes, perhaps He isn't funny... , but He never finds Himself without a rhyme...

laffing my fuking ass off,,, rolling in the aisle...

[irishmauddib]

the most perectly worked out video to go with a song i have ever seen on uTube, well done!

[irishmauddib]

i would really love to talk to the man himself, does anyone know how to contact him? please pm me

[PlasticPheonix]

That last song sounds familiar....

Does anyone think so too?

[Unwardil]

Hahahaa... Dig that crazy Clementine... So fucking awesome.

[mammonak]

Tom Lehrer: wonderful mind, represented by a somewhat trashy video.

[Aesthir]

This song is great. The video is hideous.

[Mullahgrrl]

I am rather certain pavarotti isn't a baritone.

[Keylimedelight]

tenor, but lets cut tom some slack...

[Mullahgrrl]

I doubt it was he that put together the vid.

[jackjiezhang]

this song shows the amazing musical talent and the uncanny impressioin skills in Tom Lerher's wild imagination.

[eversoplucky]

You can actually hear the quotation marks clunk into place when he says ' "cool school"'. Hehe, love it.

[robthemanbigboy]

Absolutely amazing, and really funny too.

[jackjiezhang]

the best medley EVER!!!! only a genius like Tom can pull this off.

[AnonyFerret]

Well done, you. I got a big kick out of this.

[mayhemrw]

Excellent! But what the blazes was the "cool school" all about? :D

[MoosePasteInventor]

Its an old song, I believe from 1959, so some of the references are a bit outdated... But in many aspects Lehrer is still relevant XD

[catirepintao]

"Cool school" referred to a style of jazz prominent in the late 1950s led by such as Miles Davis and Thelonious Sphere Monk. Leherer especially parodies Monk. It was "cool" compared to the more heated, faster and more complex chords and rhythms of bebop ( Think Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie.)

[DrakkenWasHere]

I loved all the "new" versions Lehrer made. So much better than the original song!

[rwhoover]

Fell into the foamy brine..

Dig that crazy Clementine!!

Genius

[RedMage360]

Mozart was classical!

Beethoven was a romantic!

They were a whole genre apart you fool!

[42IBEBOB42]

Are you kidding? I mean, what crazy things will you say next? Is Bach now Baroque and Schubert a Romantic/Classical transitional composer? That would be almost as bad as saying Wagner was modern!

Didn't you know that all famous composers are the same?

[DustyP247]

Brilliant! He really understands 4 way different styles - LOVE IT.  My favorite Tom Lehrer song

[marredsun]

Who know Tom could swing so hard!?

[thebeastlyhoodlum]

lol

[Hommetronc]

This looks like shit

[joeyboi87]

shut your stupid ignorant trap

[AYchip]

...or one of that crowd...

Genius!

[Green28142814]

No, but "Italian" was a style of opera that Mozart excelled at....

[Mullahgrrl]

Where did Beethoven spring from?

[oakschris]

omg omg omg wow!!! hahahahah I love it.!

[079186]

What a hypocrite. He slates Gilbert and Sullivan, but was quite happy to pinch their music for "I am a very model of a modern major- general" for the Periodic Table Song. Other than that he's brilliant.

[Gabrielle261]

You don't have to be consistent to be funny. :)

[079186]

If you are able - please READ what I have written. I didn't say he was inconsistent - just a hypocrite, although funny.

[tarhun]

A lot of the humour in this clip is derived from his stereotyping and ironic dissing of music traditions for comic effect; IMO both this and the elements song actually shows that he has a lot of affection and respect for Gilbert and Sullivan and their place in the tradition of comic music. The joke about G&S is also a reference/riff on a line from Macbeth: "It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury signifying nothing", so if it sounded too harsh, blame the Bard, not Lehrer ;)

[somercet1]

Please: the narrative voice is hardly Tom Lehrer's. This is a freshman error.

[Pieter345]

he can be an ass sometime

[amowilson13]

eh?

[Pieter345]

insulting italian opera '' those crowd''

[allyougottadoisswing]

Its comedy. Get over it.

=]]

He's just fantastic. Love the video.

[Pieter345]

lol ur right xD

[unipunkle]

I don't think Mozart was Italian?

[Steeple333]

He's making a joke. He's not actually trying to insult them, just as he's poking fun at the other artists he mentions.

It's like saying he's cruel to animals because of his "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park" song.

[Pieter345]

yk kk x3

[kaihillp2]

@Pieter345 thats a reason why everyone loves him so, that, his grand comidy, his knowledge, and his transfering in the diffrent classes of comidy

[tonan63]

@Pieter345 tom is simply way too smart for regular people. as the cadavar that turned.

[Kesh789]

@Pieter345 smut is a great example of this

(in case you didnt notice smut is by tom leher)

[polydor7]

In a word: BRILLIANT

[Samuraiboy]

That's exactly how it would sound if Gilbert and Sullivan did it.

[sandybobconnery]

don't like the pictures. good song though.

[CatFiain]

Haven't heard this in ***years***! One of my top five Lehrer songs! Thanks so much for posting: you've made my day! :-D

[EPsuperFan]

the Mozart part is just crazy... unfortunately I am not familiar with Gilbert and Sullivan so I don't really get it :)

[camerataunison]

WONDERFUL!

Tom Lehrer is a genius!