A funny song from 1959.
Words and music by Tom Lehrer.
The sheet music:
Accompaniment by James Pitt-Payne:
Lyrics
From the Bible to the popular song
There’s one theme that we find right along
Of all ideals they hail as good
The most sublime is motherhood
There was a man though, who it seems
Once carried this ideal to extremes
He loved his mother and she loved him
And yet his story is rather grim
There once lived a man named Oedipus Rex
You may have heard about his odd complex
His name appears in Freud’s index
‘Cause he loved his mother
His rivals used to say quite a bit
That as a monarch he was most unfit
But still in all they had to admit
That he loved his mother
Yes, he loved his mother like no other
His daughter was his sister
And his son was his brother
One thing on which you can depend is
He sure knew who a boy’s best friend is
When he found what he had done
He tore his eyes out, one by one
A tragic end to a loyal son
Who loved his mother
So be sweet and kind to mother
Now and then have a chat
Buy her candy or some flowers
Or a brand new hat
But maybe you had better let it go at that
Or you may find yourself
With a quite complex, complex
And you may end up like Oedipus
I’d rather marry a duck-billed platypus
Than end up like old Oedipus Rex
Sung here by Vancha March: