What is Tom Lehrer's self censored lyric?
Steve Mading
That fellow was no fool
Who taught our Sunday school
And neither was our kindly Parson Brown
(I guess I'd better leave this line out just to be on the safe side)
In my home town
In every recording of this song I've ever found, he always self-
censors that one line. I wonder if anyone out there has any
clue what the actual line originally was. I've been really
curious for a long time. I'm wondering just what would Tom Lehrer
consider too dangerous to say in the late 50's and early 60's,
given how willing he was to say a lot of other dangerous things.
GARY L FLINN
the sunday school teacher and Parson Brown were either using controlled
substances or having a homosexual relationship among other ideas.
-Ghastly Gary sez STAY
DEMENTED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
--
"Steve Mading" <mad...@baladi.bmrb.wisc.edu> wrote in message
news:9pu8l8$qqa$1...@news.doit.wisc.edu...
Kimba W. Lion
> I'm wondering just what would Tom Lehrer
>consider too dangerous to say in the late 50's and early 60's,
>given how willing he was to say a lot of other dangerous things.
The self-censorship was the joke, and one that has perplexed a lot of people
(notice the audience reaction on the 'Revisited' album).
Given the way that verse was set up, there really isn't much you could put
in that one line that would really be funny. So, Lehrer approached the
dangerous subject, dropped a joke that works on a couple of levels, and
didn't have to be worried about being banned in Boston. Win-win-win.
Kimba
R H Draney
wrote:
>Steve Mading <mad...@baladi.bmrb.wisc.edu> wrote:
>
>> I'm wondering just what would Tom Lehrer
>>consider too dangerous to say in the late 50's and early 60's,
>>given how willing he was to say a lot of other dangerous things.
>
>The self-censorship was the joke, and one that has perplexed a lot of people
>(notice the audience reaction on the 'Revisited' album).
There are a few other instances of this kind of thing in dementia...I
don't remember if there's actually a "real" lyric for the ****s in:
"But you ought to thank me before I die
For the gravel in your gut and the spit in your eye,
'Cause I'm the **** that named you Sue."
I recall a DJ in the late 60s taking calls from people with
suggestions as to the missing words...one that fit the preceding
rhymes was "no-good guy" but you wouldn't censor that....
There's a puzzling bleep in Jud Strunk's "The Biggest Parakeets in
Town" too...the passage reads:
"Now he loves the ground she stands on,
He can't wait to get his **** on
The biggest parakeets in town"....
As pointed out, the sounds leading into and out of the beep are
consistent with the word "hands", which is the way most people would
fill in the blank, but again, why would you censor that? (especially
considering the double entendres in the rest of the song)....
I seem to remember Allan Sherman doing one too, but I can't think of
it right now...and outside demented music, there's a line in Elton
John's first hit "Your Song" that goes "If I was a sculptor, but then
again no"...I always wondered just what he was about to suggest a
sculptor might do....
>Given the way that verse was set up, there really isn't much you could put
>in that one line that would really be funny. So, Lehrer approached the
>dangerous subject, dropped a joke that works on a couple of levels, and
>didn't have to be worried about being banned in Boston. Win-win-win.
Win-win-win....
Hewwo?...r
--
My other tractor is a Hoyt-Clagwell
T.D. Lassagne
> There are a few other instances of this kind of thing in dementia...I
> don't remember if there's actually a "real" lyric for the ****s in:
>
> "But you ought to thank me before I die
> For the gravel in your gut and the spit in your eye,
> 'Cause I'm the **** that named you Sue."
A sort of reverse spin on this is the one Davide Letterman pulled on Dan
Rather. On one of Dan's visits to "Late Night" he sang an old railroad
song, a perfectly innocent ditty. The next night, Dave played the tape
of Dan's singing, with a number of the words bleeped out. He apologized
for Dan's conduct and language. Perfectly innocent, but he made poor Dan
look like a foulmouth.
