I'd like to take you now on wings of song, as it were, and try and help you forget perhaps for a while your drab, wretched lives. here's a song all about spring-time in general, and in particula
Out one of the many delightful pastimes the coming of spring affords us all.
Spring is here, a-suh-puh-ring is here.
Life is skittles and life is beer.
I think the loveliest time of the year is the spring.
I do, don't you? 'course you do.
But there's one thing that makes spring complete for me,
And makes ev'ry sunday a treat for me.
All the world seems in tune
On a spring afternoon,
When we're poisoning pigeons in the park.
Ev'ry sunday you'll see
My sweetheart and me,
As we poison the pigeons in the park.
When they see us coming, the birdies all try an' hide,
But they still go for peanuts when coated with cyanide.
The sun's shining bright,
Ev'rything seems all right,
When we're poisoning pigeons in the park.
Lalaalaalalaladoodiedieedoodoodoo
We've gained notoriety
And caused much anxiety
In the audubon society
With our games.
They call it impiety,
And lack of propriety,
And quite a variety
Of unpleasant names.
But it's not against any religion
To want to dispose of a pigeon.
So if sunday you're free,
Why don't you come with me,
And we'll poison the pigeons in the park.
And maybe we'll do
In a squirrel or two,
While we're poisoning pigeons in the park.
We'll murder them all amid laughter and merriment.
Except for the few we take home to experiment.
My pulse will be quickenin'
With each drop of strychnine
We feed to a pigeon.
It just takes a smidgin!
To poison a pigeon in the park
然后Lehrer跑去当了三年兵，之后回到哈佛继续读数学博士，最后学位也没拿，跑去了MIT教政治学。六十年代起他受邀开始为NBC的一档讽刺时政类的电视节目That Was the Year That Was 写作歌曲。这些歌曲的主题涉及广泛，包括教育、冷战、核扩散、种族关系等等，因为歌词过于尖锐，经常得经过修改后才能在电视上播出。这些歌后来收在That Was the Year That Was这张专辑里。包括讽刺六十年代美国数学教育改革的New Math[flash]http://www.xiami.com/widget/3038967_1769664667/singlePlayer.swf[/flash]
这里有一个重新制作过的完整版，非常好玩。视频很直观地展现了绕口令一样的歌词里唱到的计算过程。不能翻墙看油管的可以去搜搜优酷上的片段。
巡演了几年之后，Lehrer开始觉得玩腻了，于是七十年代时他就挥挥衣袖果断结束了表演生涯，做回了教授这份老行当。他接受了加州大学圣克鲁兹分校的聘请，一边开数学课程，一边教Music Theatre，闲暇之余也写写歌，过上了安稳的教学生活。十年之后，有导演将他从前写过的歌曲制作成了音乐剧，在英国和美国上演，成为当时的热门话题。Lehrer由此重新回到公众的视野里。1998年，此时已经七十岁高龄的他做了二十五年以来的首次公开演出，在女王面前演唱了Poisoning Pigeons In The Park。2001年他从教职上退休，不过还是时不时在校园里闲晃。现在还健在，算算年纪是刚过完84岁生日的白羊座一枚XD
有人赞誉Lehrer为二十世纪最佳的讽刺音乐家，Lehrer本人对自己的时政讽刺歌曲能有什么样的现实意义却表示怀疑。这种态度与奥威尔相当一致，都认为讽刺对于当权者来说，只相当于给大象挠痒痒。Lehrer本人的野心，也只到这样的地步： "If, after hearing my songs, just one human being is inspired to say something nasty to a friend, or perhaps to strike a loved one, it will all have been worth the while."
）。