"The Old Dope Peddler" is a satirical song by

Tom Lehrer Thomas Andrew Lehrer (; born April 9, 1928) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, satirist, and mathematician, who later taught mathematics and musical theater. He recorded pithy and humorous, often Music and politics, political songs that ...

. It was on Lehrer's first album ''

Songs by Tom Lehrer ''Songs by Tom Lehrer'' is the debut album of musical satirist Tom Lehrer, released in 1953 on his own label, Lehrer Records. In 2004 it was included into the National Recording Registry. Production and release history ''Songs by Tom Lehrer'' wa ...

'' from 1953, and a new live recording on '' Tom Lehrer Revisited'' in 1960. The song is a parody of a popular tune well known at the time titled "

The Old Lamp-Lighter "The Old Lamp-Lighter" is a popular song. The music was written by Nat Simon, the lyrics by Charles Tobias. The song was published in 1946. Background The lyrics sentimentalize and memorialize the profession of lamplighters, who walked city ...

" by

Charles Tobias Charles Tobias (August 15, 1898 – July 7, 1970) was an American songwriter. He was sometimes credited as Charley Tobias. Biography Born in New York City, United States, Tobias grew up in Worcester, Massachusetts with brothers Harry Tobias and ...

and

Nat Simon Nat Simon (6 August 1900 – 5 September 1979) was an American composer, pianist, bandleader and songwriter. Born in Newburgh, New York, from the 1930s to the 1950s, his songs were used in over 20 films. Between 1931 and 1940, he also took part in ...

, a hit first for

Kay Kyser James Kern Kyser (June 18, 1905 – July 23, 1985), known as Kay Kyser, was an American bandleader and radio personality of the 1930s and 1940s. Early years Kyser was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, the son of pharmacists Emily Royster Kyser ...

in 1947, and continued to have popular new recordings to 1960. The verses of the original asserted that It goes on to say that if there were sweethearts in the dark, "he'd pass the light and leave it dark", and concludes by explaining that now, the old lamplighter turns the stars on at night and turns them off at dawn. Lehrer's parody switches the song's protagonist to "the Old

Dope Dope may refer to: Chemistry Biochemistry * Dope, a slang word for a euphoria-producing drug, particularly: ** Cocaine ** Cannabis (drug) ** Heroin ** Opioid * DOPE, or 1,2-Dioleoyl-''sn''-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine, a phospholipid * Discret ...

Peddler" selling "powdered happiness". It has lines like this: The song was banned from broadcast by the BBC. Lehrer's performance is sampled in the track "Dope Peddler" by U.S. rapper

2 Chainz Tauheed K. Epps (born September 12, 1977), known professionally as 2 Chainz (formerly Tity Boi), is an American rapper and actor. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, he gained recognition as one-half of the Southern hip-hop duo Playaz Ci ...

on his 2012 album '' Based on a T.R.U. Story'', In 2013, Lehrer said he was "very proud" to have his 60-year-old song sampled. His response to the request to use the song was "As sole copyright owner of 'The Old Dope Peddler', I grant you

motherfucker ''Motherfucker'' (; ), sometimes abbreviated as ''mofo'', ''mf'', or ''mf'er'', is an English-language vulgarism. It is a form of the profanity ''fuck''. In common usage, it is rarely used to refer to one person having intercourse with a wo ...

s permission to do this. Please give my regards to Mr. Chainz, or may I call him 2?". "The Old Dope Peddler" was also sampled on UK electronica duo

Akasha Akasha (Sanskrit ' ) means Aether (classical element), aether in traditional Hindu cosmology. The term has also been adopted in Western occultism and spiritualism in the late 19th century CE. In many modern Indo-Aryan languages and Dravidian la ...

's track "Interzone (Tapping a Guitar with Beef on a Lonely Summer Day in Menlo Park)", remixed by Menlo Park on the 1999 album ''Cinematique – The Remixes''. The song was also covered by

Meat Puppets Meat Puppets are an American rock band formed in January 1980 in Phoenix, Arizona. The group's original lineup was Curt Kirkwood (guitar/vocals), his brother Cris Kirkwood (bass guitar/vocals), and Derrick Bostrom (drums). The Kirkwood brothe ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Old Dope Peddler 1953 songs Songs written by Tom Lehrer Musical parodies Songs about drugs Songs about occupations Black comedy music Satirical songs Songs banned by the BBC