Before attending college, Lehrer graduated from the Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor, Connecticut. As an undergraduate student at Harvard University, he began to write comic songs to entertain his friends, including Fight Fiercely, Harvard (1945). Those songs later became (in a joking reference to a leading scientific journal, The Physical Review) The Physical Revue. Influenced mainly by musical theater, his style consisted of parodying then-current forms of popular song. For example, his appreciation of list songs led him to set the names of the chemical elements to the tune of Gilbert and Sullivan's "Major-General's Song".
Inspired by the success of his performances of his songs, he paid for some studio time to record an album, Songs By Tom Lehrer, which he sold by mail order. Self-published and unpromoted, the album, which included the macabre (I Hold Your Hand in Mine), the mildly risqué (Be Prepared), and the mathematical (Lobachevsky), became a success via word of mouth. With a cult hit, he embarked on a series of concert tours and released a second album, which came in two versions: the songs were the same but More Songs by Tom Lehrer was studio-recorded, while An Evening Wasted with Tom Lehrer was recorded live in concert.
Lehrer's major break into the United Kingdom came as a result of the citation accompanying an honorary degree given to Princess Margaret, where she cited musical tastes as "catholic, ranging from Mozart to Tom Lehrer". This produced significant interest in his works, and helped secure distributors for his material. Ironically, it was in the UK where his music ended up more popular due to the proliferation of university newspapers referring to the material, and the willingness of the BBC to play his songs on the radio (something that was a rarity in the USA).
By the early 1960s, Lehrer had retired from touring (which he intensely disliked) and was employed as the resident songwriter for the US edition of That Was The Week That Was (TW3), a satirical TV show. An increased proportion of his output became overtly political, or at least topical, on subjects such as pollution (Pollution), Vatican II (The Vatican Rag), race relations (National Brotherhood Week), education (New Math), American militarism (Send the Marines), World War III nostalgia (So Long, Mom, premiered by Steve Allen), and nuclear proliferation (Who's Next? and MLF Lullaby). He also wrote a song which satirized the alleged amorality of Wernher von Braun. A selection of these songs was released in the album That Was The Year That Was.
The record deal with Reprise Records for the That Was The Year That Was album also gave Reprise distribution rights for Lehrer's earlier recordings, as Lehrer wanted to shut down his own Lehrer Records. The Reprise issue of Songs by Tom Lehrer was a stereo re-recording. This version was not issued on CD, but the songs were issued on the live Tom Lehrer Revisited on CD instead.
There is an urban legend that Lehrer gave up political satire when the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Henry Kissinger in 1973. He did say that the awarding of the prize to Kissinger made political satire obsolete, but has denied that he stopped doing satire as a form of protest, and asserts that he had stopped doing satire several years earlier. Another urban legend held that he had been sued for libel by the subject of one of his songs, Wernher Von Braun, and been forced to relinquish all of his royalty income to Von Braun. However, Lehrer firmly denied this in an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald. (He had also mentioned Frank Fontaine and Jerry Lewis in "National Brotherhood Week", in an uncomplimentary context, on the same album, but nothing resulted from that.)
When asked about his reasons for abandoning his musical career, he cited a simple lack of interest, a distaste for touring, and boredom with performing the same songs repeatedly. He has observed that when he was moved to write and perform songs, he did; when he wasn't, he didn't, and after a while the latter situation prevailed. It has been frequently observed that, though many of Lehrer's songs satirized the Cold War political establishment of the day, that he stopped writing and performing just as the 1960s counterculture movement gained momentum. Lehrer has stated that he doubts his songs had an impact on those not already critical of the establishment: "I don't think this kind of thing has an impact on the unconverted, frankly. It's not even preaching to the converted; it's titillating the converted... I'm fond of quoting Peter Cook, who talked about the satirical Berlin cabarets of the '30s, which did so much to stop the rise of Hitler and prevent the Second World War."
Lehrer's musical career was notably brief, stating in an interview in the late 90s that he had performed a mere 109 shows, and written 37 songs across his 20-year career. Nevertheless, the cult following that had grown around his music significantly bolstered the effect that he had on a global scale.
In the 1970s, Lehrer concentrated on teaching mathematics and musical theater, although he also wrote 10 songs for the children's television show The Electric Company. (Harvard schoolmate Joe Raposo was the show's musical director for its first three seasons.) In the early 1980s, Tom Foolery, a revival of his songs on the London stage, was a surprise hit. Although not its instigator, Lehrer eventually gave it his full support and updated several of his lyrics for the production.
On 7 June and 8 June 1998, Tom Lehrer performed in public for the first time in 25 years at the Lyceum Theatre, London as part of the gala show Hey Mr Producer! celebrating the career of impresario Cameron Mackintosh (who had been the producer of Tom Foolery). The 8 June show has been his only performance before the Queen. Lehrer sang Poisoning Pigeons in the Park and an updated version of "Who's Next". The DVD of the event includes the former song.
