Poisoning Pigeons In The Park

Album: An Evening Wasted with Tom Lehrer (1959)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This was one of many songs discussed in the first episode of a short BBC Radio 4 series Taboo Be Doo which was broadcast in June 2011. Written and performed by Tom Lehrer, the presenter's view was that Lehrer was able to get away with this in an age when the censor was a lot busier and more powerful than today because of its ludicrous lyrical dissonance, which might be compared with the Frank Zappa track "Why Does It Hurt When I Pee?"
  • "Poisoning Pigeons In The Park" is a jaunty love song of sorts with deliberately awkward lyrics performed by Lehrer accompanying himself at the piano. Alas, he had to include that horrible grammatical error "try and hide" which can be found in numerous, and far more edifying songs, such as "Rocky Mountain High." >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Alexander Baron - London, England, for above 2

Comments: 1

  • Karen from Manchester, NhTom Lehrer had a ton of great songs; I'm amazed that there are only 5 listed here in "Songfacts"! A few that I remember just off the top of my head are "The Masochism Tango", "The Vatican Rag" and "New Math"!
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Gary Brooker of Procol Harum

Gary Brooker of Procol HarumSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer and pianist for Procol Harum, Gary talks about finding the musical ideas to match the words.

Andy McClusky of OMD

Andy McClusky of OMDSongwriter Interviews

Known in America for the hit "If You Leave," OMD is a huge influence on modern electronic music.

Waiting For The Break of Day: Three Classic Songs About All-Nighters

Waiting For The Break of Day: Three Classic Songs About All-NightersSong Writing

These Three famous songs actually describe how they were written - late into the evening.

Donald Fagen

Donald FagenSongwriter Interviews

Fagen talks about how the Steely Dan songwriting strategy has changed over the years, and explains why you don't hear many covers of their songs.

Graham Nash

Graham NashSongwriter Interviews

Graham Nash tells the stories behind some of his famous songs and photos, and is asked about "yacht rock" for the first time.

Michael Sweet of Stryper

Michael Sweet of StryperSongwriter Interviews

Find out how God and glam metal go together from the Stryper frontman.