Song by Tom Lehrer. Let me say it again: the best bit of these works is the tune. This one is a
strong piece of satire about NASA's reliance on a man with a Past; someone who was more interested in the
technology than its applications. Here are the words:
Spoken Intro
...And what is it that put America in the forefront of the nuclear nations? And what is it
that will make it possible to spend twenty billion dollars of your money to put some clown on the moon?
Well, it was good old American know how, that's what, as provided by good old Americans like Dr. Wernher
von Braun!
Song Begins
Gather round while I sing you of Wernher von Braun
A man whose allegiance
Is ruled by expedience
Call him a Nazi, he won't even frown
"Ha, Nazi schmazi," says Wernher von Braun
Don't say that he's hypocritical
Say rather that he's apolitical
"Once the rockets are up, who cares where they come down
That's not my department," says Wernher von Braun
Some have harsh words for this man of renown
But some think our attitude
Should be one of gratitude
Like the widows and cripples in old London town
Who owe their large pensions to Wernher von Braun
You too may be a big hero
Once you've learned to count backwards to zero
"In German oder English I know how to count down
Und I'm learning Chinese," says Wernher von Braun
© Tom Lehrer- lyrics appear with his written permission. First appeared on That Was the Year That Was (1965). CST Approved.