Tom Lehrer - I Hold Your Hand In Mine

[84ND3R5N4TCH]

ahhhh cynicism... :)

[IchibodCrane]

New favorite song. ^^

[bill1rar]

i remember a song from the fifties, cant remember the name or artist but had similar title, can anyone help, thanks

[TheVampiressLisa]

My reactions were this :

"Aw, how swee-... Waitaminute.... Oh, that's... Whoa.... *spent the rest of the song between stunned silence and nervous laughter* Putting this on my mp3 player somehow.I know some guys who would find this hilarious.

[artemisf125]

@TheVampiressLisa haha exactly what i was thinking

[MoviManATL]

@TheVampiressLisa I wish yours was one of the top comments...because it's almost as funny as the song!

[TheVampiressLisa]

@MoviManATL Well, hell let's make it happen! :D

I let my bf hear this the afternoon I posted that comment. He laughed like crazy for about 5 minutes before calling EVERYONE in his phone book (including his parents) and telling them to listen to this.

A couple of those people... We haven't heard from since.

[MoviManATL]

@TheVampiressLisa That is awesome. I think you made my day (odd as that may sound)!

[AlecTaylor6]

Haha, awesome

[asdfghnm100]

dark humour



[DarthCrimsonDeath]

My favorite song ever!!!!!

[TheSpiralDownward]

Oh, I'm glad I grew up with Mr. Lehrer.

[gaaraincarnate]

.... Anyone reminded of Torchwood, and how Captain Harkness kept the Doctor's hand?

[FlamesAndShadows]

AHA-HA-HA-HA-HA! Now I'll be afraid of the sentimental guys...

[Jyoyad]

Does this song not remind anyone of Porphyria's Lover by Robert Browning??

[IfICantScuba]

OH MY GOD! llamas With Hats

[PreeAnne]

Oh my goodness. I laughed so hard listening to this.

[helencheddar]

this guy is awesome. What a way to go...

[VioletSadi]

This is the end result of the Masochism Tango...

[xDroflmao1337]

Wow.... that was.... quite .... EPIC

[Dobwake]

sooo cute in a weird way <3

[186mjn]

When was Tom Lehrer born, and when did he die.

[theperilsof]

@186mjn

it's like some people have never heard of wikipedia.

[186mjn]

@theperilsof Wikipedia isn't always an acurate source.

[ChristopherSEAY123]

@186mjn Google ain't evil, man.

[pleappleappleap]

@186mjn Born in 1928. Still alive.

[186mjn]

@pleappleappleap Thanks.

[Bardlettt]

I demand to know why I haven't heard of this man before. He is splendiferous!

[brengf]

@Bardlettt Never too late. His wit springs eternal.

[MoviManATL]

@Bardlettt A friend of mine introduced me to Tom Lehrer when I was in middle school, I think! Believe me, I had the same reaction (although I was probably a bit too young to understand some of the lyrical themes). Have you ever heard of Roy Zimmerman? If you like Tom Lehrer, you might enjoy his music too! (Political satire).

[Bardlettt]

@MoviManATL I'll check him out, thanks!

[VivaRenata]

He is unsurpassed! 

[JANETHEBOOKLADY]

How did I miss this guy, Wonderful fun.

[narutogirl712]

OH SHI-

[sinclairchap]

*Sniff* *sniff* So sweet. *wipes tear from eye*

[dirtyhousefreax]

can somebody tell me where the story is really about, i understand what is says but at the end .. why did he cut of her fingers? and who will come to get him. I'm dutch so that's why I'm asking. thx

[sinclairchap]

@dirtyhousefreax He cut off her fingers because he's insane and well... yeah... and the police are coming to get him because he killed someone and that traditionally gets you put in jail.

[nunchukgrl2]

okay i love all this songs and his comedic play on words is hilarious, but wtf is up with this song???

[MrGatsuga]

second.

