The Vatican Rag

Last updated

"The Vatican Rag"
Song by Tom Lehrer
from the album That Was the Year That Was
Released1965
Recorded1965
Venue Hungry I, San Francisco, California, U.S.
Genre
Songwriter(s) Tom Lehrer
Audio

"The Vatican Rag" is a ragtime parody song by American satirist Tom Lehrer. The song purports to be a response to the Second Vatican Council, a meeting that proposed reforms to the Catholic Church. First performed in 1965, it is controversial for its irreverent depiction of Catholic traditions.

Contents

Music and lyrics

"The Vatican Rag" takes musical inspiration from ragtime pieces such as "Spaghetti Rag" (1910) and "The Varsity Drag" (1927). [1] [2] A spoken introduction describes the song as a response to the "Vatican II" council—which, among other things, broadened the range of music that could be used in services—and humorously proposes this rag as a more accessible alternative to traditional liturgical music. [3] [4] The song begins:

First you get down on your knees
Fiddle with your rosaries
Bow your head with great respect
And genuflect, genuflect, genuflect!

The lyrics mockingly list a number of Catholic rituals such as confession, the Eucharist, and Rosaries, and suggest the irony of modernizing an age-old institution like the church. [5] Amy Richlin notes that the song is funny "not only because of the words but because it's a rag". [1] According to Jesse David Fox of Vulture , "Lehrer doesn't just poke fun at a sacred cow, he slaughters it." [3] Eruptions of shock and laughter can be heard in recordings as the audience reacts to both the song's blasphemous tone and its creative rhymes. [6]

Composition and performances

In the early 1960s Lehrer wrote satiric topical songs for the US version of the television show That Was the Week That Was . [7] Inspired by the ongoing Second Vatican Council, he composed "The Vatican Rag" during this period, but he decided not to submit it because he thought the show would "[do the song] badly or [take] out the satiric parts". [5] [7] He instead debuted the song at the Hungry I in San Francisco in a series of shows that were recorded for his last album, That Was the Year That Was (1965). [7]

Lehrer later played "The Vatican Rag" in videotaped performances. In April 1967, he played the song on a benefit show for WNET-TV in New York, prompting hundreds of people to complain to the station. [8] [9] In September 1967, Lehrer included "The Vatican Rag" on his Live in Copenhagen TV special recorded in Denmark. [10]

Reception and legacy

Some Catholics criticized "The Vatican Rag" as blasphemous. [8] [11] [12] After one show at the Hungry I, Lehrer's performance of the song led to a confrontation with the actor Ricardo Montalbán, who happened to be in the audience. [13] [14] According to a former Hungry I bouncer, Montalbán approached Lehrer in a fit of rage, yelling, "I love my religion! I will die for my religion!" to which Lehrer responded: "Hey, no problem, as long as you don't fight for your religion." [13] In May 1967, a Putnam County, New York, schoolteacher used Lehrer's "Vatican Rag" and "National Brotherhood Week" as examples of modern satire for her seventh-grade class; the outcry was such that the school board banned the songs and censured the teacher, and she quit three months later and left the area. [9] [15] [16]

Conversely, fans of Lehrer consider the song one of his best compositions. [17] Vulture included the song on its 2016 list of "The 100 Jokes That Shaped Modern Comedy". [3] Stop the Church (1991), a short documentary about an HIV/AIDS demonstration in New York City, uses the song as the background music to church services. [11] [18] In 2000, "The Vatican Rag" was the last song played by the jazz radio station WNOP before it converted to a Catholic talk format. [19]

Related Research Articles

Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that had its peak from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated, or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott Joplin, James Scott and Joseph Lamb. Ragtime pieces are typically composed for and performed on piano, though the genre has been adapted for a variety of instruments and styles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Lehrer</span> American musician, satirist, and mathematician (born 1928)

Thomas Andrew Lehrer is an American musician, singer-songwriter, satirist, and mathematician, who later taught mathematics and musical theater. He recorded pithy and humorous songs that became popular in the 1950s and 1960s. His songs often parodied popular musical forms, though they usually had original melodies. An exception is "The Elements", in which he set the names of the chemical elements to the tune of the "Major-General's Song" from Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosary</span> Catholic sacramental and Marian devotion

The Rosary, also known as the Dominican Rosary, refers to a set of prayers used primarily in the Catholic Church, and to the physical string of knots or beads used to count the component prayers. When referring to the prayer, the word is usually capitalized ; when referring to the prayer beads as an object, it is written with a lower-case initial letter.

