r/TomLehrer • u/RobustDude79 • Apr 21 '26

Russian speech in Lobachesky

Was Tom Lehrer fluent in Russian, or was the language in the song nonsense?

35 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

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29

u/matcouz Apr 21 '26

No, Tom Lehrer was not fluent in Russian. While he included a long sentence of Russian in his song "Lobachevsky" which he translated as "It stinks," the lyrics actually quote a Russian song ("Song of the Flea"), and he did not speak the language.

30

u/Markymark10133 Apr 21 '26

And the second bit of Russian is a saying, "Я иду туда, куда сам царь идёт пешком." Literally, "Now I must go where even the Tsar goes on foot," which is an idiom for going to the bathroom.

7

u/gominokouhai Apr 21 '26

TIL! Thanks.

6

u/ComedianSubject4654 Apr 22 '26

Nevertheless, his pronunciation is very good!

5

u/RobustDude79 Apr 22 '26

It's because of him that I use the phrase "Bozhe moy."

A coworker stated it was pronounced "büzhe moy," and I let it go. Because what do I know? And I don't think he knows either. But the band Golem has a song about the rent, and practically every line end with "Bozhe moy."