[Verse 1] When painting in your art class, a lesson to imbue Is when you mix some red paint with a dab of blue A color new emerges from this chromatic blend A purple hue, a violet shade, it's magic to the end! [Chorus] But colors are not all the same When paints and lights construe For mixing them brings different flames Between Red and Blue [Verse 2] In pigments, red and blue will give us shades to please The purples, mauves, and lilacs, they mix with so much ease With paintbrush strokes, we mesh the tones, on canvas they will fuse But in the world of light, my friends, it's different hues we use [Bridge] For color mixing in the spectrum's band Works on principles that are quite grand Absorption is the painter's gain But with light, add wavelengths to the plane [Chorus] But colors are not all the same When paints and lights construe For mixing them brings different flames Between Red and Blue [Verse 3] Now, let's talk of lights, with Red plus Blue, what will be seen? No purple here, instead, my friends, we're greeted by Magenta's sheen! A secondary color, when lights are in the fray It's additive color mixing, a very different ballet! [Verse 4] The red light with the blue light, shining side by side When mixed upon a surface, purple does not abide Instead, they bring to our eyes, in a brilliant, glowing state A magenta that's a spectacle, and that's what they create! [Chorus] And colors are not all the same In lights, they set the mood They dance to an additive game Between Red and Blue [Outro] So remember when you're mixing in your creative spree The medium defines if it's paint or light you see Red and blue can interweave in many different ways And that's the story, kiddos, of our Red and Blue's ballet! (With a cheeky nod to the delightful wit Tom Lehrer always brought to his music, this hypothetically composed song "On Red+Blue" plays on the different outcomes when mixing color in paint versus light, something that could be a whimsical yet informative topic Lehrer might enjoy exploring in a song.)

[Verse 1] Let's gather 'round the palette, grab a political clue We're mixing up some satire, with a dab of Red and Blue In the studio of Congress, where the hues are so askew They're painting laws and policies, with brushes that misconstrue [Chorus] Oh, Red and Blue, my friends, it's true In art, they blend to make a new But in the halls of power's view They clash and bash, and split the room in two [Verse 2] Now Red says "Cut the taxes," and Blue cries "Social care!" They play their chromatic standoff without a single care A compromise is like a rainbow, seen quite seldom in the air The mixing turns to mud, my friends, in this political affair [Bridge] When Reds fight Blues, the canvas breaks With every stroke of policy's stakes The artists claim they paint for all But blend the two, and watch the colors fall [Chorus] For Red and Blue, when struck by light Might dance a dance, with Magenta bright But on the hill, they just ignite And the gallery watches the partisan fight [Verse 3] In optics, Red and Blue can shine together, vibrant scene But capitol artists paint with strokes not quite so clean When mixed they should give purple, a unifying shade But here we stand divided, our colors stuck in a charade [Verse 4] So here's to those who govern and colors that they use Instead of making purple, they just revel in the Reds and Blues The aisle's wide, the spectrum's broad, and compromise is slight For them, it's Red versus Blue, in a never-ending fight [Chorus] Red and Blue, a simple start In art and light, they play their part But when it's votes they must construe It's Red OR Blue, and the mixing's taboo [Outro] So paint a picture, cast a light, let colors as they may But in the political spectrum, it's a far less merry ballet For Red and Blue to blend anew, well, that's for another day Till then, we'll sing our satire tune on the Red and Blue dismay! (In the cheeky, satirical style of Tom Lehrer, this version of "Red+Blue" could playfully address the polarization of American politics, contrasting how red and blue can blend harmoniously in art and light, while in politics they often result in discord and deadlock.)