Ah, now you’ve got me singing:
Hooray for New Math,
New-hoo-hoo Math,
It won’t do you a bit of good to review math.
It’s so simple,
So very simple,
That only a child can do it!
Considering that most of the songs were written over 50 years ago, they stand up remarkably well. Hard to believe that his entire musical output consists of only 37 songs.
Many of his songs were written for the TV show, “That Was the Week That Was,” and thus were topical. Topical songs normally don’t last.
My favorite segment is from a song, “Who’s Got The Bomb?” about nuclear proliferation, where he humorously lists all the countries who are seeking an atom bomb. When he gets to the mideast, the music turns Oud-y and very Arabic:
Who’s next?
Egypt’s gonna get one, too.
Just to use on ‘you-know-who.’
then changes to a hora tune:
And Israel’s getting tense,
wants one in self-defense.
The Lord’s my shepherd, says the psalm,
But just in case,
We better get a bomb!
re: Pi Day Carols
Also, the song, Lobachevsky (
Plagiarize,
Let no one else’s work evade your eyes,
Remember why the good Lord made your eyes,
So don’t shade your eyes,
But plagiarize, plagiarize, plagiarize…
Only be sure always to call it please research)
is a Math song that can be sung for Pi Day.