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Subscribe to RSSSo you think that the spells that Harry Potter casts are tongue-twisters? I'm betting none of the ancient incantations thrown around in the upcoming "Deathly Hallows" movie can hold a candle to the patter song that Daniel Radcliffe reeled off during a recent appearance on the BBC's "Graham Norton Show." And not just any song: It's "The Elements," the classic rendition of the periodic table that was penned by musical humorist Tom Lehrer and set to the tune of "The Major General's Song" from Gilbert and Sullivan's "Pirates of Penzance."
Since Lehrer wrote that song in 1959, several other elements have been "discahvah'd," including bohrium, copernicium, darmstadtium, dubnium, hassium, lawrencium, meitnerium, roentgenium, rutherfordium and seaborgium. Add in the synthetic, not quite named elements -- such as ununhexium, ununoctium, ununpentium, ununquadium and ununtrium -- and you've got a real tongue-twister. Or is that a magic spell?
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Tom Lehrer was and is a musical and comedic genius and is under-appreciated. His comedy albums are among my favorite. Who can forget songs like THE MASOCHISM TANGO or THE VATICAN RAG and all the others.
He wrote songs for THE ELECTRIC COMPANY and THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS.
Despite the fact that the Brits did a musical revue of his more popular work (TOMFOOLERY) he remains largely unknown.
Good for Daniel Radcliffe, I wish I could see the show but I no longer subscribe to BBC USA which used to air Graham Norton here on Saturday nights. Rats.
"Before you here I stand/My heart is in my hand...eew"
Funniest line ever. He was a great comic.
That is awesome. Hats off to Mr Radcliffe, a great job.
Please don't say "was" - as far as we know, he's still alive.
My personal favorite is his Christmas Carol, but I did like the masochism tango. And the line Henry quoted from the masochism tango...
"On Christmas Day you can't get sore,
Your fellow man you must adore,
There's time to rob him all the more
The other three hundred and sixty-four."
The man does understand human nature...
Good point. At least according to Wikipedia he is still alive. 82, but alive.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Lehrer
Woo Hoo!! That certainly was tongue twister. Another great Tom Lehrer song: Poisoning Pigeons in the Park.