"Revenge" is a song from the 1966 Broadway musical It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Superman and its 1975 TV adaptation. It features Dr. Abner Sedgwick planning to get revenge for being denied the Nobel prize ten times.
The original Broadway version was performed by Michael O'Sullivan, and the version from the 1975 TV special was performed by David Wayne.
Lyrics[]
In 1938, I earned my PhD
With a masterful hypothesis in colloid chemistry
I was getting set to publish, when much to my surprise
Richard T. Zsigmondy won the Nobel prize
[And for what?
The work in the heterogeneous nature of colloid solutions!
My field!
My colloids!]
In 1949, I thought I had it made
My work in light diffusion put my colleagues in the shade
But then my hopes were shattered by some Hindu in Ceylon
They gave the prize in physics to Sir Chandra V. Raman
[For work in light diffusion - The Raman effect!
Dammit! It should've been the Sedgwick effect!]
Revenge, revenge
I'll have it on them all
No single slight will I forget
I'll show no mercy, you can bet
They'll all get theirs the day I get
Revenge
That dopey Wolgang Pauli with his work in fission
I used to help that punk with long division
And Fermi for his brilliant neutron system
That bum, he wouldn't know a neutron if it kissed him
But the thing that really drove me to a fury
They gave the prize to Harold Urey
The shocking thing about the matter is
My heavy hydrogen was heavier than his
Revenge, revenge
Oh it will taste so sweet
A misanthrope, yes, I might be
An outcast of society
Think what you like, but just give me
Revenge, revenge
It really goes way back
My parents hated me
You see, my birth surprised them
Mom was sixty-three
Nanny smelled of Clorox
And boarding school was hell
I'll show you Dad, and Mom and Nanny
And Alfred B. Nobel
Revenge, revenge
That's all I look for now
I'll make 'em wince and cringe and cry
I'll spit in their collective eye
I'll have one thing before I die
[And I'll have it by destroying the world's symbol of goodness - Superman!]
Revenge
In 1938, I earned my PhD
With a masterful hypothesis in colloid chemistry
I was getting set to publish, when much to my surprise
Richard T. Zsigmondy won the Nobel prize
[And for what?
The work in the heterogeneous nature of colloid solutions!
My field!
My colloids!]
In 1949, I thought I had it made
My work in light diffusion put my colleagues in the shade
But then my hopes were shattered by some Hindu in Ceylon
They gave the prize in physics to Sir Chandra V. Raman
[And for what?
For work in light diffusion - The Raman effect!
Ha! It should've been the Sedgwick effect!]
Revenge, revenge
I'll have it on them all
No single slight will I forget
I'll show no mercy, you can bet
They'll all get theirs the day I get
Revenge
That dopey Wolgang Pauli with his work in fission
I used to help that punk with long division
And Fermi for his brilliant neutron system
He wouldn't know a neutron if it kissed him
But the thing that really drove me to a fury
They gave the prize to Harold Urey
The shocking thing about the matter is
My heavy hydrogen was heavier than his
Revenge, revenge
That's all I look for now
I'll make 'em wince and cringe and cry
I'll spit in their collective eye
I'll have one thing before I die
Revenge
Other Appearances[]
- The song was featured on the show's official cast recording.
Gallery[]
Images[]
1975[]
Videos[]