[mobilisinmobili74]

Lehrer seems a little cynical, in not just this song, but others like "poisoning pigeons in the park" and "when you're old and gray". I get that he's trying to have a laugh, but it still seems a bit gruesome.

[MyndSurfer]

I'm learning this song for a concert about "Body Parts". Strange things we sing at the Auckland Lieder Group! I'll also sing it at a Halloween Party

[montesy39]

This should be Yoshikage Kira (From JoJo's Bizarre Adventure) Theme Song

[pal377]

well , the 2nd time i picture this song, is a big college guy having prickle as his meal., from miss piggy . and his roomate found this out , and they wanna share.

so may be a bit brutal, but i'm not a vegi. So, i just find this song, hilarious.

Of course someone can interpret that as man to woman, but if u dont imagine that's a parable, it's just too plain and freaky

[Cornbread395]

wtf was wrong with this dude?????????????????

[handbookof]

10 people wish they'd kept her dainty hand.

[Afrikaanus]

Good Job

[Daphnegirl93]

Is it wrong to find this quite romantic?

[loyalfalconflutist]

it was sweet at first so I was like, huh, a normal love song, then he says, Hand and Souvenir in the same sentence, I thought to myself, "I KNEW IT!"

[Jfreekao]

Anybody ever heard of a young man named Yoshikage Kira?

[ThingsMarchBrings]

how sweet

[MrCrassuswild]

utter joy!

[MrSpockify]

XD This is such a lovely song...

[TheFriendlyMoosh]

There's something very wrong about this

[ELATiburona]

My Mom taught me this when I was a kid. This lead to black humor a-plenty (from age four on). Thanks Tom & Mom.

[debbykilcullen]

THANKS SO MUCH FOR SHARING!!!  WHAT MEMORIES!

[yi238]

i want tom lehrer to do a song on napoleon.

[doctorwhom1]

but the really scary thing is that there are really people like this out there

[Tailsgeek]

This is soooo brilliant!!! XDDDDD

[searchingly]

hahahahaha this is so cheerfully sinister. love love love it.

[alterbridgefan99]

lol this song is so messed up. I love the Masochism Tango though lol go figure

[sanphaka04]

I'd write something meaningful here, if I could stop laughing....

[angela1894]

Such a delightfully macabre song

[Notebooked]

I just burst out laughing. I couldn't help it.

I think it's...I don't know, he just has a certain screeching honesty. Reminds me of Napoleon XIV's 'Photogenic, Schizophrenic You', except Mr. Lehrer has the advantage of a wondrous voice without sound filters...

[womynaretough]

how sweet

[fsjb78]

I dedicate this to my ex Paul Scorer, who sang this to me as we first dated at Loughborough Train Station!

[Maikaze]

It's a nice song, but I can't help think of Yoshikage Kira when I hear it....

[jazwaz112]

*sigh* so romantic...

[PracticalEmo]

I want to spread this musical genius among the generations i can't help but laugh and love Tom he is quite humerous and i cannot stop laughing

[EmmyTheGreystoneGirl]

Pfffthahahahaha!

This is amazing!

The comments are too...

[CodeNameD1]

HAHAHAHAHA

[ozmaster1987]

Lol! I think the simple dementedness of his songs is hilarious... :)

[MVillani1985]

As another Tom Lehrer fan brilliantly put it when doing a cover song, he is the "maestro of bad taste", but in a good way, of course. I'm not sure if this or The Masochism Tango is his most dementedly funny song.

[idiotkrati]

This one is FUCKING scary.

[PrincessZelda613]

This is possibly the scariest song that I have ever heard (content-wise). Many here see this as humurous, but alas, I do not. What might I be missing here?

[ironman711]

His humor is intellectual humor.

He's sorta like Bo Burnam or whatever his name is, but smarter lol

[PrincessZelda613]

I understand that, I've heard some of his other songs such as "Fight Fiercly Harvard" and loved the parody of the high class Harvard stereotype, but alas, I'm not sure what the humor in this is.

