"'The Lord's our Shepherd'" says the Psalm...BUT just in case...
...We better get a bomb!"
(Funny...and yet, go down to the Middle East, and ask them, God or Bomb which would you prefer? Muslim, Christian, a Jew--like me--it doesn't matter...for all the "Glory to God!" talk, they're sure anxious to wipe each other out, along with all those mosques and temples and artifacts of our past...oy!)
@TheLakituman That's because you're too retarded to realize this was recorded in the '60's when Alabama was lynching Black activists for trying to get Jim Crow laws repealed. By the way WTF? Alabama doesn't even sound close to Obama...
That may be true in the traditional, technical definitions of "bomb" and "explode", but in practice nuclear fission-based weapons and the destruction they wreak are commonly accepted as being bombs and explosions.
@Mirkwoodelves Well, it's kind of a pedantic discussion to begin with; all explosions are chemical reactions, and fusion- or fission-based weapons have nothing to do with that...
Frankly, when I wrote that comment I was barely a week away from reading a massive fanfic thread derailment, which started from exactly that. From the same source, I now know that it wasn't until the 1960's that the media started calling nukes "bombs" and detonations "explosions". It still pisses off some old farts.
is it just me, or do other people put "jew" in automatically instead of white in the south africa part before he's even sung it? Not because of anti-semitism, mind you, but because it rhymes with "two"
Russia got the bomb in 1949 or 1950. That was a great blow to America, because that very same year China joined the communists under Mao, China had climbed to communsim itself, therefore it caused strife with other communist leaders in Moskou. Kennedy did not want to resort to using nuclear power, and China agreed that if Kennedy did not attack certain parts of Asia, then China would not take up arms against him. China, of course was also developing bombs
@kamyarghofrani what do u mean in the gutter? u do know we posess a nucleur bomb. ok we have poverty but we will be superpower in the near future. however at that time we wont say u all are in the gutter becuase we are better than that. we have manners and actually care.
I'm a little confused on the "China got the bomb, but have no fears, they can't wipe us out for at least five years" Could someone please explain this to me?
@CayugaCT Yes, buts its a reference to that fact. If Russia needed 5 years, China would at least need 5 years too. At least thats the way I understand the line.
@leeroyjenkins6758 Under Mao, any type of economic or political change was typically instituted as part of a "five-year plan." Lehrer is mocking this with his lyric.
@HackneyEquine: I beg to differ. At the time the bomb was a huge dread in the back of most people's minds, particularly because it was largely secret and unknown. I think a good bit of the failure in Viet Nam could be credited to people who were young adults in this era; the "paranoia indeed struck deep". What we are experiencing today with Iran and NK is a pale shadow.
my former MIT math professor. These songs were written in the 50's but when I air them today, KXLU LA, the kids think they are contemporary. WHO's NEXT??
Remember that at the time of the writing of this song, Alabama was leading the call against civil rights, and this was also the same year as the anniversary of the American Civil War. So, it was a big joke, but like so much of Lehrer's work only makes sense to a contemporary or a historian.
@StayUgly: Sure it was, but The Bomb could be either. At the time most of the specifications were top secret material, and the only persons who knew all that were all the governments involved; perhaps the main reason for the high security was to prevent popular panic.
@Plawranc: At the time (around 1965) they were in a mood to nuke Washington. Johnson federalized their state guard and used federal marshals to enforce integration decisions and admit blacks to segregated schools, especially U of Alabama and Old Miss.
idiot... its Israel. All the arab nations hate that area.. at the time this was written, Israel had just creamed all the Arab countries trying to destroy the new country... Israel won and caused much tension.. look it up
It's amazing the freedom of speech I had for his own time, speak about a lot of problem with so much critic it's awesome and he's a great performer !!
@viktorio3417: It is common. I can remember Bob Hope, Red Buttons and Winchell & Mahoney of the time expressing similar opinions with as much wit, if not in rhyme. They even made fun of McCarthyism, but only after it had been discredited.
All the twelve Tom Lehrer songs from this channel have now been republished in better quality. Click the Lehrer icon or the username, go to the channel and select one of the uploaded HQ-versions :-) Don't forget to click the HQ-button.
psychidog7, that was a good one. This song was written in 1964 (or before), but North Korea should have been in the song now. Maybe we should ask Lehrer for an update? Thanks for watching!
Tom Lehrer is really a special guy. Just love his lyrics and songs. He just makes an great opinion, and back then it was pretty hard to make such an opinion. Or at least, that is what I've heard.
Remember his song about "the folksong army"? He has a yrical line: "itdoesn't matterifyouputacoupleof extrasyllablesintoaline" in the cours of about 6 beats. Seems not to detract too much form the the song.
Most communist nations have '5 year plans' or 'Great Leap(s) Forward' as witnessed in the USSR under Stalin, who had multiple 5 year plans involving slave labour etc.
