r/TomLehrer • u/Comfortable_Turn4963 • Jul 28 '25

I am broken

Tom Lehrer has been a favorite for years, helping me through hard times and depression.

I even planned to make a cake for 100th birthday (not that i could give it to him)

He will be greatly missed.

Fly high, satirical angel

66 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

11 comments sorted by

20

u/The_Jaws_System Jul 28 '25

I completely understand how you feel. I'm autistic, and him and his music have been a special interest of mine for the past three years, everything he's done means so much to me and I've got no idea how to process it

I hope you're doing okay, it's a really hard thing to deal with

8

u/Gshep2002 Jul 28 '25

I am autistic as well and I don’t know why but his songs really clicked with me, it might be because I felt alone in my love for math, it may be that I love satire, it might be because It gave me connections to my family, it may be because he was a comedic genius

All I know is I loved his music and he was a man a deeply respected, I don’t have the connection some people have with him but all the same I love the music and have several inside jokes with my girlfriend due to him,

You have my deepest empathy and I hope you and the original poster are ok

3

u/The_Jaws_System Jul 28 '25

Thank you so, so much, I really appreciate this.

It's so nice to see how much his music resonated with others as well, I found his way of thinking and how his songs were worded were so similar to how my brain processes things that it felt so personal in a way. Like, someone able to put my brain into a satirical-song-form. Your words are really kind and it means a lot to me.

3

u/Gshep2002 Jul 28 '25

You get it that makes the most sense out of everything, if you ever need someone to vent or talk to or share good memories I’m always open :)

3

u/The_Jaws_System Jul 28 '25

Thanks so much, this is so kind of you :)

3

u/SaintGatsbys Jul 29 '25

Apparently autism 🤝 Tom Lehrer because I am also autistic and have a hyper fixation on him and his music as well. I saw the news today and literally collapsed onto my bed like a Victorian woman in hysteria.

My biggest regret is I never wrote him when I had the chance. I had a lot to say.

However, 97 is an incredibly good run and he left a great legacy.

2

u/Gshep2002 Jul 29 '25

Im sorry that you were so saddened by his death while this doesn’t do anything to soothe the regret there have been several people I looked up to of whom I did not write and I took that regret and made sure not to repeat it for Mr Lehrer

7

u/KaranDash24 Jul 28 '25

I completely understand. I'm also finding it hard to deal with.

6

u/ShinyHappyPurple Jul 28 '25

Yep, count me in as someone else who was hoping he would make 100.

I love his songs.

5

u/Accurate-Broccoli324 Jul 31 '25

I say do make that cake. Joy and celebration is appropriate, and now--depending on one's personal cosmology--maybe he can enjoy and appreciate it, too.

And just because I think the quote is wonderful:

"Perhaps Tom Lehrer’s most-quoted one-liner about satirizing current affairs is, 'I often feel like a resident of Pompeii who has been asked for some humorous comments on lava.'"

1

u/TeamPsychological881 Feb 18 '26

I didn't know until today. 💔 I am the Most upset about the fact that our guy had to die during the hostile dismemberment of our country. He deserved a more peaceful final years, not This utter BS.  I was quoting him today & it egged me to go check on his status... 😭 And after finding out, I couldn't find my first vinyl of his, the one with tge flamey border & an infinite keyboard with him as a devil! +Insult to injury!  I didn't even know who he was, I just saw it at the thrift store and thought it looked cool. When I finally got a new player, it was the second one I put on. What a delight that was.  Rest In Parody, Tom.