[TheUniqueGuix]

A sense of humor.

[PrincessZelda613]

That certainly isn't true. I have a sense of humor. I merely asked what I may be missing. Is there something universally funny about murder that I'm overlooking? I promise you that I'm not humorless. I'm just trying to understand the humor here is all.

[TheUniqueGuix]

The humor lies in the superposition of intentionally macabre lyrics to a happy, carefree melody. It's the dissonance that makes this funny.

[PrincessZelda613]

I think I understand now. Thank you for explaining this to me. Alas, sometimes I miss things some may consider obvious unless they're spelled out for me (conversely, I sometimes notice things that others have not thought of). I think if the shock of the content wears off, I then may find humor in this. 'Tis true that dissonance can be funny, such as dramatic music in a calm setting, which was done once in a film that I saw a part of.

[TheUniqueGuix]

It's no problem. Sorry for the rude first comment, but I thought you were ripping on the song, which is pretty cool. And thanks back, I found a ton of good music off your profile :)

[PrincessZelda613]

It's understandable, alas, I sometimes say things that are misconstrued, with folks not understanding that I often have a meaning as literal as I tend to interpert things (which is why I generally avoid expressing opinions and ideas in real life, I fear ridicule). To be honest, I feared that your second reply would be something along the lines of "It's very simple, are you too dense to understand?", thankfully that was not the case. Also, thank you for the wonderful comment about my music.

[CortneyMinusYou]

I notice you use the word, "alas" more than the average person. That's awesome. :)

[PrincessZelda613]

Thank you. ^_^ It's nice to see others that like that I use "alas" although it is quite antiquated, alas, I sometimes am teased at school for it, but I find that it sounds much better than other words used by teens to express displeasure, although my use of "alas" is a bit excessive. I am what many consider a very old fashioned girl, and thus, I often use sundry words and phrases that verily could be considered archaic or even obsolete. Sundry is another old word I enjoy using. Again, thank you.

[Iheartdogdemons]

I understand. :D I tend to use mildy archaic words as well, although none come to mind at the moment. I particularly enjoy using under-appreciated phrases, such as Shakespearean insults ("Thou carcass fit for hounds!") and the like. xD

[PrincessZelda613]

Some of the words that I use could actually be called "obsolete" such as when I use the word "brook" for use, the word "fremd" for strange, and "drasty" to describe something of low quality, such as the drasty pop music that today's youth enjoys listening to (I apologize if you enjoy some of that music, but alas, I do not see the appeal of it). However, I am glad to see that others enjoy using Shakespeare's words and phrases. Some of what I use is from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales (late 1300s).

[Iheartdogdemons]

Excellent!

I despise the pop music phenomenon attributing to the decline of my peers and such. 'Tis always interesting and satisfying to meet a kindred spirit. :)

(Not to mention a Zelda fan)

[PrincessZelda613]

In your opinion, when did the decline of popular music began, and what year produced the last great song that found itself on the Billboard charts? It certainly is amazing to find others who agree that today's popular music is quite horrid. ^_^ I have also noticed quite a lot of Zelda fans on YouTube, which certainly fills me with joy. I also am a fan of Sim City, the Mario series, SkyRoads, arcade games (most old Atari games are quite fun), and sundry other sorts of video games.

[Iheartdogdemons]

Well, in order to do that, you'd have to define "popular" music. I mean, I'm more modern in my tastes of music, and I love some of the new things, but I simply loathe the pop/hip-hop fad. I'm not so much into music (ergo I know nothing of what has and has not made it on the Billboard charts), but I have a rather large and eclectic collection of both new and old music. I'm not a large fan of very old music, though. I believe the oldest music on my laptop is probably Woody Guthrie.

[PrincessZelda613]

I would define popular music as the style of music that is most popular in any given time period, especially the style that consistently topped the Billboard charts at that time. Most of what I listen to could certainly be thought of as oldies, some of it is actually from the wax cylinder era (the era before 78 rpm records). I used to have a copy of the oldest full length recording, a recording of 4000 people singing the song Israel in Egypt at a Handel Music Festival, recorded in 1887 or 1888.

