Took all this college math—math that they call pure.
I thought I’d do a lot with it, but now I’m just not sure.
Sir Ronald A. Fisher, won’t you look down over me:
What class can I take now that will set my thinking free?
Then I was doin’ statistics—I was workin’ with numbers I could see!
Doin’ statistics—now I really feel I found my field!

Learned of randomizing and hypothesis testing, too—
All around me, illuminating polls and studies in the news.
I really loved the challenge; it was a fun kind of hard.
Loved the variety “to play in everybody’s yard”!
I was doin’ statistics—I was workin’ with data I could see:
Doin’ statistics—now I really feel I found my field!

They’ve got all these big computers
For big data in the air
Reverend Bayes will be glad to see you
When you haven’t got a prior …
Boy, you’ve got a prior for statistics!

Muriel’s tasting tea and Student’s brewin’ up some beer;
George Gallup and Nate Silver made elections clear.
What Billy Beane did for baseball, how Pandora finds tunes I like:
You say, “Tell me, are you a Bayesian?” I say, “Man, I am tonight!”
I was doin’ statistics—I was workin’ with data I could see:
Doin’ statistics—more degrees of feelin’ free!

So glad I found my path, a career with such allure:
Maybe the best part is I never have to say I’m sure!
Maybe the best part is I can quantify how I’m unsure …

Lyrics © 2013 Lawrence M. Lesser (reprinted with permission)