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Music

92-Year-Old Songwriter Tom Lehrer Releases All His Lyrics Into the Public Domain (tomlehrersongs.com) 79

Posted by EditorDavid from the national-brotherhood-week dept.
Marketplace reports: Songwriter Tom Lehrer became a star in the 1950s and '60s writing and performing satirical songs that skewered just about everything... Lehrer, 92, announced Tuesday via his website that he's effectively putting everything he ever wrote into the public domain. That means his lyrics and sheet music are available for anyone to use or perform, without having to pay royalties or deal with lawyers... [Most of Lehrer's music "will be added gradually later with further disclaimers," according to Lehrer's web site.]

Lehrer's giving up those royalties. But in exchange, he's trying to give his work a new lease on life, said Siva Vaidhyanathan, a media studies professor at the University of Virginia. "Lehrer, in this case, is basically saying, 'Hey everybody, come revisit my material, come do with it what you want,'" he said... That could mean we'll be hearing more of Tom Lehrer's work, said Jennifer Jenkins, who runs the Center for the Study of the Public Domain at Duke Law School. "There is empirical research showing that when material enters the public domain, it actually gets used more," she said.
Lehrer's lyrics touched on geeky subjects including nuclear weapons, Wernher von Braun, and one song where he set the names of the chemical elements to a tune by Gilbert and Sullivan.

Wikipedia notes he "largely retired" in the 1970s to become a mathematics teacher at the University of California, Santa Cruz (also teaching the history of musical theatre). In the same decade he also wrote ten songs for The Electric Company, an educational TV show about reading broadcast on America's public television, singing two of the songs himself — L-Y and Silent E.
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92-Year-Old Songwriter Tom Lehrer Releases All His Lyrics Into the Public Domain More

92-Year-Old Songwriter Tom Lehrer Releases All His Lyrics Into the Public Domain

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  • Headline is wrong (Score:4, Informative)

    by eibhear ( 307877 ) on Saturday October 24, 2020 @10:00AM (#60643424) Homepage
    He hasn't put them into the Public Domain. They can be "considered" as though they are. They are "effectively" in the Public Domain. But, they aren't actually there, which means that someone can come along and change or revoke this licence at some point in the future, because the copyrights remain with him, and will be with his estate after he dies (long may that be delayed!).

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by Ecuador ( 740021 )

      In particular, permission is hereby granted to anyone to set any of these lyrics to their own music and publish or perform their versions without fear of legal action.
      This permission applies only to the lyrics on this website. Most of the music written by Tom Lehrer will be added gradually later with further disclaimers.

      Are you saying you can revoke a statement like the above?

    • Some countries don't have public domain (Score:5, Insightful)

      by raymorris ( 2726007 ) on Saturday October 24, 2020 @10:48AM (#60643524) Journal

      "Public domain", as the term is used in the United States, is a law that applies only in the US, and only allows one to distribute to a US audience. The same words "public domain" have no meaning in some countries, and very different meaning in other countries.

      The songwriter did the right thing by explicitly saying anyone can do whatever they want with the lyrics. That's a clear permission in all countries.

    • He hasn't put them into the Public Domain. They can be "considered" as though they are.

      So if someone wants to claim ownership of Tom Lehrer's works, they could go to a court, where the matter would be considered. If the court finds that the works were intended to be in the public domain, by the lawful originator and owner, then that settles it. The works actually are in the public domain. I would hope that no properly constituted court would allow just anybody to march in and claim ownership. Penniless or greedy relatives might be a problem. I am glad I am not a lawyer.

    • someone can come along and change or revoke this licence at some point in the future,

      Nope. Estoppel applies.

  • https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100621/2320049908.shtml [techdirt.com]
    There's also the problem of getting corporations to respect public domain.
    https://support.google.com/youtube/thread/54342114?hl=en [google.com]

    • There's also the problem of getting corporations to respect public domain.

