Tom Lehrer songs now in public domain!

by Paula Johanson

Part of learning about science is talking and thinking about science. And singing about it too, if you're someone who appreciates the humour of Tom Lehrer. Not every family will laugh at every one of his songs, but most families will find something funny in at least one of his songs about science or math. There's a Tom Lehrer song listing the elements from the Periodic Table of the elements, which is funnier to sing or hear than you'd think a list would be. It's all the two-syllable and three-syllable rhyming, which is humourous in English-language poetry for some traditional reason. Actor Daniel Radcliffe (who played Harry Potter in the films) has been known to sing this song at parties, and at least once on television.

Another song Tom Lehrer wrote had some cutting satire about Wehrner von Braun, a rocket scientist. Lehrer also wrote songs for the short television videos known as Schoolhouse Rock and for the television show The Electric Company, which were landmarks in the field of education using video/television.

As writer Cory Doctorow says on Twitter:

Tom Lehrer is one of our great nerdy, comedic songwriters, a Harvard-educated mathematician who produced a string of witty, unforgettable science- and math-themed comedic airs with nary a dud.

Now in his nineties, Lehrer remains both a political and scientific hero, sung the world round by geeks of every age. When my daughter was young, we taught her "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park."

Undergrads at UC Santa Cruz would sign up for his math class just to learn freshman algebra from the "Wehrner Von Braun" guy. Now, Lehrer has done something absolutely remarkable. 

In a note on his website, Lehrer has released the lyrics (and music, for those songs where he was the composer) into the public domain. He warns fans to download the songs before 12/31/2024, when he says he will delete his site. https://tomlehrersongs.com

Only the lyrics to 96 songs are in the release; Lehrer cautions the accompanying music will appear later "with further disclaimers." In his note, Lehrer urges us to make up our own tunes for these: "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." 

 

Why would anyone choose to give up the copyright to his songs? Well, for several reasons. Lehrer is in his nineties and has already retired from his academic career and from performing his songs. You can read about Lehrer's colourful life in a Wikipedia article about him which has many references for further reading. Some of his songs from the Electric Company are at this link and they're well worth learning.

If you want to learn more about copyright and creative commons licensing, there are many books and articles on the topic. Creative Commons has a website at this link. Copyright in Canada is managed at this link where there is lots of information you can read, including a Guide to Copyright you can read online at this link.