You left a query about Tom Lehrer's song Who's Next wondering what the lyrics "a least five years" meant. The development of a nuclear bomb that can be exploded under test site conditions is very different from one that can be transported to a desired target. In 1965 the Chinese posessed neither the transportation capacity, nor adequate number of bombs to be a threat to the US. Of what they might have been capable in 1970 (had they tried) is an open question.
@Simon16180339: at the time there were lots of news reports citing experts in the Pentagon that China (and other countries) might have the technical ability to build the bomb but didn't have the industrial base to separate U235 or create Plutonium. Then it was, "OK, they can build one, but it will be ten years before they can build a delivery system". That turned out to be a simple problem in cold war economics. It would have been termed a viral meme, for that time.
few years ago, two parents went out for dinner. A few hours later, the babysitter was calling to ask if she could cover up the clown statue in the kids' room, the father said,"Take the kids and get out of the house. We'll call the police, we don't have a clown statue." The "clown statue" is really a killer that escaped from jail. If you don't post this letter on to 10 videos tonight, the clown will be in your bed at 3:00 am with a chainsaw in his hand;sorry i didnt want that happening to me
I think I just stumbled upon a punk of the '50s (at least in terms of his message and satirical delivery). This man is fucking brilliant!! Maybe even my new favourite pianist?
There is sheet music available in the book "Too Many Songs By Tom Lehrer with not enough drawings by Ronald Searle" published by Pantheon Books. ISBN 0-394-74930-8
I have a number of criticisms for "Too Many Songs" a) The arrangements all have the melody in the piano part where it would be more appropriate (and way easier) to just have chords. b) It claims to have accompaniment for "Lobachevsky" and "New Math" but excludes them because they would apparently "take up too many pages". It's kind of ridiculous.
this was republished with diffrent word by three british political comedians called, rory bremner, john bird and john fortune the words have been changed but the message hasn't
Fantastic to see Tom Lehrer sitting there playing 40 years later...
This weapon has too be stopped! I have heard so many people recently saying that it is unfair not to let Iran or any other country have the bomb as long as the US has it own! As if this was a question of fairness. To point at your enemy saying "He's got one so why can't I have it?" is exactly what US (Germany's plans), Soviet, France, Britain, China, India and Pakistan has done. And so the threat exists. Stop it.
@enavallaingvar: I agree with this, but it is a simple fact that NK and Iran would not be getting the attention they crave if they weren't threatening to "get a bomb". Further, if they do have a bomb, they will get listened to much more closely then if they did not. This is the dark side of MAD, and now we have to face it.
April 2009 - 6funswede YouTube log. Errors July 2007-April 2009. "Pollution": Sound deteriorated. "When You Are Old And Gray": Video stuttering. "Send the Marines": Video stuttering. This is ALL YouTube errors, have written to them, but I don't expect any answers. Viewers: PLEASE use the annotation boxes with links in the videos.
So that just leaves it to our government...which is otherwise occupied. I guess we'll see what happens. We don't really have say in it in the end. We can put forth our opinions and as a nation call for something, but it's really left to the government and the politicians connected to it. Most of them just try to keep us pleased so they keep their positions.
It would make me rather nervous to extend such a foothold in our country-we would have absolutely no jurisdiction over a section of our land. The technicalities are beyond me, however. I don't really know what offering a foreign country such a deal would entail, or why they would even want to do so, though.
Hong Kong used to be something like that, a British colony in China. I think the reasons for doing it are numerous--mostly better trade relations, understanding between cultures, and greater momentum in the direction of long term cooperation.
Is your nervousness dependent on which country we're talking about? Do England, France, or Germany seems scary to have as neighbors? What about Poland? I think it will be awhile before we're ready for North Korea or Iran, but some nations are safe.
I have always admired the boldness of our forefathers to leap forward such a great distance in the quest for good government. I hope we don't lose that tradition. I guess I see it as a way to stay on the leading-edge of political technology--very forward looking in the search for ways to achieve a lasting peace worldwide.
That would be incredible and wonderful. Maybe I'm just too cynical, but I don't really see it happening. Especially not in our lifetime. Maybe if something like Independence Day were to happen-a worldwide crisis that would require everyone to put their best foot forward and work together.
But that's exactly what we have now--a worldwide credit crisis requiring all the nations to cooperated to bali out the banks and restart the global economy.
Hmm, I guess I hadn't really thought of it that way. I figure we'll see...it's kind of a test of each country-to see who will do what, and who can be trusted in which situation. I guess I'm just a nervous person, because that kind of scares me too.
I don't see it as that big a stretch. We already have thousands of communities that are concentrations of immigrants from a particular country. Think of how pleased those groups would be have a real city from their homeland nearby.
If our nation was littered with island nations from around the world how much harder would it be to use WMD's on us without collateral damage to allies? Think of the advantage we'll have in designing and building products and services with worldwide appeal.