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Steve Mading
:> There are a few other instances of this kind of thing in dementia...I
:> don't remember if there's actually a "real" lyric for the ****s in:
:>
:> "But you ought to thank me before I die
:> For the gravel in your gut and the spit in your eye,
:> 'Cause I'm the **** that named you Sue."
: A sort of reverse spin on this is the one Davide Letterman pulled on Dan
: Rather. On one of Dan's visits to "Late Night" he sang an old railroad
: song, a perfectly innocent ditty. The next night, Dave played the tape
: of Dan's singing, with a number of the words bleeped out. He apologized
: for Dan's conduct and language. Perfectly innocent, but he made poor Dan
: look like a foulmouth.
Then of course there's always "Polka-Dot Undies", which relies on the
audience's tendency to mentally think ahead and fill in their own
rhyming words. Without the anticipation that the next word should
rhyme, the actual lyrics are quite tame and uninteresting. The point
of it was that any vulgarity was purely inserted by the mind of the
listener, so nobody can complain. I love that song.
Nigel Stapley
"T.D. Lassagne" <tlas...@napanet.net> wrote in message
news:MPG.162cd43d3...@news.dsl.napanet.net...
>
Hi, T.D.!
(Warning - a newbie writes, so spot the undeliberate mistake...!)
> > There are a few other instances of this kind of thing in dementia...I
> > don't remember if there's actually a "real" lyric for the ****s in:
> >
> > "But you ought to thank me before I die
> > For the gravel in your gut and the spit in your eye,
> > 'Cause I'm the **** that named you Sue."
>
I feel sure that somewhere I heard a recording of Cash doing this song where
that line *wasn't* bleeped out, and the words were "son-of-a-bitch". I
suppose this phrase caused eyebrow-levitating activities in the US circa
nineteen-sixty-something, hence the bleep....
> A sort of reverse spin on this is the one Davide Letterman pulled on Dan
> Rather. On one of Dan's visits to "Late Night" he sang an old railroad
> song, a perfectly innocent ditty. The next night, Dave played the tape
> of Dan's singing, with a number of the words bleeped out. He apologized
> for Dan's conduct and language. Perfectly innocent, but he made poor Dan
> look like a foulmouth.
>
There's a wonderful radio show which has been broadcast by the BBC for
nearly 30 years, called "I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue" (subtitled "The
Antidote To Panel Games"), and for many years one of its best rounds has
been "Censored Song". This pulls exactly the same trick as Letterman appears
to have done. The panellist would be armed with a buzzer and a piano
accompaniment, and would sing a well-known (and utterly innocuous)
'standard', but 'bleeping' selected words. The results were frequently
hilarious, as completely innocent songs were transformed into something that
would bring a blush to the cheek of a Marine. Try it yourself, 'cos it works
with just about any song, e.g.
"********* in the night, exchanging *******,
******ing in the night, what were the chances
We'd be sharing **** before the night was through....."
The human imagination is a wonderful thing - and of course, as Spike
Milligan always says :-
"It's all in the mind, you know!"
I suppose Phil Harris' "The Thing" had a similar basis.
Be Joyfully Senseless!
regards,
Nigel Stapley
(remove <gwrthsbam.> to reply.
John Wasser
In article <9pvjde$oos$1...@news.doit.wisc.edu>, Steve Mading
<mad...@baladi.bmrb.wisc.edu> wrote:
> T.D. Lassagne <tlas...@napanet.net> wrote:
>
> :> There are a few other instances of this kind of thing in dementia...I
> :> don't remember if there's actually a "real" lyric for the ****s in:
> :>
> :> "But you ought to thank me before I die
> :> For the gravel in your gut and the spit in your eye,
> :> 'Cause I'm the **** that named you Sue."
>
> Then of course there's always "Polka-Dot Undies", which relies on the
> audience's tendency to mentally think ahead and fill in their own
> rhyming words. Without the anticipation that the next word should
> rhyme, the actual lyrics are quite tame and uninteresting. The point
> of it was that any vulgarity was purely inserted by the mind of the
> listener, so nobody can complain. I love that song.
