textfiles/music/histlyri.txt

*** HISTORY ROCK *** 
 
NO MORE KINGS
Music & Lyrics: Lynn Ahrens
Sung by: Lynn Ahrens
 
Rockin' and a-rollin',
Splishin' and a-splashin'
Over the horizon,
What can it be?
 
The pilgrims sailed the sea
to find a place to call their own.
In their ship Mayflower,
They hoped to find a better home.
They finally knocked on Plymouth Rock
And someone said, "We're there!
It may not look like home,
But at this point I don't care."
 
Oh, they were missin' Mother England
They swore their loyalty until the very end.
"Anything you say king, it's okay king,
You know it's kind of scary on your own.
Gonna build a new land the way we planned
Could you help us run it till it's grown?"
 
They planted corn you know,
They built their houses one by one.
And bit by bit they worked 
Until the colonies were done.
They looked around, yeah, up and down,
And someone said, "Hurray!
If the king could only see us now,
He would be proud of us today."
 
They knew that now they'd run their own land,
But George the Third still vowed
He'd rule them till the end.
"Anything I say, do it my way now,
Anything I say do it my way.
Don't you get to feelin' independent, 
Cause I'm gonna force you to obey."
 
He taxed their property, 
He didn't give them any choice.
And back in England, 
He didn't give them any voice.
(That's called taxation without representation, and it's not fair.)
But when the colonies complained,
The king said, "I don't care!"
 
"He even has the nerve to tax our cup of tea!
To put it kindly king, we really don't agree.
Gonna show you how we feel,
We're gonna dump this tea...
And turn this harbor into
The biggest cup of tea in history!"
 
They wanted no more Mother England.
They knew the time had come for them to take command.
"It's very clear you're being unfair, king,
No matter what you say we won't obey.
Gonna hold a revolution now, king,
And we're gonna run it all our way!"
 
With no more kings...
(We're gonna elect a president!)
No more kings...
(He's gonna do what the people want!)
No more kings...
(We're gonna run things our way!)
No more kings...
(No one's gonna tell us what to do!)
No more kings!
 
Rockin' and a-rollin',
Splishin' and a-splashin'
Over the horizon,
what could it be?
Looks like it's going to be
A free country.
 
 

THE SHOT HEARD ROUND THE WORLD
Music & Lyrics: Bob Dorough
Sung by: Bob Dorough
 
(The British are comin'!  The British are comin'!)
 
Now the ride of Paul Revere
Set the nation on its ear,
And the shot at Lexington 
Heard round the world.
When the British fired
In the early dawn,
The War of Independence had begun,
The die was cast, the rebel flag unfurled.
 
And on to Concord marched the foe,
To seize the arsenal there you know,
Waking folks, searching all around.
Till our militia stopped them in their tracks,
At the Old North Bridge, we turned them back
And chased those Redcoats back to Boston town.
 
And the shot heard round the world
Was the start of the revolution.
The minutemen were ready, on the move.
Take your powder, take your gun,
Report to General Washington,
Hurry men, there's not an hour to lose.
 
Now at famous Bunker Hill, 
Even though we lost, it was quite a thrill.
The rebel Colonel Prescott proved he was wise.
Outnumbered and low on ammunition,
As the British stormed his position,
He said, "Hold your fire till you see the whites of their eyes."
 
Though the next few years were rough,
General Washington's men proved they were tough.
Those hungry, ragged boys would not be beat.
One night they crossed the Delaware,
Surprised the Hessians in their lair,
And at Valley Forge they just bundled up their feet.
 
Now the shot heard round the world
Was the start of the revolution.
The minutemen were ready, on the move.
Take your blanket, take your son,
Report to General Washington.
We've got our rights and now it's time to prove.
 
Well, they showed such determination
That they won the admiration
Of countries 'cross the sea like France and Spain.
Who loaned the colonies ships and guns
And put the British on the run,
And the Continental Army on its feet again.
 
And though they lost some battles too,
The Americans swore they'd see it through.
Their raiding parties kept up, hit and run.
At Yorktown the British could not retreat,
Bottled up by Washington and the French Fleet,
Cornwallis surrendered and finally we had won.

>> (The winner!)
>> (Hurray!)
 
From the shot heard round the world,
To the end of the revolution,
The continental rabble took the day.
And the father of our country
beat the British there at Yorktown,
and brought freedom to you and me and the U.S.A.
 
God bless America!
Let freedom ring!
 
