[I’m Spending] Ḥanukkah in Santa Monica, by Tom Lehrer (1990)

Contributor(s):

Tom Lehrer

Shared on:

23 February 2023 under the Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication

Categories:

Ḥanukkah

Tags:

58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, American Jewry of the United States, satire, 20th century C.E., זמירות zemirot

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Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	I’m spending Ḥanukkah In Santa Monica. Wearing sandals, Lighting candles By the sea. I spent Shevuos In East St. Louis, A charming spot But clearly not The spot for me.
	Those Eastern winters, I can’t endure ’em, So ev’ry year I pack my gear And come out here Till Purim.
	Rosh Hashonah I spend in Arizonah, And Yorn Kippuh [Southern accent] Way down in Mississippuh, But in December there’s just one place for me.
	Amid the California flora I’ll be lighting my menorah, Like a baby in his cradle I’ll be playing with my dreidel, Here’s to Judas Maccabeus, Boy, if he could only see us, Spending Ḥanukkah In Santa Monica By the sea.

“[I’m Spending] Hanukkah in Santa Monica” by Tom Lehrer was first written at the request of Garrison Keillor for his radio show The American Radio Company on which it was performed twice, in 1990 and 1992. The song was later released on the album, Bible & Beyond (Larry Milder, 1999). The first recording of Tom Lehrer singing his song can be heard on The Remains of Tom Lehrer (Disc 3) (2000). In 2022, Tom Lehrer gave an enormous Ḥanukkah present to the world, dedicating his entire oeuvre to the Public Domain including this song.

Recordings

Source(s)

. Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike . 4.0 . International .

“[I’m Spending] Ḥanukkah in Santa Monica, by Tom Lehrer (1990)” is shared by the living contributor(s) with a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International copyleft license.

Tom Lehrer

Thomas Andrew Lehrer (born 9 April 1928) 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. Lehrer's early performances dealt with non-topical subjects and dark humor in songs such as "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park". In the 1960s, he produced songs about timely social and political issues, particularly for the U.S. version of the television show That Was the Week That Was. The popularity of these songs has far outlasted their topical subjects and references. Lehrer quoted a friend's explanation: "Always predict the worst and you'll be hailed as a prophet." In the early 1970s, Lehrer largely retired from public performance to devote his time to teaching mathematics and musical theater history at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Stable Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=49029

Associated Image:

“Chabad in S. Monica (Chabad on 17th), kicked off the Hanukkah holiday celebration with a large group of community members, visitors, and tourists, on the west end of the Pier.” (Chabad in Santa Monica, Ḥanukkah 5783/2022)

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ויהי נעם אדני אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננהו "May the pleasantness of אדֹני our elo’ah be upon us; may our handiwork be established for us — our handiwork, may it be established."–Psalms 90:17