Tom Lehrer- The Irish ballad

[stevevandien]

My sainted parents introduced me to the far-out-there pleasures of Prof. Tom some 35 years ago, when I was in high school. I have LOVED him and his work ever since:) --

[stevevandien]

God bless Tom Lehrer:) --

[ceylonvideos]

They should never have let 4 people begin watching this...

[bwworld]

I've been happily singing this little dittie, to the annoyance of friends and family, for over 30 years. They should never have let me begin.

Thanks, Tom!

[hansvandeelen]

the Dutch version: watch?v=u70msKBn3xo

[MichaelHansenFUN]

where did you get the picture???

[wienerdoggie]

LOOOOOOOOVE.



[cowpacino]

We used to sing this song in Boy Scouts

[ghostees62]

YIKES!

[BigPhattWoman]

such a brilliant man! may he live a long and happy life for bringing so much joy to so many.

[MichaelHansenFUN]

@BigPhattWoman read about him on wikipedia

[thalia268]

I am deeply disturbed (and amused) by this song...... XD

[Araedna]

Love it!

At 1:54 some hysterical laughter from the crowd xD

[malachitx]

@dobzzzzz People are so retarded sometimes....

[spunkydawolf]

lmao this sounds like my girl friend ......she just hasnt killed them but i love her crazyness lol im just as crazy

[beamerball666]

This song may be why I confused Tom Leher&Tommy Makeem man do I feel dumb they sound nothing alike!

[sharpie531]

wouldn't it but much simpler if she killed them all at once in the same way

[VME440057]

@sharpie531 If you want to rouse suspicion, then yes.

Because it doesn't look weird at all surviving grisly murder scenarios.

[sharpie531]

@VME440057 suppose

[bmtrailfan]

Tom Lehrer is the epitome of comedy noir. I love his stuff!

[chrisjg210]

i first heard this in a music lesson at school

best...teacher...ever

[nlcshk]

how could anyone dislike this? It's so enjoyable!

[Daybreaq]

Now we know what song Joe Walker sang to Evanna Lynch!

[PreeAnne]

XD Oh my gosh. Genius.

[creepymime]

oh yeah lieing...much worse then murder

still a good song :)

[fmthomas522]

@creepymime it's called SATIRE

[thefatfrier]

should be a vile-din

[ElizabethShannon3]

Haha love this song, the first time I listened to it I laughed my self into a fit, He is Amazing!

[thesmithsmad]

my favorite is the elements <3



[lovemypiano111]

genius, genius, genius!

[flowiepanda]

seriously, how many accents can this guy do? amazing

[LordLoco87]

Isn't there another 22 verses of this? O.o

[MrTrenchcoatguy]

Two people were served up in an Irish stew.

[kevinastraw]

Lehrer is a great satirist, but he is also a great folk tale teller - folk tales which also happen to be satires.

[GregDad100]

When I first heard this song (on the Dr. Demento Show) when I was a kid, it scared me for a week ...

[kitabwalli]

Pity St. Patrick's Day has just passed. This is so bloody-mindedly delicious will try to remember it for next year.

[MrAndyflavoured]

Delicious irony! Singing Rickity-Tickety-Tin!!  :D

[Erniethecatisawesom]

2 people were caught by the police!

[kucheneka]

There is a little something twisted or creepy about all this man's songwriting. That's what makes it so funny. Thank god it's all in fun!

[beamerball666]

isn't this acctually Rickety Tickety Tin not An Irish Ballad whatever it's a great song

[tibiaroxxxx]

@beamerball666 The name of the song is An Irish Ballad.

[beamerball666]

@tibiaroxxxx I've heard other wise not sure who's right

[tombloy77]

this girl is a saint, i meen NOT LIENG, totaly, heaven for her

[LastGameFreak]

Damn addictive :P

[rainmen2011]

Mr. Lerer u are funny I use to have all ur records but i lost them

[danitiwa]

I sang this for a performance of Tom Foolery at school.

So.

Much.

Fun.

To.Sing

[Smithum]

im irish and that makes my music irish check it i decend from william... if you dont know who your not irish

[Bhikshu2]

@Smithum

That's like saying "I'm black, and that makes my music jazz."

[Smithum]

@Bhikshu2 hahaha or eminem is white that makes me a rapper

[RazelG]

@Smithum William? Really?! I descend from Richard...if you don't know who that is, you're not really Irish...moron.

[Smithum]

@RazelG oh ya i know i read up on it! really good story, pensylvania bound later on, couldnt capture a nb island ( i live in nb) young irelanders! im a smith go figure

[iamadamsusername]

@Smithum Ive no idea what you mean by that bizzare sentence

[MsSarjen]

I love this girl: the total nutcase!

[TheSaul100]

i think if you kill someone thats more sinful than lying...

[MsSarjen]

@TheSaul100 Naaah.... :P hehe.... That's the joke, innit :D

[shamen490]

yah know, i WOULD light my sister's hair on fire, but i dont know how to play a violin...so i cant =(

[musicalux]

@shamen490 If you have more than one sister, you have the opportunity to learn on the job, as it were.

[celticfergie]

class tune

[novascotia2010]

great song

i think it is funny wish he had a song of the tea party or sarah what is her name

[mafSAW]

this song is awsome!

[blooddemon102]

whos the 1 butt hole who hats this

[BobHawthorne]

@blooddemon102 there are two now.

[StariaElizabeth]

Anyone know if this is his original melody?

I swear I heard this parodied on Animaniacs then. Which, given the content of the original song, is highly amusing out of a kids program.

[mabarry3]

Well at least she didn't lie. That would have just made this whole problem 10 times worse. Go morals!

