Tom Lehrer - The Elements - LIVE FILM From Copenhagen in 1967

Name: Tom Lehrer - The Elements - LIVE FILM From Copenhagen in 1967
Uploaded: 2012-04-03T11:39:51Z
Duration: 183 s
Description: A 1967 live film of Tom Lehrer performing his patter song "The Elements" in Copenhagen, reciting the chemical elements to a Gilbert and Sullivan tune. It is a short, polished example of his satirical piano-and-voice style.

TThe Tom Lehrer Wisdom Channel8 videos here

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2.4M views · Apr 3, 2012 · 3:03 · 2 HN recommenders · 5 mentions · discussed 2015–2023

A 1967 live film of Tom Lehrer performing his patter song "The Elements" in Copenhagen, reciting the chemical elements to a Gilbert and Sullivan tune. It is a short, polished example of his satirical piano-and-voice style.

Why Hacker News points people here: HN commenters cite it as a favorite Lehrer song and invoke it as a joke whenever elements or science-themed wordplay come up.

“is the Tom Lehrer song that made the biggest impression on me.”HN comment, 2022

Music performance & songs Satire & parody Chemistry Music #tom lehrer #the elements #satire #chemistry #live performance

What Hacker News said 5

RecommendsDiederichMay 2020

“and his satire is top shelf.”

Light-hearted song reciting chemical elements, with a surprise ending.

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For those who aren't aware and/or won't look this reference: link As the other comenter noted, Tom Lehrer is indeed a national treasure, and his satire is top shelf. From the light-hearted "The Elements": this video (watch for the surprise at the end) To the gallows comedy of "We Will All Go Together When We Go": link NB: I appreciate the irony linking to YouTube content in a 'WTF Google/YouTube' thread.

RecommendsnayukiDec 2022

“is the Tom Lehrer song that made the biggest impression on me.”

Song reciting chemical elements.

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"The Elements" is the Tom Lehrer song that made the biggest impression on me. link , this video There's antimony, arsenic, aluminum, selenium, And hydrogen and oxygen and nitrogen and rhenium, ...

Cites itnayukiAug 2020

“The first work of Tom Lehrer's that I heard is”

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The first work of Tom Lehrer's that I heard is "The Elements", where he recites chemical element names. link ; this video

JokeDonHopkinsJan 2015

“[Apologies to Tom Lehrer.]”

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Jonathan Rees's a la carte menu of the elements of "object oriented programming" is a great example of that. link The Elements of Object Oriented Programming: Encapsulation, Protection, Ad Hoc Polymorphism, Parametric Polymorphism, Everything Is An Object, All You Can Do Is Send A Message, Specification Inheritance, Implementation inheritance/Reuse, Sum-Of-Product-Of-Function Pattern. These are the only ones of which the news has come to Harvard, and there may be many others, but they haven't been discarvered. ;) [Apologies to Tom Lehrer.] this video

JokeKaibeezyJun 2023

“Tom Lehrer sang about it.”

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Don’t know much about astatine except it’s the rarest naturally occurring element and Tom Lehrer sang about it. this video