Tom Lehrer - Poisoning Pigeons In The Park 

"it's not against any religion to want to dispose of a pigeon" has to be the best line of a song I've ever heard

Can we appreciate how the cameraman answered "yes" with the camera at 0:20, what a king

Humor that ages well is extremely rare. That just makes this man's songs even better.

This man poisoned my $50,000 racing pigeon, this video will be useful in court

Not only is he hilarious, he's also a damn straight piano player !!

I love how he's singing about something so sadistic in a lovely cheerful way!

My maths teacher performed this in the school talent show. I was in stitches

Tom Lehrer recently released his ENTIRE music catalog into the public domain, so anyone can now do anything they want with his songs. Imagine performing this one on “The Voice” or another TV competition show?

I read somewhere that in the first take of a recording session, the musicians only knew this as a cheerful waltz piece. The announcer said something like, "Take one, `Poisoning Pigeons in the Park'" and the pianist fell off his bench.

A genius in every respect. He is 93 now and basically quit performing 5 decades ago - but his work still seems as biting and hilarious as it every was.

I've decided that this will now by my pickup line, "Hey Girl, if you're not busy Sunday afternoon would you like to go poison some pigeons in the park?" If she looks revolted I'll know she isn't worth the time.

I love this guys twisted sense of humor.

This was one of favorite songs when I was a kid. I played this at my middle school Talent Show and boy were they upset. Thank you for uploading.

Just found Tom Lehrer. I am convinced this man is a genius.

Just remember to stay six feet away from other couples while poisoning pigeons in the park

I didn't think it was possible to rhyme strychnine this beautifully.

I love how he plays that extra bar after his first "poisoning pigeons in the park" to let the laughter die down before continuing... the delay actually increases your anticipation about what he's going to sing next too! =)

He reminds me of a muppet in some weird way. Which is a statement I hope everyone here understands to be the highest compliment.

LYRICS 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 every Sunday a treat for me. All the world seems in tune On a spring afternoon, When we're poisoning pigeons in the park. Every 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, Everything seems all right, When we're poisoning pigeons in the park. 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 strych'nine We feed to a pigeon. (It just takes a smidgin!) To poison a pigeon in the park.

This song speaks to me on a spiritual level.

This dude was WAAAAY ahead of his time.

At 0:20 it looks the camera is shaking due to the operator laughing. Kind of like that famous ad lib scene in Good Will Hunting.

I'm shocked to learn that Tom Lehrer is still alive. Dark humor is aparanly healthy.

Twenty years ago while in graduate school I used to sing his songs out loud in the lab - I am sure my colleagues - including my PhD advisor - must have thought various things. Even now I can probably recall most of the lyrics and sing the songs.

You have served me well, algorithm, bring me more dark demented historical pop culture.

original bo burnham

It was this song that introduced me to the works of the great Tom Lehrer. I was working in a chemistry lab in my year off between school and university, and Tony my supervisor was talking about imprecise quantities, such as "a smidgen" - which led on to "it just takes a smidgen to poison a pigeon". He lent me his Tom Lehrer tapes and I copied them. Thank you, Tony!

I'm offensive and that's a pigeon.

Tom Lehrer's charm comes from the use of 1950's outlook used to channel psychosis with such pure-hearted glee. The unconventional song writing also breaks from usual modern stuff, meaning every song seems fresh and light and ages rediculously well. He just seems so damn happy when sings about these things and in a world where snark is rather mainstay, it's refreshing to have something different.

i never met my grandad but i've been told that he loved Tom Lehrer and i can see why

TIL: tom is still alive at 90something and gave all his songs and lyrics to the public domain for free.

I'm a pigeon and I'm offended.

i just ran across a bunch 7 1/2 inch reel to reel tapes from 1955..and there were several recordings of Tom... this guy is dark hilarious

Ah, this brings back memories...I sang this when I was about 9 in a school concert (where all the kids were very posh and sang Les Mis and played the harp.) The faces of the parents was priceless. What a song.

I was born in 1956 and my dad loved Tom Lehrer so I grew up hearing all his satirical music. In junior high his song "Pollution" won some commercial accolades as we were all studying smog and water pollution but other than that, none of my friends knew of Lehrer. He was way before his time and a genius IMHO. A Harvard alumnus (he was a child prodigy and entered college at 15) he was a mathematician that taught in California for several years and is still alive at almost 95 years. One man I would love to meet but he's not very interested in hashing up the past and in fact opened up his catalog to public domain.

I discovered Tom Lehrer back in the 70's when I listened to Doctor Demento. His songs are hilarious and very clever. What a great legacy for us to enjoy forever!

FINALLY - The right time has arrived. Does anyone want to accompany me this Sunday to poison a few pigeons in the park?

I'm glad I was introduced to Tom Lehrer, his silly humor gets me.

This is some of the best aged humor I've ever seen. This guy was ahead of his time XD

i was OBSESSED with this dude when i was 11 no clue why lmao

I’ve only known that he even existed for only slightly more than a day and I’ve heard two of his songs but I am in love with him

Happy 96th birthday Tom!

I remember my mum playing this song to me as a kid. Always makes me smile!

When we were kids, my parents didn't have the usual record collection. I grew up on Burl Ives, Shari Lewis, Scottish dance music, and, of all things, Chants of the Mao Mao (Mom had applied for jobs in the Arctic and, of all places, Kenya, and wanted my to get familiar with the music...) Instead she decided to get married again, met my step Dad (from MIT and with a tin ear) and their two music collections joined forces to give us kids a musical education, bar none. Jazz, folk, classical, and my favourite genre musical comedy. Whenever we were sick, we got to lie in bed and listen to whatever we wanted... and you were my favourite. Teachers were disturbed by the fact that I sang about "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park" and knew rather more than a child my age should know (singing-wise) about masochism...