No other nation has anything remotely close to our diversity. We are a nation of recent immigrants from around the world. A nation establishing a sovereign city here has a huge network of ex-pats that share language, cultural knowledge, and familial connections. The reverse is far more rare.
I think all we need to do is extend the invitation. And if we can make it happen it will leave us that much more uniquely suited to play a leading role in the evolution of modern societies.
I can't think of any part of patriotism that isn't dysfunctional for a creature that is an earthling first and foremost.
How are we better off being anything but ruthlessly objective in the evaluation of ourselves? How will loving our nation make us better judges of the actions of other nations or our own?
You know, I was curious when I read this, so I looked up the definition:
Pa"tri*ot*ism\, n. [Cf. F. patriotisme.] Love of country; devotion to the welfare of one's country; the virtues and actions of a patriot; the passion which inspires one to serve one's country. --Berkley.
So I'd have to say that patriotism, based on this, is a love for one's country, and an effort based on that love to better both your country and the people in it. I can see it being used as an excuse for prejudice, tho.
And unless you act on that bias, it's not considered discrimination of any kind. But it's seems odd that patriotism would be the main objection towards such an expansion. Do other countries let us have any cities of our own in their home territory? I know we've got some military bases, like in Japan, but would that be considered the same?
I brought it up because I think our sense of patriotism can stop the discovery of good ways to make our nation great. For example, it's the main object people have to the idea of expanding the foreign embassies here into small sovereign cities of those nations.
Of course he didn't mention Japan! They refuse to have anything to do with nuclear weapons! (Where do you think Hiroshima & Nagasaki are located?) In fact, if you'll read Japan's constitution, you'll find it BANS nuclear weapons in Japan.
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
europe would be better off without america...all americans do is eat in mcdonalds and invade other countries...europe is so much more cultured and smarter ........we are better than america in every way.
iran is next
lolmaker777 19 hours ago
Yep, this sums it up.
ThreeProphets 3 days ago
Alabama has got the plutonium yessireee, but we is struggling to put this goddamn bomb together!
makiavelli999 3 weeks ago
who does egypt want to bomb???
awesomesauce012696 1 month ago
@awesomesauce012696 lol ya who?
trippletrain77 1 month ago
@awesomesauce012696 - Israel, at least, that's how it sounds according to the song.
IanRubin2 3 weeks ago
@awesomesauce012696 Israel, hence the "wants one in self-defense" line...
Best line--
"'The Lord's our Shepherd'" says the Psalm...BUT just in case...
...We better get a bomb!"
(Funny...and yet, go down to the Middle East, and ask them, God or Bomb which would you prefer? Muslim, Christian, a Jew--like me--it doesn't matter...for all the "Glory to God!" talk, they're sure anxious to wipe each other out, along with all those mosques and temples and artifacts of our past...oy!)
;)
obiwanobiwan13 1 week ago
Guess Herman Cain (poor ignorant dumb-ass Republican but then I am being redundant) never listened to Tom Lehrer
0000thommes 2 months ago 3
First heard this over 30 years ago on Dr. Demento, loved it then and love it now!
1wyomingmama 4 months ago
@1wyomingmama Yes! Dr.D was my intro to Tom also. Can't thank him enough.
TheMacDuane 4 weeks ago in playlist More videos from 6funswede
I absolutely worship him.
Eventhough he always sidepunches Germany. But oh, well.
Might deserve it, I guess.
KatnissTheBlackCat 4 months ago
0:50 0:50 0:50 0:50 0:50 <-- free restarts!!!
eglotkalin 4 months ago
hahaha "for 18 years they were hoping it would just...go away". I love the intros, what a guy
laudevecchi 5 months ago 12
@laudevecchi, yes, Tom Lehrer is a very funny and witty man, no doubt. His stuff is priceless and timeless :-)
6funswede 5 months ago 10
instead of Alabama i thought he said obama gets the bomb
TheLakituman 5 months ago
@TheLakituman That's because you're too retarded to realize this was recorded in the '60's when Alabama was lynching Black activists for trying to get Jim Crow laws repealed. By the way WTF? Alabama doesn't even sound close to Obama...
drillsargentadog 5 months ago 3
The brightest man in the world! :D
MrJDurao 6 months ago
I wonder if this is what SAC pilots thought, knowing that any of their missions could be humanity's last.
thenutintheushanka18 7 months ago
It is a device, not a bomb, and it initiates, it doesn't explode :P
Weaponry geeks are insistent about terminology; call it a bomb on the wrong side of the internets, and you'll get flak for the next two weeks.
StrikaAmaru 7 months ago in playlist Tom Lehrer
@StrikaAmaru
That may be true in the traditional, technical definitions of "bomb" and "explode", but in practice nuclear fission-based weapons and the destruction they wreak are commonly accepted as being bombs and explosions.