<i>An Evening Wasted with Tom Lehrer</i> 1959 live album by Tom Lehrer

An Evening Wasted with Tom Lehrer is an album recorded by Tom Lehrer, the well-known satirist and Harvard lecturer. The recording was made on March 20–21, 1959 in Sanders Theater at Harvard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Elements (song)</span> Song by Tom Lehrer and Arthur Sullivan

"The Elements" is a song by musical humorist, mathematician and lecturer Tom Lehrer, which recites the names of all the chemical elements known at the time of writing, up to number 102, nobelium. It was written in 1959 and can be found on his albums Tom Lehrer in Concert, More of Tom Lehrer and An Evening Wasted with Tom Lehrer. The song is sung to the tune of the "Major-General's Song" from The Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert and Sullivan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Genuflection</span> Bending a knee towards the ground

Genuflection or genuflexion is the act of bending a knee to the ground, as distinguished from kneeling which more strictly involves both knees. From early times, it has been a gesture of deep respect for a superior. Today, the gesture is common in the Christian religious practices of the Anglicanism, Lutheranism, the Catholic Church, and Western Rite Orthodoxy. The Latin word genuflectio, from which the English word is derived, originally meant kneeling with both knees rather than the rapid dropping to one knee and immediately rising that became customary in Western Europe in the Middle Ages. It is often referred to as "going down on one knee" or "bowing the knee". In Western culture, one genuflects on the left knee to a human dignitary, whether ecclesiastical or civil, while, in Christian churches and chapels, one genuflects on the right knee when the Sacrament is not exposed but in a tabernacle or veiled.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Percy Wenrich</span> American ragtime composer

Percy Wenrich was an American composer of ragtime and popular music. He is best known for writing the songs "Put on Your Old Grey Bonnet" and "When You Wore a Tulip and I Wore a Big Red Rose", along with the rag "The Smiler". For more than 15 years, Wenrich toured with his wife, vaudeville performer, Dolly Connolly; for whom he wrote several hit songs, including "Red Rose Rag", "Alamo Rag" and "Moonlight Bay". He was known throughout his lifetime as "The Joplin Kid".

<i>Fitness to Practice</i> 2004 studio album by Amateur Transplants

Fitness to Practice is a 2004 album produced for charity by Amateur Transplants. 10% of the profits from the album sales go to Macmillan Cancer Relief.

<i>That Was the Year That Was</i> 1965 live album by Tom Lehrer

That Was the Year That Was (1965) is a live album recorded at the hungry i in San Francisco, containing performances by Tom Lehrer of satiric topical songs he originally wrote for the NBC television series That Was The Week That Was, known informally as TW3 (1964–65). All of the songs related to items then in the news. The album peaked at #18 on Billboard's Top 200 Albums on January 8, 1966 and was on the chart for 51 weeks.

<i>Revisited</i> (Tom Lehrer album) 1960 live album by Tom Lehrer

Revisited is a 1960 album by Tom Lehrer, consisting of live recordings of all the songs from 1953's Songs by Tom Lehrer. The CD reissue of the album contains two additional tracks that Lehrer wrote and performed for the PBS television show The Electric Company.

<i>Songs by Tom Lehrer</i> 1953 studio album by Tom Lehrer

Songs by Tom Lehrer is the debut album of musical satirist Tom Lehrer, released in 1953 on his own label, Lehrer Records. In 2004 it was included into the National Recording Registry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georg Kreisler</span>

Georg Kreisler was an Austrian–American Viennese-language cabarettist, satirist, composer, and author. He was particularly popular in the 1950s and 1960s. From 2007 he lived in Salzburg, Austria, with his fourth wife, Barbara Peters. He died there on 22 November 2011 "after a severe infection," according to his wife Barbara.

<i>The Remains of Tom Lehrer</i> 2000 box set by Tom Lehrer

The Remains of Tom Lehrer is a box set containing all the songs from musical satirist Tom Lehrer's previous albums along with previously unreleased songs and his works featured on the public television show The Electric Company. Some of the songs from his debut album, Songs by Tom Lehrer, were re-recorded for the CD. The box set was released in 2000 and also includes a booklet with an introduction by Dr. Demento, pictures of various album covers and song books, reprints of the Mad magazine, prints of some of his songs, an extensive question-and-answer session and other information.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Catholic Mariology</span> Aspect of history

The history of Catholic Mariology traces theological developments and views regarding Mary from the early Church to the 21st century. Mariology is a mainly Catholic ecclesiological study within theology, which centers on the relation of Mary, the Mother of God, and the Church. Theologically, it not only deals with her life but with her veneration in life and prayer, in art, music, and architecture, from ancient Christianity to modern times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosary and scapular</span> Christian devotional articles

The exact origins of both the rosary and scapular are subject to debate among scholars. Pious tradition maintains that both the rosary and the brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel were given by the Virgin Mary to Dominic and Simon Stock respectively during the 13th century. Historical records document their growth during the 16th and 17th centuries in Europe. By the early 20th century, they had gained such a strong following among Catholics worldwide that Josef Hilgers, writing in the Catholic Encyclopedia of 1914, stated: "Like the Rosary, the Brown scapular has become the badge of the devout Catholic."

