Lobachevsky Songtext
von Tom Lehrer

Who made me the genius I am today.
The mathematician that others all quote.
Who's the professor that made me that way?
The greatest that ever got chalk on his coat.
One man deserves the credit, one man deserves the blame and Nicolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky is his name.
Ay, Nicolai Ivanovich Lobachev.
I am never forget the day, I first meet the great Lobachevsky: In one word he told me the secret of success in mathematics, plagiarize.
Plagiarize, let no one elses work evade your eyes.
Remember why the good lord made your eyes, so don't shade your eyes but plagiarize, plagiarize, plagiarize.
Only be sure always to call it please 'research'.
And ever since I meet this man my life is not the same and Nicolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky is his name.
Ay, Nicolai Ivanovich Lobachev.
I am never forget the day, I'm given first original paper to write.
It was on analytic and algebraic topology of locally Euclidean parameterization of infinitely differentiable Riemannian manifold.
Bozhe moi!
This I now from nothing, what I'm going to do?
I think of great Lobachevsky and I get idea, Haha!
I have a friend in Minsk, who has a friend in Pinsk, whose friend in Omsk has friend in Tomsk, with friend in Akmolinsk.
His friend in Alexandrovsk, has friend in Petropavlovsk, whose friend somehow is solving now the problem in Dnepropetrovsk.
And when his work is done, Haha begins the fun.


From Dnepropetrovsk to Petropavlovsk, by way of Iliysk and Novorossiysk.
To Alexandrovsk and Akmolinsk, to Tomsk, to Omsk, to Pinsk, to Minsk, to me the news will run.
Yes, to me the news will run.
And then I write by morning, night, and afternoon, and pretty soon my name in Dnepropetrovsk is cursed.
When he finds out I publish first.
And who made me a big success and brought me wealth and fame?
Nicolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky is his name.
Ay, Nicolai Ivanovich Lobachev.
I am never forget the day, my first book is published.
Every chaper I stole from somewhere else, index I copied from old Vladivostok telephone directory.
This book was sensational!
Pravda - well, Pravda - Pravda said: "
Zhil-bil korol kogda-to, pree nyom blokha zhila" It stinks.
But Izvestia!
Izvestia said: "
Ya idoo kuda sam czar idyot peshkom!" It stinks.
Metro-Goldwyn-Moskva buys movie rights for six million rubles, Changing title to '
The Eternal Triangle', With Ingrid Bergman playing part of hypotenuse.
And who deserves the credit?
And who deserves the blame?
Nicolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky is his name.
Ay.