Mirkwoodelves 4 months ago
@Mirkwoodelves Well, it's kind of a pedantic discussion to begin with; all explosions are chemical reactions, and fusion- or fission-based weapons have nothing to do with that...
Frankly, when I wrote that comment I was barely a week away from reading a massive fanfic thread derailment, which started from exactly that. From the same source, I now know that it wasn't until the 1960's that the media started calling nukes "bombs" and detonations "explosions". It still pisses off some old farts.
StrikaAmaru 4 months ago
"The Lord is our Shepard says the psalm, but just in case we're gonna get a bomb"
We'll try to stay serine and calm when demonic hypocrites get the bomb . . .
NassimHarameinVedas 8 months ago
This guy is still perfect, decades later. My god.
ThatSlinkyBastard 8 months ago
genius!
krokodil191 9 months ago
Can't get enough of him, ... genius in making music and songwriting
lustrias 9 months ago 2
SCARY that this is the world we live in today!
PYRATEQUEENFOEVA 9 months ago
"china got the bomb, but have no fears
they can't wipe us out for at least five years" LOL
LadyofTalent 9 months ago 3
is it just me, or do other people put "jew" in automatically instead of white in the south africa part before he's even sung it? Not because of anti-semitism, mind you, but because it rhymes with "two"
gammoregan 10 months ago
@gammoregan but the line goes "wants two, that's right-" which rhymes fine.
DoctorExplosion 8 months ago
Russia got the bomb in 1949 or 1950. That was a great blow to America, because that very same year China joined the communists under Mao, China had climbed to communsim itself, therefore it caused strife with other communist leaders in Moskou. Kennedy did not want to resort to using nuclear power, and China agreed that if Kennedy did not attack certain parts of Asia, then China would not take up arms against him. China, of course was also developing bombs
ICanTypeWords 10 months ago
Very topical!
MegF142857 10 months ago
The in hindsight, It's funny to see that two countries in this increasingly ridiculous list of candidates actually did develope nukes.
cecasander 11 months ago
2 countries did not get the bomb and clicked the dislike button.
bowserhunter1 1 year ago 6
'the lord is our shepherd says the Psalm, but just in case, we better get a bomb!' my favourite line :D
gingerdinosaur135 1 year ago 4
Oh God help us if MONACO gets the bomb! It'll be the war to end all wars!
P1votG33k 1 year ago
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ja fühl mich ziemlich allein :( will einer mit mir texten hab auch bilder und so
sulihprabawati 1 year ago 19
2 people have missed the like button!
kamyarghofrani 1 year ago
I cant believe he forgot India!
but still great song!!!
jeffjan9 1 year ago
@jeffjan9 um... that is from the time when india was still in the gutter!
kamyarghofrani 1 year ago
@kamyarghofrani what do u mean in the gutter? u do know we posess a nucleur bomb. ok we have poverty but we will be superpower in the near future. however at that time we wont say u all are in the gutter becuase we are better than that. we have manners and actually care.
jeffjan9 9 months ago
Outstanding, stupendous, ingenious, BRILLIANT!!
mfatah281 1 year ago
I'm a little confused on the "China got the bomb, but have no fears, they can't wipe us out for at least five years" Could someone please explain this to me?
leeroyjenkins6758 1 year ago
@leeroyjenkins6758 they did not have the delivery capabilities then to actually hit the usa or europe
johnnythunder19 1 year ago
@leeroyjenkins6758 While Cold War the Americans thought Russia would need at least 5 years to develope a system that could fire a nuclear bomb.
enoschadz 1 year ago
@enoschadz Actually, Lehrer states in the song that Russia already has the bomb. The "five years" line is about China.
CayugaCT 1 year ago
@CayugaCT Yes, buts its a reference to that fact. If Russia needed 5 years, China would at least need 5 years too. At least thats the way I understand the line.
enoschadz 1 year ago
@leeroyjenkins6758 Under Mao, any type of economic or political change was typically instituted as part of a "five-year plan." Lehrer is mocking this with his lyric.
CayugaCT 1 year ago
I loooove the way he says Who's NExt ;)
sheevathediva27 1 year ago
hmm. It was recorded on 9/11.
theMeteorgames 1 year ago
I love this song, i listen to it every day. Who's NEXT now? North Korea, Iran, Nuclear Terrorists?
NaplesStaples 1 year ago
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sadamalable 1 year ago
Well... I assume that a nuclear bomb is slightly more effective than the avada kedavra spell.
Sorry Voldemort...