      There does seem to be a legal problem with the idea of common goods, not owned by anybody. A great deal of civil law seems to come from rights of ownership. If nobody owns a thing, who is going to defend the public domain rights? There is no interested party. I am not saying here that all corporations are ruthless pirates, out for plunder, but they certainly do like to take advantage when they can, within the rule of law. The question here is what the rule of law actually says about works voluntarily put in

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by cusco ( 717999 )

        The earlier books of one of my favorite authors are no longer being published, haven't been for years, and the publisher has no intention of reissuing them or (for some reason) even converting the to e-book format. I asked her whether she could release them into the public domain, since neither she nor the publisher are making any money off them any longer. She said that she had already asked,and the publisher had refused. She was going to ask a lawyer if she could release the copyright in her will (she'

        • I guess that is what happens when publishers, rather than authors, own copyrights. I have no idea where Tom Lehrer's works stand in that respect.

          • Most of Lehrer's albums were self-recorded, so there were no record label (with their onerous contracts) involved. The songs he did for the TV series That Was The Week That Was, later released on the album That Was The Year That Was, are an exception, as are the songs he recorded for The Electric Company and other Children's Television Workshop shows, but by then Lehrer was presumably well versed in copyright law and retained the publishing rights. There is also the stereo re-recording of Songs By Tom Lehr

      • > If nobody owns a thing, who is going to defend the public domain rights? There is no interested party

        How does it work for Shakespeare or the King James Bible?

        • > If nobody owns a thing, who is going to defend the public domain rights? There is no interested party

          How does it work for Shakespeare or the King James Bible?

          Out of copyright, due to passage of time after the author's death. Mickey Mouse is another problem.

          The problem being addressed in the article is that of a living artist, Tom Lehrer, wishing to make their works public domain, before the copyright timeout. The implication seems to be that someone could claim ownership of intellectual property rights, against an author's wishes.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by tepples ( 727027 )

      The Golan case is about copyright lapsing due to formalities. What Lehrer did is place his musical works under a permissive license. I don't see how case law from one situation affects the other.

      • A real permissive license that has been at least written by lawyers if not tested (and won) in court? (One of the CC licenses perhaps?) Or is this a press release ?

  • he "largely retired" in the 1970s to become a mathematics teacher

    Note that mathematics and generosity often pair well.

  • That Was The Week That Was (Score:5, Insightful)

    by tsqr ( 808554 ) on Saturday October 24, 2020 @10:06AM (#60643444)
    Lehrer was a regular contributor to the American version of David Frost''s "That Was The Week That Was", an early 1960's pioneer in television satire and parody. His songs are comedic works of art. Great move, releasing his body of work into the public domain.

    • Absolutely. Lehrer is a great man; his comedy has always been top-notch, and for its time, pretty edgy, too.

      • My parents introduced me to Tom Lehrer when I was trying to memorize the Periodic Table. That went poorly, but I have a lifelong appreciation for the man and his work. I made sure to pass it on to my children, and I have a grand daughter who will soon be able to appreciate him.

        So, thanks, Dr Lehrer, for the laughs and the tears, and for helping us to laugh instead of cry.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by pbasch ( 1974106 )
        Edgy for now, actually. I did an evening of Tom Lehrer songs at Caltech, and we had to pick and choose pretty carefully. I got to sing Vatican Rag... a lifelong dream of mine. Interestingly, while the more serious brand of Catholic might not like it because of the tone, the content is spot-on accurate for Catholic doctrine post Vatican II. And National Brotherhood Week is always up-to-date. He is great!

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by HiThere ( 15173 )

      I appreciate his action, and respect his intentions. However....most of his works left me feeling unclean and a bit depressed. This is true of much "biting satire", even Louis Carroll has moments of this, consider "The Pig Tail" from "Sylvie and Bruno" (or perhaps "Sylvie and Bruno Concluded").

      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        by Anonymous Coward

        Um, leaving you "feeling unclean and a bit depressed" was the fucking point. He was pretty clear about his motivation being to show, in a comedic and entertaining way, that SOMETHING WAS FUCKING WRONG.

