MUSICAL UNDERPINNINGS: "The Elements", Tom Lehrer, 1959.
PARODY COMPOSED: Giorgio Coniglio, 2013. A decade later, it might be worthwhile to review these lyrics again.
Please note that T.L.'s genius has provided inspiration for a handful of other parody patter-songs; these are summarized at the bottom of this post.
EXPLANATION: Lehrer had adapted the tune from "The Major General's Song" from Gilbert and Sullivan's "Pirates of Penzance". There are 3 somewhat different melodies/chord-sequences used in alteration through the GandS song, and in Lehrer's derived spoof.
PARODY-LYRICS LINK: The lyrics for this song constituted one of Giorgio's earliest submissions to the online parody-lyrics website at AmIRight.com.
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| most names for elements are neutral Latin nouns |
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| the Roman empire included England |
(Click on any chord-chart slide to move to 'song-presentation mode'; then navigate through thumbnails at bottom of page.)
The Patter-Song Lyrics:
There's [G]stratum, alum, [D7]allium, al[G]luvium et [D7]alia,
And [G]mom's pouch called mar[C]supium, but [G]mostly [D7]in Aus[G]tralia.
Singable Introduction:
Tom Lehrer became a legend with his scientific patter-song,
More popular and loved than his unpublished “Anti-Matter Song”;
Enhancing humdrum discourse, just to quote his ode lends elegance
To conversation thrumming with the spectrum of the Elements.
We face this glum conundrum as alumni of Philology:
Lay-folk would like a list replete with Latin etymology
The possibilities for neutral nouns in -U-M loom awesome;
No need to invoke hokum terms like tantrum or opossum, chum.
Patter-Song Lyrics:
There’s atrium, asylum, arboretum, auditorium
Compendium and modicum and rostrum, crematorium
And coliseum, quantum, condominium, euphonium
And album, acetabulum, museum, pandemonium.
There’s maximum and minimum and optimum and medium
And opium, opprobrium, colloquium and tedium
Colostrum, serum, sputum, sebum, labium, meconium
And sternum, talcum, ovum, nostrum, and spermatogonium.
Caladium, nasturtium and laburnum and geranium
And sacrum, c(a)ecum, ischium and tympanum and cranium
Consortium, memorandum, and symposium and podium
And duodenum, datum, vacuum, ultimatum, odium.
There’s pablum, perineum, paramecium, petroleum
And locum and inoculum, lyceum and linoleum
And tritium, deuterium, trapezium and trillium
Mycelium, flagellum, endothelium and cilium.
There’s quorum and decorum, mausoleum, moratorium
And premium, per-annum, honorarium, emporium
And pendulum and forum, fulcrum, speculum, bacterium
And cerebellum, plenum, sum, curriculum, delirium.
Gymnasium and stadium and magnum and terrarium
Solarium, momentum, myocardium, aquarium
And scrotum and factotum and postpartum and continuum
And spectrum, referendum, rectum and … (What’s left?) residuum.
Addendum #1
To plural them, heads swirling them, “What single rule? — please answer, Pa”.
My dictum, “Don’t inflict ’em with erratums or chrysanthema !”
Click on any chord chart to enlarge and enter thumbnail mode (the slides for both the parody and the original versions can then be enlarged and viewed in any order).
Readers are asked to honour the original artists' creativity, and to use the slides of the original song-lyrics only to ensure familiarity with the suggested style for the spoof version.
T.L. inspired a whole platterful of songs related to our interest in (i) grammatically paired words, including binomials and reduplications, and (ii) Latin loanwords. And, you should have your foot in the door, having mastered the complexities of singing and playing our above offering "Alliterative Binomials". So, enjoy singing and playing these as well !!!
1a. "Alliterative Binomials, part#1"
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| of the original songs in our parody suite about word-pairs, 7/9 pay tribute to the work of Tom Lehrer |
There seem to be no published examples of phrases based on the neutral nouns !!!
Ave, Eva. (Hail, Eve !)
Sum summus mus. (I am the top mouse)
Et tiger non regit te. (And the tiger doesn't rule thee).
Aures serua. (Safeguard your ears).
Sator Arepo Tenet Opera Rotas. (The famous "Sator Square" - can be read either horizontally or vertically)
Roma tibi subito motibus ibit amor. (In Rome, love will go to you suddenly)
few English words ending in -UM
are not of Latin origin
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