TheJazzDane 1 year ago 9
shuarto fixed our friends in Jakarta
seanpdineen 1 year ago
uncanny resemblance to Jeff Goldblum
Ltdeacon 1 year ago
@Ltdeacon i think he looks like a combination of Jeff Goldblum and Chevy Chase
Pocketwatch625 1 year ago
Wow voldemort
ISwimFly4Fun 1 year ago
Egypt wants to use one on Voldemort??
n84soccer 1 year ago 176
@n84soccer LOL
Thorneycroft1937 1 year ago
@n84soccer If only Harry hadn't gotten to him first. =P
KoinuTheKrazed 8 months ago
@n84soccer he meant Isral not some stupid harry potter reference *rolles eyes* dumb ass
djmarsh2008 8 months ago
@djmarsh2008 he was joking, dumb-ass.
aguynamedjordan 8 months ago
@aguynamedjordan bend over and blow me
djmarsh2008 8 months ago
@n84soccer Well, you have to admit it has to be more effective than the solution in the books.
Hore4349 7 months ago
@n84soccer Isreal. Egypt and Isreal hate eachother. And its not political, its the people.
Karnork 3 months ago
LOL we will try to stay serine and calm when alabama gets the bomb
TheRimben 1 year ago 45
@TheRimben, yes, that's a wonderful line ;D
6funswede 1 year ago 20
@6funswede I agree XD
5kyLighter 1 year ago
@TheRimben japp skit kul!
teddyzombie3 5 months ago
I'd like to find a video of Bright College Days....just to see the whole "glasses raised on high" part
DConS81 1 year ago
xDD And everybody hates the jews!
MrSpockify 1 year ago
@MrSpockify Okay... I'm not sure how that comment got here. It was meant for the song National Brotherhood Week...
MrSpockify 1 year ago
@MrSpockify haha :P now it looks kinda stupid :P
tikkeltje 1 year ago
@HackneyEquine: I beg to differ. At the time the bomb was a huge dread in the back of most people's minds, particularly because it was largely secret and unknown. I think a good bit of the failure in Viet Nam could be credited to people who were young adults in this era; the "paranoia indeed struck deep". What we are experiencing today with Iran and NK is a pale shadow.
puncheex 1 year ago
my former MIT math professor. These songs were written in the 50's but when I air them today, KXLU LA, the kids think they are contemporary. WHO's NEXT??
peterchoyce 1 year ago
hey 6funswede thx for gettin the versions of the song where he explains the song before he sings it i love Tom Lehrer
Shade3546 1 year ago
Remember that at the time of the writing of this song, Alabama was leading the call against civil rights, and this was also the same year as the anniversary of the American Civil War. So, it was a big joke, but like so much of Lehrer's work only makes sense to a contemporary or a historian.
eurekadigitalfilm 1 year ago
Wonder whether the audience is aware of the fact that they have to watch one of the biggest geniuses in cabaret ever. What a great mind.
ValencianistaSajon 1 year ago 5
Another version had "We'll al be dead and gone, when Alabama gets the bomb!". Which, in my opinion, is more than true.
Jkellogg93 2 years ago
:'D one of the world's greatest musical smartasses. :'D I LOVE IT!
xD ... ... and...
... if Alabama gets the bomb... owo I'm screwed. I'll die from the fallout.
*lives in Tennessee* T~T
KoinuTheKrazed 2 years ago
egypt's gonna get on too just to use on You, now who?
livedandletdie 2 years ago
@livedandletdie watch it again and listen to the line just after
mudra136 1 year ago
isreal x
xavierrrr 1 year ago
i bet he never thought north korea would too...
QuitePossiblyANinja 2 years ago
@QuitePossiblyANinja I bet he has now, he's still alive.
Thefourthdoctor96 1 year ago
i know, its just that it wasnt a threat back then
QuitePossiblyANinja 1 year ago
@QuitePossiblyANinja The h-bomb wasn't a threat?
StayUgly 1 year ago
no, north korea wasnt. at least in a nuclear sense
QuitePossiblyANinja 1 year ago
@QuitePossiblyANinja Ah! I must not have checked the older posts.
The thing that makes me laugh the most is that even the swedish version pictures Alabama as the greatest threat!
StayUgly 1 year ago
@StayUgly: Sure it was, but The Bomb could be either. At the time most of the specifications were top secret material, and the only persons who knew all that were all the governments involved; perhaps the main reason for the high security was to prevent popular panic.
puncheex 1 year ago
for oh sammy britain is counted in WE sorry for the misunderstanding
TheAwnman 2 years ago
The thought of Monaco with a bomb scares me for some reason...
nyanyanekofox 2 years ago 3
Screw Monaco- I'm wetting myself at the thought of ALABAMA with a bomb....
KingGekko 2 years ago 2
@KingGekko
Alabamba with the bomb would be no problem. They would be too busy debating whether to Nuke Mecca or Nuke Iran.
Plawranc 1 year ago
That's just it- they'ed end up blowing themselves up over deciding.
KingGekko 1 year ago
@Plawranc: At the time (around 1965) they were in a mood to nuke Washington. Johnson federalized their state guard and used federal marshals to enforce integration decisions and admit blacks to segregated schools, especially U of Alabama and Old Miss.
puncheex 1 year ago
He forgot Britain. We tested ours in 1952 before France.