Similar is "The Clean Song" sung by Oscar Brand (who sounds alot like
Pete Seeger):
There was a young sailor who looked through the glass,
and spied a fair mermaid with scales on her...
island where seagulls fly over their nests.
She combed the long hair that hung over her...
shoulders and caused her to tickle and itch.
The sailor cried out "There's a beautiful...
mermaid, a-sitting out there on the rocks",
The crew came a'running a-grabbing their...
glasses and crowded four deep to the rail,
all eager to share in this fine piece of...
news which the captain soon heard from the watch.
He tied down the wheel and he reached for his...
crackers and cheese which he kept near the door.
in case he might someday encounter a...
mermaid. He knew he must use all his wits
Crying "Throw out a line. We'll lasso her...
flippers and then we will certainly find
If mermaids are better before or...
Be brave my good fellows." The captain then said.
"With fortune we'll break Through her mer-maiden...
heading to starboard they tacked with dispatch.
And caught that fair mermaid Just under her...
elbows and hustled her down below decks,
And each took a turn at her feminine...
setting her free at the end of the farce,
She splashed in the waves, falling flat on her...
after a while one man noticed some scabs,
Soon they broke out with the pox and the...
scratching with fury, cursing with spleen,
This song may be dull but it's certainly clean.
Matthew W. Miller
<nsta...@gwrthsbam.lineone.net> wrote:
>"T.D. Lassagne" <tlas...@napanet.net> wrote...
>news:MPG.162cd43d3...@news.dsl.napanet.net...
>> > There are a few other instances of this kind of thing in dementia...I
>> > don't remember if there's actually a "real" lyric for the ****s in:
>> > "But you ought to thank me before I die
>> > For the gravel in your gut and the spit in your eye,
>> > 'Cause I'm the **** that named you Sue."
>I feel sure that somewhere I heard a recording of Cash doing this song
>where that line *wasn't* bleeped out, and the words were
>"son-of-a-bitch".
According to Banned-Width (which is not infallible), Silverstein's
original term was "son-of-a-bitch".
http://www.banned-width.com/shel/works/boysue.html
--
Matthew W. Miller -- mwmi...@columbus.rr.com
GARY L FLINN
rhyming and Tom Tuerff's "First House" is the newest example popular on Dr.
Demento.
-Ghastly Gary sez STAY DEMENTED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
--
"John Wasser" <Newsgrou...@John-Wasser.com> wrote in message
news:091020011900174021%Newsgrou...@John-Wasser.com...
R H Draney
<steel...@home.com> wrote:
>"John Wasser" <Newsgrou...@John-Wasser.com> wrote in message
>news:091020011900174021%Newsgrou...@John-Wasser.com...
>> [[ This message was both posted and mailed. ]]
>>
>> In article <9pvjde$oos$1...@news.doit.wisc.edu>, Steve Mading
>> <mad...@baladi.bmrb.wisc.edu> wrote:
>>
>> > T.D. Lassagne <tlas...@napanet.net> wrote:
>> >
>> > :> There are a few other instances of this kind of thing in dementia...I
>> > :> don't remember if there's actually a "real" lyric for the ****s in:
>> > :>
>> > :> "But you ought to thank me before I die
>> > :> For the gravel in your gut and the spit in your eye,
>> > :> 'Cause I'm the **** that named you Sue."
>> >
>> > Then of course there's always "Polka-Dot Undies", which relies on the
>> > audience's tendency to mentally think ahead and fill in their own
>> > rhyming words. Without the anticipation that the next word should
>> > rhyme, the actual lyrics are quite tame and uninteresting. The point
>> > of it was that any vulgarity was purely inserted by the mind of the
>> > listener, so nobody can complain. I love that song.
>>
>> Similar is "The Clean Song" sung by Oscar Brand (who sounds alot like
>> Pete Seeger):
>>
>Of course, you can go back to Benny Bell who pioneered the double-meaning
>rhyming and Tom Tuerff's "First House" is the newest example popular on Dr.