[Iheartdogdemons]

I like newer music, such as punk rock, ska, and the like, along with bouncy japanese music, as I'm an avid Anime fan. I think the decline of music really just began at the close of the nineties, when rock no longer permeated the radio waves and was replaced with the sex, drugs, and otherwise ridiculous things aired nowadays.

[PrincessZelda613]

I would have to say that the decline of music began in the 1970s, with the last great songs being recorded around 1980 (but that is merely my personal opinion). In the past, songs dealing with those sorts of topics would be performed late at night in rowdy nightclubs, but never recorded or given airtime. Alas, it is unfortunate and disturbing to know that teens, preteens, and even young children (under age 9) today listen to some of the drasty songs today.

I also enjoy some anime myself. ^_^

[Iheartdogdemons]

Ah. How interesting!

Which anime do you enjoy?

I'm a pure otaku, cosplay and all.

I'm happy, despite it's negative Japanese connotations. :)

[PrincessZelda613]

Alas, I remember not the names of most of the ones that I have seen (many of those that I have seen, I watch infrequently, if you were to mention the names of them I might remember), however, I do know that I enjoy watching reruns of Astro Boy (from the 1960s), as well as the first two of the Dragonball series. I'm not sure it counts, but I loved Pokemon as a little girl. ^_^

Also, do you play classic video games (such as Atari games)? Although I am only 14, I quite enjoy older games.

[Iheartdogdemons]

Ah, generally the oldest games I play are the original Mario Bros. and Pokemon Blue Version. Dragonball is an epic in anime fandom. :D

[PrincessZelda613]

I have also played quite a few classic Nintendo games as well (there is also somewhat of an overlap with the Atari/Intellivision/Colecovisi­on era, as a bit of a useless trivia fact). The original Mario Bros was actually released during the Atari era and I believe for Atari as well in 1984 and 1985. I enjoy some newer games as well, although generally these newer games are based in some way on older games.

[Iheartdogdemons]

Ah, true. :D

All the best new games have some kind of 80's predecessor....except Pokemon....I adore Pokemon...I'm such a lamentable otaku. xD

[PrincessZelda613]

'Tis true, Pokemon is possibly the most recent new game idea invention. However, Skyroads is quite unique in its concept (combining elements of racing games and platform games), being created two years before I was born, not signifficantly older than Pokemon. Have you ever played Skyroads? It is one of the most fun games that I have ever played, although some roads, such as Druidia 3 and most of the Christmas edition, are quite difficult to beat.

[Iheartdogdemons]

Ah, that I haven't. I don't play many games, just the ones that appeal to my odd nature, like Pokemon, Monkey Island, MySims Kingdom, and other quirky games. ^^

[PrincessZelda613]

Skyroads could be considered a quirky game due to it being a game that resembles a racing game but plays as a platform game (including jumps and special power up tiles).

Have you ever played Sim City? That is one of my favorite games to play, I have always enjoyed creating oddly designed cities, including ones with the downtown on the edge (completely off center, surrounded by woods on two sides, water on another side, and the rest of the city built out with a shape similar to a cornucopia).

[Iheartdogdemons]

I've played Sim City just once. It just didn't suit me, but your ideas sound interesting. xD

I prefer storylined,anime-style, adventure games with an option for customization. :3

[PrincessZelda613]

Alas, I have no idea where you live, but if you do indeed live in a temperate or polar climate, how has your winter been this year? Here, it has snowed a good bit, especially recently, but I still consider it a mild winter unless the temperature drops below zero Fahrenheit at least once (that is merely one of many prerequisites for me to consider it a good winter). Alas, it has yet to do so (although it has dropped to 2), but I believe it may drop down to -1 or colder quite soon. ^_^

[dalekprawn]

It snowed a good bit here in michigan.