DoubleOhSammy 2 years ago 5
Are you trying to start an arms race? :D
jismith1989 2 years ago 4
heheheh Tom Lehrer is amazing..still.
Imperiused 2 years ago 60
Comment removed
tissue522 2 years ago
Israel...
Yunsup91kim 2 years ago 3
@tissue522 Israel
saralicia21 2 years ago 3
idiot... its Israel. All the arab nations hate that area.. at the time this was written, Israel had just creamed all the Arab countries trying to destroy the new country... Israel won and caused much tension.. look it up
goldghast 2 years ago 7
Israel.
AvmanM 2 years ago
It's amazing the freedom of speech I had for his own time, speak about a lot of problem with so much critic it's awesome and he's a great performer !!
viktorio3417 2 years ago 5
@viktorio3417: It is common. I can remember Bob Hope, Red Buttons and Winchell & Mahoney of the time expressing similar opinions with as much wit, if not in rhyme. They even made fun of McCarthyism, but only after it had been discredited.
puncheex 1 year ago
Comment removed
M8o3i 2 years ago
i love this one :)
Veroxen 2 years ago 2
Haha. That was a good one. I hadn't heard it before.
JBFrenchhorn 2 years ago
christian bale can play a corpse
DakkarDragontis 2 years ago
No, even being dead requires that at one point or another to have had some emotion on your face.
StuddedYam 2 years ago 12
StuddedYam, five stars for that one :-)
6funswede 2 years ago
Oh, the innuendoes!
1nown 2 years ago
Christian Bale could play Tom Lehrer.
jihadsoup 2 years ago
Any Tom Lehrer video instantly makes my day. Razor-sharp observational powers set off by black-as-pitch humour and enticing piano melodies.
MmeLEnfer 2 years ago 9
north korea is next
Ferret2YourFace 2 years ago
All the twelve Tom Lehrer songs from this channel have now been republished in better quality. Click the Lehrer icon or the username, go to the channel and select one of the uploaded HQ-versions :-) Don't forget to click the HQ-button.
6funswede 2 years ago
As a matter of fact, South Africa did have nukes before Iran. They got rid of them after the Apartheid, though.
cecasander 2 years ago
North Korea claims that they
got their own bomb just yesterday
At least, that's how I did it.
psychicdog7 2 years ago
psychidog7, that was a good one. This song was written in 1964 (or before), but North Korea should have been in the song now. Maybe we should ask Lehrer for an update? Thanks for watching!
6funswede 2 years ago
Tom Lehrer is really a special guy. Just love his lyrics and songs. He just makes an great opinion, and back then it was pretty hard to make such an opinion. Or at least, that is what I've heard.
Great artist, with a great opinion
Xavier0219 2 years ago
lol, he never did figure out how to make the South Africa part rhyme properly.
sutmae1 2 years ago 3
Remember his song about "the folksong army"? He has a yrical line: "itdoesn't matterifyouputacoupleof extrasyllablesintoaline" in the cours of about 6 beats. Seems not to detract too much form the the song.
Simon16180339 2 years ago
@Simon16180339: It's a direct parody of Dylan, Baez and Seeger where the message was more important than the rhyme or scan.
puncheex 1 year ago
i dont get the atleast five years part :?
SatoTM3 2 years ago
Most communist nations have '5 year plans' or 'Great Leap(s) Forward' as witnessed in the USSR under Stalin, who had multiple 5 year plans involving slave labour etc.
iam18iswearreally 2 years ago
You left a query about Tom Lehrer's song Who's Next wondering what the lyrics "a least five years" meant. The development of a nuclear bomb that can be exploded under test site conditions is very different from one that can be transported to a desired target. In 1965 the Chinese posessed neither the transportation capacity, nor adequate number of bombs to be a threat to the US. Of what they might have been capable in 1970 (had they tried) is an open question.
Simon16180339 2 years ago
@Simon16180339: at the time there were lots of news reports citing experts in the Pentagon that China (and other countries) might have the technical ability to build the bomb but didn't have the industrial base to separate U235 or create Plutonium. Then it was, "OK, they can build one, but it will be ten years before they can build a delivery system". That turned out to be a simple problem in cold war economics. It would have been termed a viral meme, for that time.
puncheex 1 year ago
Its freaky he basically prediocted the future!
cyclos12 2 years ago 5
korea
falimami 2 years ago
This has been flagged as spam show
few years ago, two parents went out for dinner. A few hours later, the babysitter was calling to ask if she could cover up the clown statue in the kids' room, the father said,"Take the kids and get out of the house. We'll call the police, we don't have a clown statue." The "clown statue" is really a killer that escaped from jail. If you don't post this letter on to 10 videos tonight, the clown will be in your bed at 3:00 am with a chainsaw in his hand;sorry i didnt want that happening to me
sazjnk 2 years ago
I think I just stumbled upon a punk of the '50s (at least in terms of his message and satirical delivery). This man is fucking brilliant!! Maybe even my new favourite pianist?
