I’m so sorry to hear that a great hero of mine, Tom Lehrer, died today, aged 97.

There are wordsmiths, and then there’s Tom Lehrer.

Wickedly clever, deliciously irreverent, and unflinchingly satirical, Lehrer could turn polysyllabic tongue-twisters into piano-driven comedy gold. He made nuclear Armageddon funny, the periodic table lyrical, and politics absurd long before Truth Social got hold of it. But more than that, he brought wordplay to life with such intelligence and playfulness that you couldn’t help but grin.

Probably his most famous composition was The Periodic Table of the Elements set to the tune of the Major General’s Song from the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, The Pirates of Penzance.

Lehrer was a shared love between me and my dad, and not just because they were both gifted mathematicians. For us, Lehrer wasn’t just a performer; he was an inspiration. When I left home, Dad and I swapped silly poems by post. Sometimes, we’d try to outdo each other in reason and rhyme, but mostly it was for the sheer pleasure of an apposite and well-timed pun. As a tribute to that shared joy (and Lehrer’s influence), I wrote both The Periodic Table of the Elephants and The Periodic Table of Pasta for Dad: the latter to alleviate Dad’s confusion over the difference between cannelloni and conchiglie.

Lehrer’s songs weren’t just tunes; they were an invitation to revel in ridiculousness and use wit to counter the world’s woes. Although Lehrer did say he gave up satire because the world itself went beyond parody, and that was long before the current bunch of buffoons entered world politics.

In our house, Lehrer gave us permission to be playful, to poke fun at the pompous, and never to underestimate the power of a clever couplet.

To Tom Lehrer, nothing was off limits in comedy. One reviewer famously said that he was “never hampered by considerations of taste” – a sentiment neatly captured in one of his most quoted lines:

“If after hearing my songs just one human being is inspired to say something nasty to a friend, or perhaps to strike a loved one, it will all have been worth the while.”

So, here’s to Tom Lehrer – the master of musical mischief, the patron saint of smart-arses, and the man who showed me (and my dad) that sometimes the sharpest truths come wrapped in rhyme.

Thank you, Tom. You made words fun. You made humour smart. And you made a father and daughter laugh together across decades.

The black and white cover photo of Tom Lehrer performing in Copenhagen in 1967 is Public Domain, like all of Tom’s work, which he placed in the Public Domain for us all to enjoy. Attribution – Jan Persson, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Signature, Tom Lehrer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Periodic Table of the Elephants by Jacqueline Lambert:

There’s African and Indian… That’s it.

The Periodic Table of Pasta by Jacqueline Lambert

There’s Agnolotti, Alfabetti, Anellini and Stellini

Ravioli and Spaghetti and Lasagna and Filini

And Rotini, Macaroni, Mafaldine and Grattini

And Pici, Cavatappi, Fettuccine, Quadrettini

Cavatelli, Passatelli, Scialatelli, Vermicelli

And Campanelle, Pappardelle, Garganelli,

Casoncelli

And Conchiglie, Pierogi, Pizzoccheri, Sagnarelli

And Ziti and Fusilli and Farfalle and Gemelli

There’s Capellini, Corallini, Tortellini, Tripoline

And Stortini, Bucatini, Fagottini and Puntine

Radiatori and Fiori and Trofi and Tafliatelle

And Mafalde, Midolline, Mezzelune and Rotelle

There’s Grattoni, Rigatoni, Sacchettoni, Cannelloni

And Zitoni and Pennoni and Cencioni, Tortelloni

And Soba and Sorprese and Penne and Trenette

Strigozze, Strozzapreti, Orecchiette, Lasagnette

Pelmeni and Pastina and Lanterne, and Linguettine

And Corzetti and Croxetti and Farfel and Spaghettini

And Linguine, Mafaldine, Taglierini and Pennone

And also Torchio, Fregula and Seme di Melone

There’s Bigoli and Risi and Orzo and Gnocchi

And not forgetting those named after the Lupo’s Occhi…

These are the only ones of which the news has come to Harvard.

But there may be many others scoffed by Eye-ties who are starve-d

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