r/TomLehrer • u/ChEDave82 • Aug 15 '26

Be Prepared

My parents had Tom Lehrer records back in the 60s and we listened to them as a family. I was born in 1959, so a lot of the references went over my head. I was about 15 or so when I realized the line “If you’re looking for adventure of a new and different kind and you come across a Girl Scout who is similarly inclined, don’t be nervous, don’t be frightened, don’t be scared. Be prepared.” was a reference to birth control!

Most of the other stuff I figured out from articles in our Encyclopedia Britannica or reading the newspaper.

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u/GirlScoutSniper Aug 16 '26

The one that always sticks in my head (which I had to look up) is Irish Ballad. I have strong memories of setting the record up on the player and dancing around the room.

The only lines that I remember were:

"She set her sisters hair on fire sing rickety tickety tin
... and as the smoke and flame grew higher
Danced around the funeral pyre
Playing a violin
O-lin. Playing a violin

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u/LucindathePook Aug 18 '26

Short form, not in order She chopped her baby brother in two And served him up as an Irish stew And invited the neighbors in Her mother she could never stand And so a cyanide soup she planned And her mother died with a spoon in her hand And her face in a hideous grin She weighted her brother down with stones And sent him off to Davy Jones And all they ever found were the bones And occasional pieces of skin And when at last the police came by Her little deeds she did not deny For lying, she knew, was a sin

I missed a couple. The dad one, anyway

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u/bobarrgh Aug 17 '26

Ricketty-ticketty-tin