[PrincessZelda613]

What did I do to deserve this? Because I did not understand the humor of one song until someone was nice enough to explain it to me, apparently you decide that I am abhorrent to you. In case you did not read my other posts, I enjoy many of Tom Lehrer's other songs. I have no idea what Koji Kondo is, or what "weeaboo" is, so I begrip not from where that came. Anybody that says something that you consider "wrong" is to be despised, I suppose. There must be quite a lot of people that you hate.

[MVillani1985]

Last time I was here, the conversation was more civil. Seems that now someone I know very well has posted here and rather than explaining to her, you show what a little punk you are without reading much of what she said. And someone named "mewchu" who has the stuff favorited you do calling someone else a weabo is the pot calling the kettle black. Here's some humor for you: conveniebatne in vaginam tuam machaera militis? If you're the intellectual you claim to be, you'll know why it's insulting.

[THEPOKEBIN1]

I hold your hand in mine, dear, I press it to my lips, I take a healthy bite from your dainty fingertips. My joy would be complete, dear, if you were only here, but still ikeep your hand as a precious souvenir. The night you died i cut it off, i really dont know why, cause now each time i kiss it, i get blood stains on my tie. I'm sorry now I killed you, because our love was something fine, so until they come and get me i shall hold your hand in mine.

[skyclaw441]

...Wow.... o_0.

[THEPOKEBIN1]

lol

[livebyvideogames]

I SHOULD'VE EXPECTED IT TO BE WEIRD XD knowing Tom...but yet..i still just shot milk out of my nose XD

[MVillani1985]

This and We Will All Go Together are hillarious as soon as Tom lets the cat out of the bag, they're kind of the opposite of Droopy Dog in a way.

[Mojosbigstick]

My Dad used to sing me to sleep with that song. I loved my Dad!

[NingenDemonai]

Hahahah! Oh, doomed!love at its best. XD

[lordofzaptherapy]

If i get a girlfriend i'm gonna play this for her.

[artboy41]

Believe it or not, this was "Our Song..." We've been married for 25 years!

[ChristainPatriot01]

good for you :) congratulations!

[Finkeren]

The picture of Tom was actually taken at his very last public concert abroad, at Falkoner Hallen in Copenhagen. My mother went to that concert ;-)

[VivaRenata]

I envy her! But I have heard Victor Borge live several times and Anna Russell once. I am Swedish and we love Tom Lehrer so much that my father owns the Tom Lehrer song books and we used to play and sing these songs together. Have tried to introduce my daughter to this but she just doesn't get it (YET!).

[TheBoredomOtaku]

@Finkeren You're mother is a very lucky lady, I am only a teenager and don't even live in America but I still find this man's humour and songs amazing :)

[SaveMySanctuary]

<3 I LOVE YOU, TOM.

[ovid4corinna]

What's scary is that the first time I heard this song was when my girlfriend played it to me...

[JonathanKmusic]

hahahaha that's amazing

[freethinker1990]

Ah, those endearing classic love songs.

[parmstrong9327]

Great postings. Does anyone have "the Old Dope Peddler", one of his earlier ones, probably not socially acceptabe now.

[HAMMERON825]

this is great i like it!

[sunibuni7]

wow, i knew this song for ages before i fond it here, my mum loves tom lehere songs and she sings them in the car.. must be the reason i have such a twisted mind

[Lukermusician]

lol - he had her hand... but ONLY her hand XD

[MaximumCheeseage]

Oh wow, thanks for spelling it out for us :D

[angela1894]

Wow is that what the song's about ? I wouldn't have guessed

[zaygezunt]

BTW did you know this is one of Roger Moore's favorite songs? Just thought I'd add a piece of useless info

[Lukermusician]

You did what you thought successfully;)

[d3s3rtray]

freaky

[99bottlesrootbeer]

buahahaa this is amazing. this just made my day. thank you very much for uploading it.

[SCE2AUX]

"One of my all-time favorites!"