        One doesn't sing about pollution or nuclear weapons because one wants one's audience to have a happy, carefree fucking day. You were supposed to be disturbed, that means you got the fucking point.

        If you want his cheerful stuff, listen to the kids songs he did for The Electric Company.

  • The "license". [youtube.com]

  • In the current round of political protests, has anyone else noticed that they have no rousing music? I'm old enough to remember Tom Lehrer's "Folk Song Army" and the irony of ineffectual political protesters that somehow had all the catchy music.. A few protesters are singing "L'Internationale", which is a fairly rousing Communist anthem, but they've also been confronted by immigrants from Marxist nations who are appalled.

    In case it seems unjustified: several founders of the Black Lives Matter organization

    • ... several founders of the Black Lives Matter organization describe _themselves_ as Marxists

      There seems to be a tendency in the USA to treat Marxists as akin to pedophiles, mass murderers, enemies of the people, or whatever. Specifically, what I consider to be a noble effort, i.e. Black Lives Matter, is tarred with the brush of Marxism. I am not a Marxist. I think the philosophy is wrong and harmful. But I will still give Marxist ideas some consideration, in just the same way as considering conservative views, many of which I disagree with.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by HiThere ( 15173 )

        Rather than "a tendency" you should have said "a strong tendency", and even that's understating the case. McCarthyism is still vibrantly alive, even though he's long dead.

        • As a resident of the UK, I find it difficult to appreciate the visceral hatred towards any kind of socialism in the USA. You are probably right about the zombie of McCarthyism. When I talk about socialist ideas in the UK, I tend to get a much more reasoned approach from people that call themselves conservatives. "The trouble with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money." That is a quote from Maggie Thatcher. It is at least a point worth arguing about. You can't argue with McCarthyit

          • McCarthy properly pointed out that there were agents of an enemy military power working in the US federal government. For this he was vilified.

            • McCarthy properly pointed out that there were agents of an enemy military power working in the US federal government. For this he was vilified.

              That may well be true, but that still did not justify the McCarthyite witch hunts, where pretty much anybody could be accused of being a communist agent, without any legal recourse to defend themselves.

              In the UK, socialists are not generally treated as evil subversives working for hostile powers, but as fools, a view I have some sympathy for. We do have some subversive socialist movements in the UK, but they are British subversive socialist movements. We don't need no stinking foreign commie stuff here.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by Altus ( 1034 )

            "The problem with the military industrial complex and endless war is that you eventually run out of other peoples money"

      • "Akin to... mass murderers..."

        Akin to? They literally are. Marxist ideologies are the single greatest cause of mass murder in the 20th century.

        Marxism (usually under the moniker of Communism or Socialism) has killed ~100,000,000 worldwide (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_killings_under_communist_regimes).

        And as for the old chestnut "REAL Marxism/Communism has never been tried," well, maybe REAL National Socialism has not been tried and deserves another shot, hmm?

        • I am not disagreeing with the criticism of brutal totalitarian regimes that claim to be Marxist, such as Soviet Russia under Joseph Stalin. In the UK, there were plenty of critics who were socialist, and ended up being critical of Soviet Russia. George Orwell comes to mind.

          My diagnosis is that Marxism can be an attractive philosophy, and is often cynically exploited as a tool to power. I believe Christianity has suffered such a fate from time to time. Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!

          Personally, I dis

          • You use the No True Scotsman fallacy, which in defense of Marxism is some form of "those guys may have claimed to be Marxists, but no true Marxist would DO such things"

            The Common defenses for the evil Marx and Engels, and people who've tried to implement their toxic ideology, are always:

            [1] Those guys were not real Marxists.

            [2] Those guys did it the wrong way.