James Clifford Timlin was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Scranton in Pennsylvania from 1984 to 2003. Timlin was accused in a 2018 Pennsylvania grand jury report of covering up sexual abuse crimes by priests in his diocese during his tenure as bishop.

Lewis F. Muir, born Louis Meuer was an American composer and ragtime pianist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holy Family Church, Gaza</span> Only Catholic parish in Gaza

The Holy Family Church of Gaza City is the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip, State of Palestine. The parish includes a school which provides a Christian education to children in Gaza, and it works closely with the nearby religious congregations of the Missionaries of Charity, Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matará, and the Rosary Sisters. The Missionaries of Charity care for the elderly and disabled, and the Rosary Sisters operate a school. The community is served by priests from the Institute of the Incarnate Word.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lyons and Yosco</span> Musical artist

Lyons and Yosco were an American comedy duo, consisting of Italian American musicians George Lyons and Bob Yosco. They were defined by the Ottawa Evening Journal "the finest pair of Italian street musicians playing in the Vaudeville ranks." They toured the United States from 1909 into 1923, doing a musical and comedy act. The News Journal described their performance, saying they were "the best vocalists and instrumentalists of the street variety on the stage, proved intensely interesting, while their droll comedy kept the audience laughing much of the time."

References

  1. 1 2 Richlin, Amy (December 12, 2005). "Introduction". Rome and the Mysterious Orient: Three Plays by Plautus (PDF). University of California Press. p. 50. ISBN   9780520938229.
  2. Blacker, Terence. "The Anno Domini Rag – The Story of a Song". terenceblacker.com. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 Fox, Jesse David (January 2016). "The 100 Jokes That Shaped Modern Comedy". Vulture . Retrieved November 3, 2023.
  4. "Papal Get Ready: Songs About the Pope". The New Yorker . February 27, 2013. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
  5. 1 2 Harris, Alana (November 1, 2015). "Chapter 1: Introduction – A Vatican rag". Faith in the Family: A Lived Religious History of English Catholicism 1945–82. Manchester University Press. ISBN   9781526102447.
  6. Bianculli, David (April 30, 2010). "Tom Lehrer: '60s Satirist Still Strikes A Chord". Fresh Air . NPR . Retrieved November 3, 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 Hinckley, David (June 8, 1998). "Nuclear Tests Make Tom Lehrer Relevant Again". Chicago Tribune . Archived from the original on October 12, 2023.
  8. 1 2 Cohn, Al (May 16, 1967). "Nasty Tom Keeps Coming Back Like a Song". Newsday . p. 3A via Newspapers.com.
  9. 1 2 Folsom, Merrill (May 12, 1967). "Tom Lehrer Song Barred at School" . The New York Times . p. 49 via TimesMachine.
  10. "Tom Lehrer – Live In Copenhagen 1967". New Hampshire PBS . Retrieved November 3, 2023.
  11. 1 2 Masters, Kim (August 14, 1991). "Here is 'The Church'". The Washington Post . Retrieved November 3, 2023.
  12. "Stop clapping, this is serious". The Sydney Morning Herald . March 1, 2003. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
  13. 1 2 Nachman, Gerald (August 26, 2009). Seriously Funny: The Rebel Comedians of the 1950s and 1960s. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. p. 143. ISBN   9780307490728 via Google Books.
  14. Reynolds, Alan (April 1, 2013). "Whatever Happened to Tom Lehrer?". The American Spectator . Retrieved November 3, 2023.
  15. "2 Songs Played In Class Bring Teacher Reprimand". The Standard-Star. New Rochelle, New York. May 26, 1967. p. 20 via Newspapers.com.
  16. "Teacher Out After Row On Record Plays". The Reporter Dispatch . August 18, 1967. p. 17 via Newspapers.com.
  17. Schnedler, Jack (April 11, 2010). "Pop Notes: 'Vatican Rag,' many more lively Lehrer oldies". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette . Retrieved November 3, 2023.
  18. Bernstein, Sharon (September 6, 1991). "KCET Unworthy of Public Support, Mahony Declares" . Los Angeles Times . Retrieved November 3, 2023.
  19. "Rosemary and Mark Schlachter". Showcase with Barbara Kellar. PBS. January 30, 2021. Event occurs at 10:20. Retrieved November 3, 2023.