- Jeffrey Dahmer

"Brought tears to our eyes"

-Uruguayan Rugby team

[tarkenberg]

Sick, sick song. I love it!

[BlackMuffin1]

If u can speak german go on the the video: Die Hand it's the second video

[Airhockeylirare]

Lehrer is a genious

[LiLuLung]

oh yes one of my favs *sigh* yes the old Dr. D. played most of these but remember it was the 80's when most people finally understood him.. that was 20 years after he recorded most of his songs.. not bad for a full time professor who started his musical career on open mic night at a local bar.

[JMein13074]

*sighs* I miss Dr. Demento

[innocentamelia]

D: Aww, I wish you'd allow embedding!!

[RedwoodTheElf]

Well you can always send the URL out...heh

[Fredde21]

Well, since you asked so nice, I just allowed it, enjoy

[innocentamelia]

^^ Thank you!!! <333

[innocentamelia]

XD One of the few songs I hadn't heard of before when I purchased the CD... which I listened while I took a road trip up to Sacramento. Imagine my surprise when I heard it. XD "Oh TOMMY!! How terribly morbid~! <3" XD Ahahaha, he's the greatest.

[ohoifiskeboller]

yaaay!! this song rules!! :D

[R4zi3]

T_T incredible. but sad.

[Quickleaf]

This song is incredibleXD I've always loved it, even as a wee lad of 7 when I first hear it o.o My parents were sick for letting me listen I guess, but at least I didn't grow up to be a psycho murderer^^

[Fresolium]

This song is somehow sad. Imagine a mentally sick guy with his lost love...

[mybestfrendsafrog]

dude...thats freaky

[fsjb78]

This was the first song my ex sang to me, so will forever remind me of him...so its with a chuckle!

[villavillain]

I LOVE this song!

[colbertnation401]

this song is so sick and twisted and I love it!! XD

[gordon2d]

Haven't heard this one for over 33 years. Thank you very, very much. Am still trying to find the song with the spoken words "I haven't had so much fun since my neighbour's dog, Rover, got knocked over and the spectators awarded the driver both ears and the tail. But I digress...."

Can anyone help please.

[Fredde21]

I might have that on, one of my Tom Lehrer CD`s. give me some time to look for it

[gordon2d]

Cheers. Have you seen the reply from egcohen11 who says the song is called 'In old Mexico'. Don't know about Tom Lehrer CD's, I think I listened to this on a 16 rpm vinyl, the one and only time I have ever seen a record at this speed.

[egcohen11]

It's called "In Old Mexico"

[gordon2d]

Thanks for that, it doesn't seem to be on You Tube though.

[egcohen11]

it's part of the album "An Evening Wasted with Tom Lehrer," and it's also on "Songs and More Songs by Tom Lehrer," if you want to get it on CD.

[Fredde21]

No I am prettey sure this song is called i Hold Your hand in mine. "In Old Mexico" sound quite different than this song

[papavb]

they're referring to the song gordon2d was looking for, which is indeed "In Old Mexico"

[fahmie03]

been looking for this song for ages!

thanks, fredde21!

[Fredde21]

I am glad that so many people have noticed that i uploaded it. I am thinking of uploading: "Oedipus Rex" and "I got it from Agnes". So continue to watch the channel now and then

[microwavesheep]

I adore Tom Lehrer, so thnxxxxx Fredde21!!!!!!!! YOuve really made my day!

[Fredde21]

I know, this song was hard to get, as i wrote in the description, my friend Kit, tried to find a good version but never found one.

Thanks your watching

[MarineCeleste]

At last! I've been wanting to hear this ever since my boyfriend told me about it over a year ago. Thank you!!!!! Now I just hope he wants to hold my hand without getting blood stains on his tie!

[McRat1968]

If you have a boyfriend who dedicated "I Hold Your Hand In Mine" to you, just hope he does not also dedicate Lehrer's OTHER sentimental masterpiece, "When You Are Old And Grey" to you, too... LOL.