As a faculty brat trying to grow up on a college campus I learned these lyrics sometime in the 60s... Tom Lehrer rings a certain bell, perhaps, mebbe...? Only the two verses & chorus though, "In an anarchist's garret so lowly and so mean Oh smell the pungent odor of nitroglycereen, They're busy making fuses, And filling cans with nails While the little Slavic children Set up this mournful wail.... (Chorus) It's sister Jenny's turn to throw the bomb The last one was thrown by brother Tom Poor Mama's aim is bad And the kopskis all know Dad So it's sister Jenny's turn to throw the bomb" For the life of me I cannot now remember the exact words of the second verse. For that I must blame my sophomore (& senior) year room-mate, Jan Tyler Andrus. Jan, who sadly left us far too early, was an extraordinarily versatile musician, an incredibly talented artist & a gentleman of the highest order. He heard me croaking this song one day, & forced me to teach it to him, an addition to his coffee shop repertoire. I recall I next heard him strumming it, in a smoke filled basement of a freshman girl's dorm, and Jan had "corrupted" the song, amending that second verse to: Sister Jenny took the bomb, she feared the worst, said Mama "Don't get caught like Patty Hearst" And as the party waited While the dawn turned into day The little Slavic children Set up this mournful lay.... (Chorus) It's brother Ivanovitch's turn to throw the bomb Sister Jenny's gone the way of brother Tom Poor Mama's aim is bad And the kopskis all know Dad So it's brother Ivanovitch's turn to throw the bomb (Again) Poor Mama's aim is bad And the kopskis all know Dad (last 3 words spoken) So it's brother Ivanovitch's t u r n t o t h r o w t h e bommmmmmb! (The ending draws out & goes up in a Tom Lehrer fashion, which leads me to suspect that origin) Needless to say Jan's updating the song, making it "relevant" in language of our youth, is the ONLY version my brain can hold to this very day. It's possible we did this together spring '74, but more likely it was that fall. Either way Jan's genius brought brought new life, and meaning, to an old, favourite classic. I still croak it from time to time, & NOBODY has ever heard it before... Thanks for the moment in time, Rivo!!! Bruce
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