 
 

 
PREAMBLE
Music & Lyrics: Lynn Ahrens
Sung by: Lynn Ahrens
 
Hey, do you know about the U.S.A.?
Do you know about the government? 
Can you tell me 'bout the Constitution?
Hey, learn about the U.S.A.
 
In 1787, I'm told, 
Our founding fathers did agree,
To write a list of principles
For keepin' people free.
The U.S.A. was just starting out,
A bold, brand new country.
And so our people spelled it out:
The things that we should be.
 
(And they put those principles down on paper, and called it the
 Constitution.  And it's been helping us run our country ever since
 then.  The first part of the Constitution is called the Preamble,
 and tells what those founding fathers set out to do.)
 
We the people,
In order to form a more perfect union,
Establish justice,
Ensure domestic tranquility,
Provide for the common defense,
Promote the general welfare and
Secure the blessings of liberty
To ourselves and our posterity,
Do ordain and establish this Constitution,
For the United States of America.
 
In 1787, I'm told ,
Our founding fathers all sat down
And wrote a list of principles
That's know the world around.
The U.S.A. was just starting out,
A bold, brand new country.
And so our people spelled it out,
They wanted a land of liberty.
 
(And the Preamble goes like this:)
 
We the people,
In order to form a more perfect union,
Establish justice,
Ensure domestic tranquility,
Provide for the common defense,
Promote the general welfare and
Secure the blessings of liberty
To ourselves and our posterity,
Do ordain and establish this Constitution,
For the United States of America.
 
For the United States of America.
 
 

 
FIREWORKS
Music & Lyrics: Lynn Ahrens
Sung by: Grady Tate
 
Ooh!  There's gonna be fireworks             >> Fireworks!  
On the Fourth of July.                       >> Red, white and blue!
Red white and blue fireworks,
Like diamonds in the sky.                    >> Diamonds in the sky!
We're gonna shoot the entire works
On fireworks that really show, oh yeah...
We declared our liberty 200 years ago.
 
In 1776                                      >> Fireworks!
There were fireworks too                     >> Red, white and blue!
The original colonists, 
You know their tempers blew.                 >> They really blew!
Like Thomas Paine once wrote,
It's only common sense                       >> Only common sense!
That if a government won't give you
Your basic rights,
You'd better get another government.
 
And though some people tried to fight it,
Well a committee was formed to write it:
Benjamin Franklin, Philip Livingston,
John Adams, Roger Sherman, Thomas Jefferson.
They got it done...                          >> Oh yes they did!
The Declaration.  Uh huh!
The Declaration of Independence,             >> Oh yeah!
In seventeen hundred seventy six.            >> Right on!
The Continental Congress said that
We were free.
They said we had the right of life and liberty...
(And the pursuit of happiness.)
 
When England heard the news,                 >> Ah!
They blew their stack.                       >> They really blew their
                                             >> cool!
But the colonists lit the fuse,
There'd be no turning back.                  >> No turnin' back!
They'd had enough injustice now,
But even if it really hurts, oh yeah!
If you don't give us our freedom now,
You're gonna see some fireworks.
 
Now on the fourth of July they signed it,
And 56 names underlined it.
And now to honor those first 13 states,
We turn the sky into a birthday cake.
They got it done...                          >> Oh yes they did!
The Declaration.  Uh huh!
The Declaration of Independence,             >> Oh yeah!
In seventeen hundred seventy six.            >> Right on!
The Continental Congress said that
We were free.
They said we had the right of life and liberty...
(And the pursuit of happiness.)
 
>> (We hold these truths to be self-evident:)
>> (That all men are created equal.)
>> (That they are endowed by their creator...)
>> (With certain unalieable rights.)
>> (That among these...)
>> (Are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness!)
 
And if there's one thing that makes me happy,
Then you know that's it's...
There's gonna be fireworks!
 
 
 

 
I'M JUST A BILL
Music & Lyrics: Dave Frishberg
Sung by: Jack Sheldon
 
>> (Woof!  You sure gotta climb a lotta steps to get to this Capitol
>>  Building here in Washington!  But I wonder who that sad little
>>  scrap of paper is?)
 
I'm just a bill,
Yes, I'm only a bill,
And I'm sitting here on Capitol Hill.
Well, it's a long, long journey
To the capital city,
It's a long, long wait
While I'm sitting in committee,
But I know I'll be a law someday...
At least I hope and pray that I will,
But today I'm still just a bill.
 
>> (Gee, bill, you certainly have a lot of patience and courage!)