In 2000, a CD box set, The Remains of Tom Lehrer, was released by Rhino Entertainment. It included live and studio versions of his first two albums, That Was The Year That Was, the songs he wrote for The Electric Company, and some previously unreleased material, accompanied by a small hardbound book containing an introduction by Dr. Demento and lyrics to all the songs.
Lehrer celebrated his 80th birthday on April 9th 2008.
Be Prepared
Tom Lehrer Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Be prepared! As through life you march along.
Be prepared to hold your liquor pretty well,
Don't write naughty words on walls if you can't spell.
Be prepared! To hide that pack of cigarettes,
Don't make book if you cannot cover bets.
Keep those reefers hidden where you're sure
And be careful not to smoke them
When the scoutmaster's around
For he only will insist that it be shared.
Be prepared!
Be prepared! That's the Boy Scouts' solemn creed,
Be prepared! And be clean in word and deed.
Don't solicit for your sister, that's not nice,
Unless you get a good percentage of her price.
Be prepared! And be careful not to do
Your good deeds when there's no one watching you.
If you're looking for adventure of a
new and different kind,
And you come across a Girl Scout who is
similarly inclined,
Don't be nervous, don't be flustered, don't be scared.
Be prepared!
In Tom Lehrer's song "Be Prepared," the lyrics are a humorous take on the solemn creed of the Boy Scouts, warning young boys about some of the vices they might be tempted to indulge in as they grow up. The song advises boys to be prepared for life's challenges, both big and small: from holding their liquor well and not misspelling words when defacing public property, to hiding their cigarettes and refraining from gambling unless they can afford the loss.
The song also adds a warning to young scouts to keep their marijuana use on the down-low, lest they get caught by their scoutmaster. In a lighthearted tone, the song suggests that if the scoutmaster does find a stash of marijuana, he might just insist on sharing it.
Line by Line Meaning
Be prepared! That's the Boy Scout's marching song,
Always be ready and prepared. It's the Boy Scouts' anthem that they sing as they go on about their activities.
Be prepared! As through life you march along.
As you continue to journey through life, always be prepared for whatever comes your way.
Be prepared to hold your liquor pretty well,
Learn to have high alcohol tolerance and to drink responsibly.
Don't write naughty words on walls if you can't spell.
If you cannot spell swear words correctly, don't even bother writing them all over the walls.
Be prepared! To hide that pack of cigarettes,
Be ready to conceal the cigarette pack from anyone who may disapprove of smoking.
Don't make book if you cannot cover bets.
Don't enter into bookmaking and gambling if you don't have the means to pay off your debt.
Keep those reefers hidden where you're sure / That they will not be found / And be careful not to smoke them / When the scoutmaster's around / For he only will insist that it be shared.
Hide your weed stash in a secure spot, and refrain from smoking when the scoutmaster is in the vicinity, else he'll demand to share it with you.
Be prepared! That's the Boy Scouts' solemn creed,
Being ready for anything is the oath of the Boy Scouts.
Be prepared! And be clean in word and deed.
Be always ready and act with impeccable character and cleanliness.
Don't solicit for your sister, that's not nice, / Unless you get a good percentage of her price.
Don't pimp out your relatives unless you get a fair cut from their earning.
Be prepared! And be careful not to do / Your good deeds when there's no one watching you.
Be vigilant and don't do good deeds only when someone is watching. Do them even when no one is keeping tabs.
If you're looking for adventure of a / new and different kind, / And you come across a Girl Scout who is / similarly inclined, / Don't be nervous, don't be flustered, don't be scared.
If you're seeking a unique and unfamiliar thrill and you encounter a girl scout who has the same goals and interests as you, don't lose your nerve.
Be prepared!
Always be prepared.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
BubbleboyKidsTV
The part where the scoutmaster insists that the reefers be shared kills me everytime because it’s so true
John Burt
My sincere thanks to Tom for repudiating his copyright to all of his music - a glorious gift to humanity.
Anik Samiur Rahman
Now I understand why in Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality Prof. Michael only sang Harry only those 4 lines.
Shane
I love how that story is also why I googled this song and yours was the top comment!!!
warlock415
The Harry Potter in question was raised by a scientist. Context: "I am being prudent. I am being cautious. I am preparing for unforeseen contingencies. Like my parents used to sing to me: Be prepared! That's the Boy Scout's marching song! Be prepared! As through life you march along! Don't be nervous, don't be flustered, don't be scared - be prepared!" (Harry's parents had in fact only ever sung him those particular lines of that Tom Lehrer song, and Harry was blissfully unaware of the rest.)
Ethan Gray
Lol. That's exactly where I just came from.
Marshall Garey
@The Buddha - me, too. I've been listening to the Methods of Rationality podcast, and just had to fine out what this song actually is.
Quintusblake
thats why im here?
Jess Christiansen
LOL, I'm from that very tale as well; it rocks!
Appolyon
Fun fact: "Lehrer" is the german word for teacher. And with this song Tom Lehrer teaches us some life lessons. ;)