[thenovascotia20]

mr. lehrer u are great i remember my english school teacher one day player every christmas she would have people at her house i mean relatives well that is ok because u can mean all the other days ha ha. have u ever been to canada 

[elisaface]

I am in love with this man.

[thenovascotia20]

i love this song

[mabarry3]

How exactly does this have no dislikes though? It even SAYS "You can't be satirical without being offensive to SOMEBODY." I guess nobody read that part ^^.

[mabarry3]

... Is this creepy to anyone?

"And when at last the police came by, her little pranks she did not deny. To do so she would have had to lie. ... And lying she knew was a sin." LOL

[thenovascotia20]

@mabarry3 oh no he is very funny not creepy at all.

[BecomingAdrian]

@mabarry3 The price we pay for satire...

[Rezkeshdadesh]

@mabarry3 Her mother brought her up not to lie. Now only if she had brought her up to not slip poison in soup...

[rainmen2011]

@mabarry3 no way it is funny

[NassimHarameinVedas]

@mabarry3 - not creepy but hilarious, hypocrisy it is . . .

[akulkis]

@mabarry3

Nope. Just you.

[mabarry3]

How many people want to do that to their family (especially brothers to their sisters :) )

[musicmandon1]

This is funny enough to make me wish I could still play the piano. my q-chord, fun though it is, isn't the sort of instrument for this song. I heard a guy perform this at a college talent show in the '80s before I knew Tom Lehred had done it.

[KillerKabel]

Wait.. Is this a song about not having any moral codes, but those you learn from the bible?

:O

[TheChutzpahGirl]

@KillerKabel

The song is about traditional Irish culture.

The fact that Lehrer, a NY Jew, understood (and appreciated) these values, goes to show how tolerant and multi-cultural New York used to be.

[mabarry3]

@KillerKabel Well those also say no murdering but.... yeah

[CountessKarma]

It says a LOT about this song, that there are zero dislikes.... No jinxes! *Knocks on wood*

[CaldaroneRyan]

Tom Lehrer was not born in the wrong generation, nor under appreciated -- He was just born NOT in YOUR generation. Not only did Tom Lehrer accomplish a substantial amount in his life relating to academia, he was also able to pursue his musical experience as a career as much as he wanted to. Not only was he appreciated by fans of his contemporary generation ( evident from posts from users who 'remember' him ), but users from the current generation are finding love in his music and satire.

[MzParkerSez]

I remember the family sing alongs around the piano - wonderful wonderful memories!!

[qwer58j]

I give it 10 out of 10.

[Ultramarine646]

"And lying she knew was a sin"

xD

Tom Lehrer, born in the wrong generation and underappreciated.

[TrekkieGrrrl]

Oh my.. I haven't heard - nor sung- this for 20+ years.. and I still remembered all the lyrics!

[DrOetker14]

i listened to this all the time when i was 5

no wonder im so morbid :D

[MsSarjen]

@DrOetker14 haha... just like me :D

[mynameislyddy]

my dad used to sing this when i was little. he never told me it was by lehrer until recently. also, i thought it was called rickety tickety tin.

[TheChutzpahGirl]

I played this song to my daughters, and they thought it was bizarre, until one of them read 'Angela's Ashes' and then she said, Oh, things like that really did happen - in Ireland.

Of course, those days are now long past.

[anonUK]

@TheChutzpahGirl:

Give it a couple more years of the post-Celtic Tiger economy in Ireland, they'll be right back to Angela's Ashes. However, seeing as Angela's Ashes is extremely Catholic and the priesthood have not been flavour of the month for many years (google Ryan or Murphy Reports), maybe it'll just be the poverty that comes back rather than the religious outlook.

PS. Do they use the term "the police" much in Ireland? I thought they tended to call them "the Guards" as in the Irish Garda.

[tikkeltje]

damn brilliant

[CainTheMain]

Damn good song.

[vaguelyhumanoid]

How did he get away with this song?

He gets so sadistic by the end.

I love this song.

[martininow]

thank you for posting this; I learned this song at 6th grade camp in 1971 and remember every word.

[patrahilevlampiev]

I love my sister....but I love his songs as well :)

[Psychochickcrazy4u]

@yi238 He's still alive and kicking :)

[anomnomnom1]

And lying she knew was a sin. A sin, a sin. Lying she knew was a sin.

[MsSarjen]

@anomnomnom1 best part of the song :D

[TearisShatteredMoon]

i love his music

[Lillnshowtime]

DEN ER SÅÅ SJOV!!!!!

[MsSarjen]

@Lillnshowtime åja!

[MsRandomnessAddict]

I remember singing this song around the campfire when I was little. Then after I learned all the words I went to school and sang it just to give people the creeps, it was great, hehe.

[SatoshiUchiha1]

Das Lied habe ich, als ich über Davy Jones gesucht habe (google), gefunden^^

[Exerzet]

Best ballad ever XD

But honestly: I cannot for the life of me understand why mr. Lehrer isn't more famous than he is. The man's a genious O_o

[Gelf13]

Happy St. Paddy's Day! :D

[djcomedy3]

"rickety

tickety tin" lolo

[SuperGarcia77]

AWESOME SONG.

[tomwmloppe]

To the kind lady who served dinner...

Simply,,, marvelous...

from: Hannibal Lector...

[nmbearstc]

prof of stat analysis at mit a total genius the equal of a dear friend "mark"

[ulgroktheorc]

'love it

[MewAquaPrincess]

Tom Lehrer is a genius indeed. =3

I love this song. xD I know all the words.

<.< I'd like to do that to MY sister.

[6079smythw]

If you like that... check out this song

There was an old woman and she lived in the woods, weile weile waile.