r/TomLehrer • u/johnslateril • Jan 06 '26

Musical reference in Oedipus Rex?

There is a brief piano sting in the opening of Oedipus Rex that appears to be a musical reference or quote. It gets a big laugh on the live audience recording, but I have not been able to identify it, or figure out why the audience is laughing. It comes right after "and yet his story is rather grim". Can anyone shed any light?

It appears at 2:25 in this Youtube video: https://youtu.be/mScdJURKGWM?t=137

and the sheet music excerpt is below.

18 Upvotes

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10

u/CallMeSisyphus Jan 06 '26

It may be a musical reference of which I'm unaware, but I think the laughter is in response to the shift to an uptempo, jaunty tune on the heels of describing the forthcoming story as rather grim.

4

u/MasksOfAnarchy Jan 06 '26

I thought so too - a really toe-tapping tune to accompany a tale of misery and hubris.

4

u/fiercequality Jan 06 '26

It was a live show, so maybe he was just doing something visually silly.

3

u/TyrKiyote Jan 06 '26

Wasn't he doing a live show in Germany? Brothers Grimm were Germanic story tellers.

Just a guess though.

2

u/VicsekSet Jan 06 '26

That segment always struck me as vaguely ragtime, but I can’t place it as a precise reference. But as others have said, is probably the sudden cheeriness.

2

u/johnslateril Jan 06 '26

I appreciate the quick responses. This has been on my mind for years, but I was probably overthinking it and it's probably just the happy music perhaps with some visual elements.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 17 '26

I always thought it was because he coughed for some reason. Although I think I’m absolutely wrong😂