Tom Lehrer

By SHARON SNYDER
Los Alamos

Los Alamos has lost a friend. Tom Lehrer, musician and mathematician, died July 26 in Cambridge, Mass., at age 97.

Some people will not recognize the name. but those who date back to the 1950s on the Hill and those who were in college in the ‘50s and ’60 s remember Lehrer’s songs, most of them written by Tom himself. They were light and fun.

Just a few years ago, Liz Martineau, Gordon McDonough, and I got the idea of playing Lehrer’s music in the Bethe House for visitors to enjoy. We had old records to make that idea possible, but we felt that we should ask Tom’s  permission. Gordon McDonough and I both contacted Tom, and he was pleased to be asked by Los Alamos people from “the Hill”.  That time period in Los Alamos wasn’t long, but it was one he remembered.

As a mathematician, he worked briefly for Stan Ulam and remembered meeting Enrico Fermi. “He asked me if I had change for a dime, and as it happened, I did,” Lehrer said.

Lehrer was noted for his satire in songs. When McDonough worked at the Bradbury Science Museum, they used The Elements Song. That was one of Lehrer’s most memorable. The song was based on all the elements on the Periodic Table. Many young students used that song to learn the chart in chemistry!

In the 70s he returned to his academic career at the University of California, Santa Cruz where he taught until retirement.

Some people from Los Alamos may remember these lyrics:

Makin’ Love, Los Alamos Style
Words & music by Tom Lehrer
August 1952

I still can see her standin’ there
A Geiger counter in her hair
That wonderful day we met beside the pile
We might make beautiful bombs together
‘Twas love, Los Alamos style.

Sleep well, good friend!