            [3] The wrong guys tried it

            The problem is that there is no RIGHT way to implement a totalitarian kleptocracy, there are no "right people" to do it, an

            • I am well aware of the "no true Scotsman" fallacy. I am not a Marxist apologist, and I do not ignore what Marx and Engels set in motion, that led to so much suffering and death. But on the other hand, I am happy to entertain what might be called socialist policies, such as universal health care, or nationalised rail transport. I believe these ideas can be discussed on their merits, in terms of how people may benefit, and should not be dismissed out of hand, because they might be Marxist. My conservative fri

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by steveha ( 103154 )

        Black Lives Matter, is tarred with the brush of Marxism

        One of the co-founders of BLM said, in so many words, "we are trained Marxists"

        Don't believe me, just watch the video:

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7C6tNjiRKY [youtube.com]

        The official platform of BLM included, as an explicit goal, to "disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear-family-structure". They favor the "it takes a village" approach where government will have a direct role in supervising children. (They scrubbed this point off their web site when publicity b

        • If you think Marxism is a really great idea, then travel to someplace like Venezuela and help them implement it correctly. Once it's working there it will show us all how wrong we were and how good an idea it is. Until you can show me an example of a country where Marxism really works, I'll be opposed to it.

          I definitely do not think Marxism is a really great idea. I think it is dangerous nonsense.

          I think it unfortunate that Marxists in the USA appear to be exploiting the popularity of BLM to further their cause. I liken this to the exploitation of BLM demonstrations by petty criminals and thugs, out for a bit of looting and mayhem.

    • Re:All The Good Songs (Score:4, Informative)

      by hey! ( 33014 ) on Saturday October 24, 2020 @12:35PM (#60643796) Homepage Journal

      Yeah, The Internationale's tune is catchy, but the lyrics are an awkward mouthful, despite having so many versions to choose from. It's the usually thing; put two socialists in a room who essentially agree on every practical point and pretty soon they'll end up excommunicating each other.

      I think it's interesting how the American version softens the original French versions anti-religious themes. Reason no longer thumders in its volcano, instead justice thunders condemnation. Also the American version doesn't deny the existence of God or saviors, it simply declares that *condescending* saviors are not wanted.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by PPH ( 736903 )

      confronted by immigrants from Marxist nations who are appalled

      And rightly so. One of the first steps after the glorious socialist revolution succeeds is to march all the revolutionaries to the gallows or work camps. Can't have anyone with the skills to overthrow a regime left standing once they have helped you install yours.

      Karl Marx would never have survived in the Soviet Union. It's no surprise that he lived in the UK.

      • Endless optimism about someone else's failure with high volume and an incoherent plan. It does remind me a bit of early 1970's.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by PPH ( 736903 )

          an incoherent plan

          If there is anything we have learned from the defeat of socialism at the hands of capitalism: There are no wise planners. The market, or the wisdom of the crowd beats them every time.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by dskoll ( 99328 )
      This is fairly rousing [youtube.com]. A nice arrangement and new lyrics to an old song.

  • A less geeky song by Tom Lehrer, but really funny IMHO is Poisoning pigeons in the park [youtube.com]

    • Less geeky, but still geeky:
       
      "We'll murder them all amid laughter and merriment,
      Except for the few we take home to experiment!"

      - Tom Lehrer, Poisoning Pigeons in the Park

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by Ferocitus ( 4353621 )

      A less geeky song by Tom Lehrer, but really funny IMHO is Poisoning pigeons in the park [youtube.com]

      Before Lehrer performed in Adelaide, South Australia in the early 1960's conservative city elders were worried he might corrupt and offend their delicate citizens. They were not concerned by songs like the Old Dope Peddler, "I got it from Agnes" or "Be Prepared (to hide those reefers well!).
      The song that bothered them most was "Poisoning pigeons in the park". Lehrer agreed not to instill harm on the city where Rupert Murdoch was running his very first newspaper.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by HiThere ( 15173 )

      Perhaps, but it's objectively wrong. Both the Jains and the Buddhists strongly disapprove of poisoning pigeons. There are possibly other religions, but those are two that I'm aware of.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by cusco ( 717999 )

        I'm opposed as well. Waste of perfectly good food.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by HiThere ( 15173 )

          Lots of people have non-religious objections. I was specifically addressing his claim that:
          "It's not against any religion
          To want to dispose of a pigeon"
          and that is something that both the Jains and the Buddhists object to.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by cusco ( 717999 )

            I'd just add foodies to "the Jains and the Buddhists". It's the One True Religion! All hail the never-ending quest for the perfect plate!