>Demento.
Also "In My Country", "The Freckle Song" and its two C&W offspring "I
Want To Kiss Her" and "My Country Girl" (both of which BTW have the
strangest piece of fake dialect I've ever heard: "me" pronounced
"mway")....
Another example of self-censorship for humorous purposes was by Martin
Mull...to approximately the tune of "A Man and A Woman", he begins by
saying that the song is a romantic tune for "mature audiences only"
and that he'll just hum over objectionable lyrics...then he proceeds
to hum almost the entire song, only busting out for isolated phrases
like: "Hmmm-hmm-hmm whips and chains, Hmmm-hmm-hmm-hmm, great
danes!"....r
--
"If Serutan is nature's spelled backward, why would
I want to drink a beer called Stroh's?"
John Lorentz
Miller) wrote:
>
>According to Banned-Width (which is not infallible), Silverstein's
>original term was "son-of-a-bitch".
>
I'm pretty certain that in the copy I have (thanks to Dr D) of
Silverstein singing it, he used the full phrase.
--
John
freddy1X
>
> Another example of self-censorship for humorous purposes was by Martin
> Mull...to approximately the tune of "A Man and A Woman", he begins by
> saying that the song is a romantic tune for "mature audiences only"
> and that he'll just hum over objectionable lyrics...then he proceeds
> to hum almost the entire song, only busting out for isolated phrases
> like: "Hmmm-hmm-hmm whips and chains, Hmmm-hmm-hmm-hmm, great
> danes!"....r
The beeping censorship, played right enhances the song. How about Adam
Sandler's "Ode to my car"? The perfect selection of car horns and other
auto related sounds. You old timers out there may remember the way Dr
Demento blanked Firesign Theatre's "Back in the Shadows",:
"we're Back in the shadows again, out where an indian's your friend.
Where the vedgables are green, and you can ( Roar sound, resembles a
tiger straining with constipation ) in the strean.
Back in the shadows again."
The sound effect replaces the word "pee", which falls flat compared to
the screaming sound effect.
--
use only in a well-ventilated area
/\>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>\/
/\ I may be demented \/
/\ but I'm not crazy! \/
/\<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<\/
* SPAyM trap: there is no X in my address *
|| attatch FLAME here ||
\/ \/
X
Freberg Fan
therefore, left it blank. In the 1950's "Tom Lehrer Songbook" he mentions of a
contest for the one who writes the best verse. I guess no one ever won. So it
seems like just another rumor (eg. Tom Lehrer is dead which was a strong held
belief except for the true few Lehrer fans out there. Well hope that answers
your question.
Arthur Castro
frebe...@aol.com
Shalom Septimus
No, Shel actually says "heartless hound" in there. (If you want, I'll
post the MP3 to abpe.comedy.)
What Cash said is anybody's guess; anyone who was at the original
session isn't likely to admit it, given that he recorded it in San
Quentin....
--
Shalom
Larry Shackley
bleep out certain words that lead you to believe that the whole song is
tremendously dirty.
- L
Jeff Morris
>[referring to "A Boy Named Sue"]
>What Cash said is anybody's guess; anyone who was at the original
>session isn't likely to admit it, given that he recorded it in San
>Quentin....
Actually, the remastered version of the Johnny Cash At San Quentin CD
that was released last year has this uncensored. It has the complete
concert, including songs that weren't on the original LP. The line is
indeed "son of a bitch", and in addition at the end he says "any damn
thing but Sue" (the "damn" being missing from the single version).
Both expletives seem relatively tame now, over 30 years later. Even
then, I think other records had used them, so it's interesting they
were edited out.
ali assa seen
<mad...@baladi.bmrb.wisc.edu> wrote:
I'd say most everyone who's heard the verse "has a clue" what the line
would have been, including the people circa 1959 heard laughing very
nervously on the live recordings.
If you *still* remain hopelessly befuddled, maybe I'll tell you the
answer Gomorrah, er, tomorrow...
- Dr Strangemonde