History YMMV / TomLehrer

** Special mention must surely go to "I Got It from Agnes", which ''opens'' with the simple premise that an STD is working its way around his group of friends and [[BlueAndOrangeMorality they're happy with this]]. Then, as it lists who got it from whom, you notice around the second verse that some of his friends are clearly [[QueerAsTropes gay]] - a little controversial for its day, but nothing major. ''Then'' it mentions Pierre, who got it from [[ThreesomeSubtext Francois and Jack]]. And Edith who ''[[ParentalIncest got it from her father]]''. And Daniel, whose '''[[BestialityIsDepraved spaniel]]''' has it now. And then it reveals that their dentist even got it and they're '''''[[InstantSedation still]] [[BlackComedyRape wondering]] [[DudeShesLikeInAComa how]]'''''.

** Decades later, Creator/AlanMoore wrote ''Comics/LostGirls'', a pornographic graphic novel starring, among others, Wendy Darling and Dorothy Gale.

** On ''An Evening Wasted With Tom Lehrer,'' he describes his friend who spelled his name [=Hen3ry=].[[note]]He explains that the 3 was silent.[[/note]] In other words, he was the first L33t Speaker!\

** On ''An Evening Wasted With Tom Lehrer,'' he describes his friend who spelled his name [=Hen3ry=].[[note]]He explains that the 3 was silent.[[/note]] In other words, he was the first L33t Speaker!

** Another pair of examples is "The Old Dope Peddler", which was so over the top when it was written that people nearly died of laughter, but when performed to modern audiences, the laughter just . . . dies away by the end because it's too topical, and "The Masochism Tango", which is so over the top it ''still'' crosses the line in the day and age of the ObligatoryBondageSong.

** In "My Home Town", variations on the line about kindly Parson Brown take on an eerie perspective:

* HarsherInHindsight: somehow PlayedForLaughs; see above.

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: By 1960s standards, his work was some of the funniest, most obscene material written. Today, it's fairly tame. (Although see below, above, and every other Tom Lehrer page.)

** Making up new verses for the "L-Y" song. For example, this YouTube gem:

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: By 1960s standards, his work was some of the funniest, most obscene material written. Today, it's fairly tame. (Although see directly below, as well as everything above.)

** Decades later, Creator/AlanMoore wrote ''Lost Girls'', a pornographic graphic novel starring, among others, Wendy Darling and Dorothy Gale.

----

---> I could tell you things about PeterPan\\
And TheWizardOfOz, there's a dirty old man!

* HarsherInHindsight: He somehow managed to PlayForLaughs; see above.

--->'''Lehrer''': I must confess, I wrote that song when I was 21 years old and it doesn't seem quite so funny anymore...

* CrossesTheLineTwice: "We'll murder them all amid laughter and merriment, except for the few we take home to experiment!"

--> "Just sing out a Te Deum/When you see that ICBM/And the party will be 'come as you are'!"

* HilariousInHindsight: His 1960s song "George Murphy", about a senator with a former showbiz career, gets a cheap laugh from the less-than-impressive career of another politician with similar background...UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan.

--> I could tell you things about PeterPan\\

-->'''Lehrer''': I must confess, I wrote that song when I was 21 years old and it doesn't seem quite so funny anymore...

--->I think I'd better leave this line out, just to be on the safe side.
** On ''An Evening Wasted With Tom Lehrer,'' he describes his friend who spelled his name [=Hen3ry=]. In other words, he was the first L33t Speaker!
* MemeticMutation: YTMND seems to like putting together "The Elements"/"New Math" together with a clip of [[VideoGame/MonkeyIsland Stan]] talking.

* PainfulRhyme: Done deliberately and brilliantly.

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: By 1960s standards, his work was some of the funniest, most obscene material written. Today, it's fairly tame. (Although see directly below.)

** On ''An Evening Wasted With Tom Lehrer,'' he describes his friend who spelled his name Hen3ry. In other words, he was the first L33t Speaker!

--> I could tell you things about PeterPan
--> And TheWizardOfOz, there's a dirty old man!
*** Decades later, Creator/AlanMoore wrote ''Lost Girls'', a pornographic graphic novel starring, among others, Wendy Darling and Dorothy Gale.

** In "New Math", he points out that the titular education reform was meant to help kids understand what they're doing during calculations, even as it leaves parents confused and unable to help their kids. Fast-forward to the mid-2010's, [[HistoryRepeats and the Common Core curriculum is going down the exact same route]].

