Re: Followup on Lehrer's HCKC... PW! & errata

[Jonathan Zimet <jdz...>]

Hi, Marvin (and everyone),
         I asked and received the source concerning the origins of this 
song (which, yes, is by Tom Lehrer).
         BTW, my friend also supplied the lyrics that I'm familiar with 
(tho who knows, maybe he used different ones in the live show than on the 
CD).  I'd never heard about the "baby in his cradle" -- maybe he Anglicized 
the line to a really gentile audience.     Jonathan

[1]   At 01:50 AM 12/9/02 -0500, Charlie Baum wrote:
>From: http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node=Boston
>"A song by Tom Lehrer, written in 1944. It was performed live during an 
>interview on what is now WMBR, the MIT radio station. As usual, Tom Lehrer 
>introduces his own song:
>     This is a song, though, that I wrote when I first came to Cambridge, 
> 20 years ago. And when I first took the subway ride from Cambridge into 
> Boston, I noticed the subway stations on the line had this interesting 
> property.
>
>   H is for my alma mater Harvard,
>   C is Central, next stop on the line,
>   K is for the cozy Kendall station, and
>   C is Charles that overlooks the brine... a -
>   P is Park St...Pahk Street, busy Boston center, and
>   W is Washington you see...
>   Put them all together, they spell...
>   HCKC... PW... (sounds like somebody spitting)
>   Which is just about what Boston means to me!  "
>
>Also see: 
>http://ericps.crc.uiuc.edu/~bip/funstuff/lyrics/boston.html      [The 
>comment there, unsigned, is:   "About a year ago, I talked with a friend 
>up at MIT, and he had on reel-to-reel an interview w Tom Lehrer. Two songs 
>that did not appear on any of his albums included a cover of The 50 
>Russian Composers (similar in idea to The Elements) and this interesting 
>song about Boston (my home) both which he plays live on the tape that I 
>have. . . . .  "
>
>Jonathan Zimet wrote [to Charlie]:
> >      ...I mentioned the Harvard/Central etc. song you've sung.   (Now 
> that I recall, I think you said it was *not* on his recent CD 
> collection).      But whence do you know that ... ?
> >     Hckc Pw!
> >     Jonathan
>
> > >From: "Marvin" <physchem (at) telocity(dot)com>
> > >To: World music from a Jewish slant <jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org>
> > >2002 10:35:45 -0800 (PST), Jonathan Zimet wrote:
> > >    Hey, when I looked at the list of his songs, I didn't see another 
> recent creation a friend of mine has sung, that is attributed to Tom Lehrer:
> > >"H" is for Harvard, that bastion of time ....
> > >and that's what Boston subways mean to me."
>
> > >My wife and I have been Lehrer fans since his early days, when he 
> taught math at Harvard.  My wife remembers him playing at parties when 
> she was a student in Boston, and most people didn't pay him any 
> attention.  I think I'd know the song if it is his, and we don't.  I 
> don't even think it as clever as his songs.


[2]  Date: Mon, 09 Dec 2002 01:40:13 -0500
        From: Charlie Baum <chbaum (at) earthlink(dot)net>
  I believe the correct line is:
"Every California Meidl'll find me playing with my dreidl."
Also: "And come out here 'til Purim" (not "for Purim")
--Charlie