ScumArmy 2 years ago 4
Agreed.
Lehrer was the 1st punk.
DrakarOgro 2 years ago
better dressed than most punks though.
TheDavynator0 2 years ago 4
Indeed!
DrakarOgro 2 years ago
I'd love to own some sheet music for this! I've tried playing it by ear, but it doesn't sound anything like this. :)
millenniumfalsehood 2 years ago 3
There is sheet music available in the book "Too Many Songs By Tom Lehrer with not enough drawings by Ronald Searle" published by Pantheon Books. ISBN 0-394-74930-8
Includes all the songs from "Tomfoolery".
I have a copy. I don't work for Pantheon... :-)
bkutscher 2 years ago
I have a number of criticisms for "Too Many Songs" a) The arrangements all have the melody in the piano part where it would be more appropriate (and way easier) to just have chords. b) It claims to have accompaniment for "Lobachevsky" and "New Math" but excludes them because they would apparently "take up too many pages". It's kind of ridiculous.
stapler942 2 years ago
Well, I'm fairly certain Eritrea doesn't have nuclear arms yet.
A1l2l2e2n4 2 years ago
Unless they inherited some from Ethiopia.
A1l2l2e2n4 2 years ago
Comment removed
M0e9h8 2 years ago
this was republished with diffrent word by three british political comedians called, rory bremner, john bird and john fortune the words have been changed but the message hasn't
TheDavynator0 2 years ago 2
We all make mistakes.
fadeaway2112 2 years ago
Fantastic to see Tom Lehrer sitting there playing 40 years later...
This weapon has too be stopped! I have heard so many people recently saying that it is unfair not to let Iran or any other country have the bomb as long as the US has it own! As if this was a question of fairness. To point at your enemy saying "He's got one so why can't I have it?" is exactly what US (Germany's plans), Soviet, France, Britain, China, India and Pakistan has done. And so the threat exists. Stop it.
enavallaingvar 2 years ago
You're right.
Iran says everyone else has one, so it's only fair it gets 1.
Iran also said they plan to use the bomb on Israel.
But fair is fair, so give them the bomb.....
moons160 2 years ago
@enavallaingvar: I agree with this, but it is a simple fact that NK and Iran would not be getting the attention they crave if they weren't threatening to "get a bomb". Further, if they do have a bomb, they will get listened to much more closely then if they did not. This is the dark side of MAD, and now we have to face it.
puncheex 1 year ago
April 2009 - 6funswede YouTube log. Errors July 2007-April 2009. "Pollution": Sound deteriorated. "When You Are Old And Gray": Video stuttering. "Send the Marines": Video stuttering. This is ALL YouTube errors, have written to them, but I don't expect any answers. Viewers: PLEASE use the annotation boxes with links in the videos.
6funswede 2 years ago
This is the best song from Mr. Lehrer. And that was a decision between diamonds :D.
Greetings
DaWi12345 2 years ago 2
Tom Lehrer is a sophisticated Weird Al.
Hypnotoad27 2 years ago 25
gotta agree there i love weird al but tom lehrer is indeed sophisticated mainly because he is articulate
wolfwoodastl09 2 years ago 3
@Hypnotoad27
no, Weird Al is a Tom Lehrer wannabe. ^_^
Lyrina25 1 year ago 4
So that just leaves it to our government...which is otherwise occupied. I guess we'll see what happens. We don't really have say in it in the end. We can put forth our opinions and as a nation call for something, but it's really left to the government and the politicians connected to it. Most of them just try to keep us pleased so they keep their positions.
Taraint 2 years ago
It would make me rather nervous to extend such a foothold in our country-we would have absolutely no jurisdiction over a section of our land. The technicalities are beyond me, however. I don't really know what offering a foreign country such a deal would entail, or why they would even want to do so, though.
Taraint 2 years ago
Hong Kong used to be something like that, a British colony in China. I think the reasons for doing it are numerous--mostly better trade relations, understanding between cultures, and greater momentum in the direction of long term cooperation.
Is your nervousness dependent on which country we're talking about? Do England, France, or Germany seems scary to have as neighbors? What about Poland? I think it will be awhile before we're ready for North Korea or Iran, but some nations are safe.
ananiasacts 2 years ago
Yeah, that's probably true. My gramps always had a saying: Burn me once, shame on you, Burn me twice, shame on me.
To be honest...I'd just rather not be burnt at all.
Taraint 2 years ago
I have always admired the boldness of our forefathers to leap forward such a great distance in the quest for good government. I hope we don't lose that tradition. I guess I see it as a way to stay on the leading-edge of political technology--very forward looking in the search for ways to achieve a lasting peace worldwide.
ananiasacts 2 years ago
That would be incredible and wonderful. Maybe I'm just too cynical, but I don't really see it happening. Especially not in our lifetime. Maybe if something like Independence Day were to happen-a worldwide crisis that would require everyone to put their best foot forward and work together.