* HarsherInHindsight: Possibly "I Got It from Agnes", written between the introduction of antibiotics and the rise of AIDS. For a few decades 'V.D.' was unpleasant but not that scary.

* {{Squick}}: It is a considerable credit to his songwriting talents that even after nearly half a century and all the moral decay that entails, the BlackComedy of some of his lyrics can still turn a few heads.

** Special mention must surely go to "I Got it from Agnes", which ''opens'' with the simple premise that an STD is working its way around his group of friends and [[BlueAndOrangeMorality they're happy with this]]. Then, as it lists who got it from whom, you notice around the second verse that some of his friends are clearly [[QueerAsTropes gay]] - a little controversial for its day, but nothing major. ''Then'' it mentions Pierre, who got it from [[ThreesomeSubtext Francois and Jack]]. And Edith who ''[[ParentalIncest got it from her father]]''. And Daniel, whose '''[[BestialityIsDepraved spaniel]]''' has it now. And then it reveals that their dentist even got it and they're '''''[[InstantSedation still]] [[BlackComedyRape wondering]] [[DudeShesLikeInAComa how]]'''''.

* HarsherInHindsight: Possibly "I Got It From Agnes", written between the introduction of antibiotics and the rise of AIDS. For a few decades 'V.D.' was unpleasant but not that scary.

** He also played HarsherInHindsight for a laugh, more recently saying this of "When You Are Old And Grey":

* HarsherInHindsight: Possibly ''I Got It From Agnes'', written between the introduction of antibiotics and the rise of AIDS. For a few decades 'V.D.' was unpleasant but not that scary.
* HilariousInHindsight: His 1960s song "George Murphy," about a senator with a former showbiz career, gets a cheap laugh from the less-than-impressive career of another politician with similar background...UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan.

** Special mention must surely go to "I Got it from Agnes", which ''opens'' with the simple premise that an STD is working its way around his group of friends and [[BlueAndOrangeMorality they're happy with this]]. Then, as it lists who got it from whom, you notice around the second verse that some of his friends are clearly [[QueerAsTropes gay]] - a little controversial for its day, but nothing major. ''Then'' it mentions Pierre, who got it from [[ThreesomeSubtext Francois and Jack]]. And Edith who ''[[ParentalIncest got it from her father]]''. And Daniel, whose '''[[BestialityIsDepraved spaniel]]''' has it now. And then it reveals that their dentist even got it and they're ''' ''[[InstantSedation still]] [[BlackComedyRape wondering]] [[DudeShesLikeInAComa how]]'''''.

** Special mention must surely go to "I Got it from Agnes", which ''opens'' with the simple premise that an STD is working its way around his group of friends and [[BlueAndOrangeMorality they're happy with this]]. Then, as it lists who got it from whom, you notice around the second verse that some of his friends are clearly [[QueerAsTropes gay]] - a little controversial for its day, but nothing major. ''Then'' it mentions Pierre, who got it from [[ThreesomeSubtext Francois and Jack]]. And Edith who ''[[ParentalIncest got it from her father]]''. And Daniel, whose '''[[BestialityIsDepraved spaniel]]''' has it now. And then it reveals that their dentist even got it and they're ''' ''[[InstantSedation still]] [[BlackComedyRape wondering]] [[DudeShesLikeInAComa how]]'' '''.

** Dammit, I've had "2, 4, 6, 8, time to [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transubstantiation transubstantiate]]" from ''The Vatican Rag'' in my head for a week now.

** Dammit, I've had "2,4,6,8, time to [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transubstantiation transubstantiate]]" from ''The Vatican Rag'' in my head for a week now.
** UsefulNotes/RichardDawkins has claimed to have had "Masochism Tango" stuck in his head.

*** Decades later, Creator/AlanMoore wrote ''Lost Girls,'' a pornographic graphic novel starring, among others, Wendy Darling and Dorothy Gale.

** Another pair of examples is ''The Old Dope Peddler'', which was so over the top when it was written that people nearly died of laughter, but when performed to modern audiences, the laughter just . . . dies away by the end because it's too topical, and ''The Masochism Tango'', which is so over the top it ''still'' crosses the line in the day and age of the ObligatoryBondageSong.

** RichardDawkins has claimed to have had "Masochism Tango" stuck in his head.