Tom is 96 and still living. So are pigeons, despite this song.

the cut is from a concert held in Denmark when the students of Copenhagen university elected him "artist of the year".

Today, April 9th 2018. He is alive at 90. Is that not amazing?

I remember discovering this guy in 1975 when I was ten years old, staying up past my bedtime to listen to the nightly comedy hour on KSFO in San Francisco on an old AM radio that had vacuum tubes that glowed in the dark. I also discovered Monty Python, Freddy Prinze, George Carlin, and many others thanks to that show.

He was banned from the UK! A brilliant man! xxxx

"I do, don't you?" *camera nods*

Happy 95th birthday today! Forever a legend and timeless music and humour!

Oh my god I love this man. He is definitely my spirit animal.

The world needed Tom Lehrer then and it needs him now.

Babe are you ok? You haven't poisoned a single pigeon this entire Sunday. You can reach out to me if you're not feeling well.

I have been listening to Tom Lehrer since my parents played his records, in the 1960s. I have most of his songs memorized, and his humor has changed my life. One of my great thrills was finally meeting him in person about 3 years ago.. we had a nice chat! He splits his time between Santa Cruz, CA and Cambridge, MA

This guy is a national treasure.

this song has been stuck in my head since 2003

"When they see us coming, the birdies all try and hide, but they still go for peanuts when coated with Cyanide" Best line

I just discovered this song and it’s one of my current favorites!!!

Oh my gosh I heard this song years ago and lost it. So glad RU-vid recommended this entirely out of the blue!

00:19 the passive agressiveness in that man's tone 😂😂😂 'of course you love spring!'

Argh, I simply just love this one! And every time someone says "Spring is here!" I automatically continue the lyrics... =D

I just love how casual he is about it

Musical genius of the first order! Love to listen to Tom’s glorious piano playing. My late husband always said that Tom was the best pianist he had ever heard, and he was right!

Brings back great memories of my teenage years!

This was truly a demented classic that I will be singing in my head for the next few days! Thanks

I just discovered him a few moments ago and I'm in love

Tom Lehrer walked so Will Wood could run

Such a warm, cuddly, feel-good performer. Brings a tear to my eye.

@Paganforge, thank you, yes, when this forgotten and extremely rare recording first appeared on RU-vid in 2007, Lehrer decided that he did not want to stop it. In 2010 Shout Factory! in the United States released the concert on a DVD, and -- to me -- The Tom Lehrer Collection is still the Christmas gift of all time.

I think this is my favourite new singer and composer

My son likes this song. A nice way to pass culture to new generations.

You can imagine Joker and Harley doing a duet of this song. Especially after "Setting the Woods On Fire" in that episode of 'The Batman'.

When someone showed me this song, I kept hearing "poisoning bitches in the bar" instead of pigeons in the park 😅

from the first "spring is here, asaparing is here" you just know

Another example of hilarious comedy that wouldn't get on TV or a onto a university campus today.

This guy, Tom Lehrer, is such a genius with lyrics. I remember watching him on TV back in the day, always enjoyed his style.

this is fantastic.

This man in amazing and light years ahead of his time

Tom Lehrer---what a genius! This song brings back fond memories of my youth, when my twisted uncle used to sing the Lehrer songbook to us kids. Best to start perversion at a young age, I guess...

Ah, fond memories..... Of Dr. Demento I mean!

fantastic....i thought , I will be viewing his alone....so many people with brains..brilliant

Ah, such a lovely spring song, reminds me of my grandparents

Loved hearing him on WFMT's "Midnight Special" back in the day....

Thank you so much, pastrychef1985, for that comment. I am so happy for people who appreciate these rare genuine Lehrer live video recordings, and I think Tom Lehrer is too :-)

It forever amazes me that state sponsored pigeon poisonings were an actual thing that actually for real happened.

He has a fantastic sense of humor and his singing style is really pleasant to the ear :)

My voice teacher just gave me this piece… I’m so excited 😂

138 pigeons dislike

Amazing song, but sadly not many people appreciate great work like this.

Love this guy...listened to him many years ago ......and it still sounds great......

The best way I ever heard Tom Lehrer described is Bo Burnham before Bo Burnham.

@anybody51, thank you so much! It's nice to hear that people are still playing the songs on vinyl. But the digital age has it's advantages too, because now you can get a whole uninterrupted Lehrer TV-performance on DVD. So...if you need an idea for a Christmas gift, open and read the channel description...

My dad made me listen to this as a kid and it was one of the songs I would sing out loud at school and made me the weird kid.

Songs back then were about Poisoning Pigeons in the Park. But now they are all about sadness, depression, and love. What has the world come to?

This is a song that I keep coming back to ever year or so and each time it seems to get better and better!

Spring is here, spring 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 every Sunday a treat for me All the world seems in tune on a spring afternoon When we're poisoning pigeons in the park Every 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 and hide But they still go for peanuts When coated with cyanide The sun's shining bright Everything seems all right When we're poisoning pigeons in the park We've gained notoriety And caused much anxiety In the Audobon 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 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

This man invented Jell-O shots.

My favorite line is "And maybe we'll do in a squirrel or two" He sounds so delightfully evil at that part.

The fact my ma and pa played this when i was younger and i still love this guy's songs. Some of the few songs i love from my childhood.