At 92, this mathematician turned songwriter put every lyric and every score he had ever written online and told the world to help itself — copyright and all, permanently and irrevocably.
The full story
In October 2020, at 92, Tom Lehrer published the lyrics and sheet music of his entire catalogue for free download and announced he was relinquishing the copyrights. A signed disclaimer dated 26 November 2022 states that all copyrights to lyrics or music he wrote have been 'permanently and irrevocably relinquished, and therefore such songs are now in the public domain', granting anyone the right to perform, record, translate or adapt them without payment or permission. He died in July 2025 at 97.
The clues we handed out
— The disclaimer he signed grants anyone the right to perform, record, translate or adapt the work, with no payment and no permission required.
— He had stopped performing decades before, and taught for a living instead.
— The songs are comic, precise, and frequently about subjects nobody else would set to a piano.
— He taught mathematics at Harvard and at Santa Cruz, and died in 2025 at the age of 97.
— Initials: T.L.
How this case played
ALLEGEDLY* edition No. 70. Three strikes to name Tom Lehrer, with a free clue
unlocked after every miss.
*A blind item you can check. Every puzzle is drawn from the public record —
court records, official rulings, and moments that unfolded on live television — and the
records are linked above. Allegedly.
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