Taraint 2 years ago
But that's exactly what we have now--a worldwide credit crisis requiring all the nations to cooperated to bali out the banks and restart the global economy.
ananiasacts 2 years ago
Hmm, I guess I hadn't really thought of it that way. I figure we'll see...it's kind of a test of each country-to see who will do what, and who can be trusted in which situation. I guess I'm just a nervous person, because that kind of scares me too.
Taraint 2 years ago 2
I don't see it as that big a stretch. We already have thousands of communities that are concentrations of immigrants from a particular country. Think of how pleased those groups would be have a real city from their homeland nearby.
If our nation was littered with island nations from around the world how much harder would it be to use WMD's on us without collateral damage to allies? Think of the advantage we'll have in designing and building products and services with worldwide appeal.
ananiasacts 2 years ago
So would that imply an equal exchange? We give someone a city, and they give us one?
Taraint 2 years ago
No other nation has anything remotely close to our diversity. We are a nation of recent immigrants from around the world. A nation establishing a sovereign city here has a huge network of ex-pats that share language, cultural knowledge, and familial connections. The reverse is far more rare.
I think all we need to do is extend the invitation. And if we can make it happen it will leave us that much more uniquely suited to play a leading role in the evolution of modern societies.
ananiasacts 2 years ago
I can't think of any part of patriotism that isn't dysfunctional for a creature that is an earthling first and foremost.
How are we better off being anything but ruthlessly objective in the evaluation of ourselves? How will loving our nation make us better judges of the actions of other nations or our own?
Isn't patriotism just a euphemism for prejudice?
ananiasacts 2 years ago
You know, I was curious when I read this, so I looked up the definition:
Pa"tri*ot*ism\, n. [Cf. F. patriotisme.] Love of country; devotion to the welfare of one's country; the virtues and actions of a patriot; the passion which inspires one to serve one's country. --Berkley.
So I'd have to say that patriotism, based on this, is a love for one's country, and an effort based on that love to better both your country and the people in it. I can see it being used as an excuse for prejudice, tho.
Taraint 2 years ago
And prejudice doesn't imply dislike, just bias.
ananiasacts 2 years ago
And unless you act on that bias, it's not considered discrimination of any kind. But it's seems odd that patriotism would be the main objection towards such an expansion. Do other countries let us have any cities of our own in their home territory? I know we've got some military bases, like in Japan, but would that be considered the same?
Taraint 2 years ago
I brought it up because I think our sense of patriotism can stop the discovery of good ways to make our nation great. For example, it's the main object people have to the idea of expanding the foreign embassies here into small sovereign cities of those nations.
ananiasacts 2 years ago
That's psalm 23 - the Lord is my shephred, I shall not be in want.
ChristKeep 2 years ago
The countries he mentions are:
1. In Preface >
China / Red China, Indonesia
2. In Lyrics >
Russia, France, China, Indonesia, South Africa, Egypt, Israel, Luxembourg, Monaco, Alabama (Not a country ... A southern state of the USA).
Not mentioned:
United Kingdom, India, Pakistan, Iran, North Korea,
Japan, Argentina, Brazil
telectroscope 3 years ago
Of course he didn't mention Japan! They refuse to have anything to do with nuclear weapons! (Where do you think Hiroshima & Nagasaki are located?) In fact, if you'll read Japan's constitution, you'll find it BANS nuclear weapons in Japan.
A1l2l2e2n4 2 years ago 3
Lol! He didn't even mention India, Pakistan and Iran!
And here we are. Get rid of the stuff ...
they are not weapons of mass destruction ...
but weapons of mass coercion.
All that TNT money could have turned half the world
into the first world. Shame.
telectroscope 3 years ago
He mentioned Iran.
xenos60 3 years ago
Poverty is the real weapon of mass destruction...
The Iraq war for example were just weapons and mass destruction....
Slorginvader 3 years ago
He didn't mention India, Pakistan or Iran because this video is from 1967. Those countries were not known to have nuclear ambitions at the time.
tyrannischgott 3 years ago 2
hahaha so good, i got his book with all the music in it, absolutely great
joeyboi87 3 years ago
i don't want to argue cause i like Europe and American... And I love this song!!!!!!! So lets have peace! Tom Lehrer is the best!!
ba01la 3 years ago 5
Hey lighten up people!!
Tom Lehrer as and is a genius!!
Been a fan for 40 yrs.
onetalltxn 3 years ago 3
This comment has received too many negative votes show
europe would be better off without america...all americans do is eat in mcdonalds and invade other countries...europe is so much more cultured and smarter ........we are better than america in every way.
psherminator 3 years ago