Poisoning Pigeons In The Park

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."