  • The more things change (Score:5, Insightful)

    by glatiak ( 617813 ) on Saturday October 24, 2020 @10:23AM (#60643482)

    Glad to hear that he is still around. Loved his stuff when it was new -- and still bring his topical songs up regarding current events. What I find sad is that so many songs about social issues are still relevant today. 'Pollution', 'I wanna go back to dixie', 'Send the Marines', 'National Brotherhood Week', etc. A half century later and we have learned and changed so little.

  • He came to comedy from the high end and brought it low, unlike the plebes who started low and tried to go high.

    His material doesn't get tedious and boring, unlike all the late-night "comedians" after Carson. He was also able to escape the fate of being a self-righteous blowhard, like Stewart and Colbert.

  • 70 year old songs in Public Domain? (Score:3)

    by nospam007 ( 722110 ) * on Saturday October 24, 2020 @11:04AM (#60643580)

    Hell must freeze over about now.

  • The man gave me my favorite life quote:

    "Life is like a sewer, what you get out of it pretty much depends on what you put into it!"

    Yo Grark

  • Lehrer. Sets the names of the chemical elements to a tune by Gilbert and Sullivan.

    Siva Vaidhyanathan, a media studies professor: "Lehrer, in this case, is basically saying,..."

  • In the park, of course.

    And thank god we never did televise World War III

  • He's studied species turian, asari, and batarian,
    He's quite good at genetics (as a subset of biology),
    Because he is an expert (which he knows is a tautology).

  • If anyone is looking for a the definitive collection of Leher's work, may I suggest "The Remains of Tom Lehrer"

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Remains_of_Tom_Lehrer

    My wife bought me a copy as a gift many years ago (...I Love That Woman...). I was shocked when I looked up what its going for today.

    If nothing else, the track listing can be used to help decide what individual albums and tracks are necessary to get a complete set of his works.

    As a chid of the 70s, the Electric Company tracks really make me no

  • Tom Lehrer is a comedy genius, and a fantastic musician and composer to boot. I mirrored his site, obeying the warning that it's coming down at the end of 2024. His work deserves to live on forever.

  • Many moons ago, I made a (then crude) animation of Lehrer's "The Elements".

    I corresponded with him (a trick in itself) to get permission for what are known
    as synchronization rights for me to proceed further. He generously not only
    granted me this permission gratis, but also mailed me a vinyl copy of his album
    with the song, in trade for my execrable Mac floppy disk with a QuickTime he could play.

    The reason for the vinyl was that Rhino Records had issued the digital
    "Remains of Tom Lehrer" after finding his *m

    • errata: Rounder -> Rhino
                                pleas -> please

      and possibly others, but Cmdr. Taco sez we can't edit.

  • For me, Tom Lehrer formed the start of my love of political satire, a line that has musically led through Monty Python and Spinal Tap, and comedically through Richard Pryor and George Carlin, none of whom quite captured Tom's original wit and verve.

    Tom's "retiring" from music to teach was nearly sacrilege to me, from the perspective of his art. Then again, Tom's change later made it much easier for me to understand Steve Wozniac's transition from engineer to 5th grade teacher.

    And now I find myself consider

  • Tom Lehrer recorded Lobachevsky multiple times, with a different hypotenuse in each recording. The ones I know about:

    Songs by Tom Lehrer (1953): Ingrid Bergman
    Tom Lehrer Revisited (1959, live at MIT): Brigitte Bardot
    Tom Lehrer Discovers Australia (1960, live): Marilyn Monroe
    Songs by Tom Lehrer (1966 stereo Reprise rerecording): Doris Day
    I've also heard one with Gina Lollobrigida, but I can't remember when it was done

    Current day performers who do the song should consider honoring that tradition and using

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