(Well I got *this* far.  When I started, I wasn't even a *bill* - I
 was just an idea.  Some folks back home decided they wanted a law
 passed, so they called their local congressman and he "You're right,
 there ought to be a law."  Then he sat down and wrote me out and
 introduced me to Congress, and I became a bill.  And I'll remain a
 bill until they decide to make me a law.)
 
I'm just a bill,
Yes I'm only a bill,
And I got as far as Capitol Hill.
Well now I'm stuck in committee
And I sit here and wait 
While a few key congressmen
Discuss and debate
Whether they should 
Let me be a law...
Oh how I hope and pray that they will,
But today I am still just a bill.
 
>> (Listen to those congressmen arguing!  Is all that discussion and
>>  debate about you?)

(Yes.  I'm one of the lucky ones.  Most bills never even get this far.
 I hope they decide to report on me favourably, otherwise I may die.)

>> ("Die?")

(Yeah: die in committee.  Oooh!  But it looks like I'm gonna live.
 Now I go to the House of Representatives and they vote on me.)

>> (If they vote "yes", what happens?)

(Then I go to the Senate and the whole thing starts all over again.)

>> (Oh no!)

(Oh yes!)
 
I'm just a bill,
Yes I'm only a bill,
And if they vote for me on Capitol Hill,
Well then I'm off to the White House
Where I'll wait in a line
With a lot of other bills
For the President to sign.
And if he signs me then I'll be a law...
Oh, how I hope and pray that he will,
But today I am still just a bill.
 
>> (You mean even if the whole Congress says you should be a law, the
>>  President can still say no?)

(Yes, that's called a "veto".  If the President vetoes me, I have to
 go back to Congress, and they vote on me again, and by that time
 it's...)

>> (By that time, it's very unlikely that you'll *become* a law!  It's
>>  not easy to become a law, is it?)
 
No!  But how I hope and I pray that I will,
But today I am still just a bill!
 
>> (He signed you, bill!  Now you're a law!)

(Oh yes!)
 
 

 
ELBOW ROOM
Music & Lyrics: Lynn Ahrens
Sung by: Sue Manchester
 
One thing you will discover
When you get next to one another
Is everybody needs some elbow room, elbow room.
It's nice when you're kinda cozy
But not when you're tangled nose to nosy
Oh, everybody needs some elbow...
Needs a little elbow room.
 
That's how it was
In the early days of the U.S.A.
The people kept coming to settle though
The east was the only place there was to go.
 
The president was Thomas Jefferson,
He made a deal with Napoleon,
How'd you like to sell a mile or two?
>> (Or three or a hundred or a thousand?)
And so in 1803 the Louisiana Territory
Was sold to us without a fuss
And gave us lots of elbow room.
 
Oh, elbow room, elbow room
Got to, got to get us
Some elbow room.
It's the west or bust,
In God we trust,
There's a new land out there.
 
Lewis and Clark volunteered to go.
Goodbye, good luck, wear your overcoat.
They prepared for good times and for bad. (And for bad)
They hired Sacajawea to be their guide,
She led them all across the countryside.
Reached the coast, and found the most
Elbow room we've ever had.
 
The way was opened up
For folks with bravery.
There were plenty of fights
To win land rights,
But the West was meant to be.
It was Manifest Destiny!
 
The trappers, traders and the peddlers,
The politicians and the settlers,
They got there by any way they could.       >> Any way they could!
The gold rush trampled down the wilderness,
The railroads spread across from east to west,
And soon the West was opened up for...
Opened up for good!
 
Now we jet from east to west,
Goodbye New York, Hello L.A.
But it took those early folks
To open up the way.
 
Now we've got a lot of room to be
Growing from sea to shining sea.
Guess that we have got our elbow room, elbow room.
But if there should ever come a time
When we're crowded up together I'm
Sure we'll find some elbow room up on the moon.
 
Oh, elbow room, elbow room
Got to, got to get us
Some elbow room.
It's the moon or bust,
In God we trust,
There's a new land up there!
 
 
 

MOTHER NECESSITY
Music & Lyrics: Bob Dorough
Sung by: Bob Dorough and friends
 
Mother Necessity, with her good intentions,
Where would this country be without her inventions?
 
Oh, things were rotten in the land of cotton
Until Whitney made the cotton gin.
Now old times there will soon be forgotten,
For it did the work of a hundred men.
 
Mother Necessity, where would we be?
 
Mother Edison worked late each night,
It went well until the fading light.
Little Thomas Alva Edison said "I'll grow up to be
A great inventor and I'll make a lamp 
To help my mommy see."  Wowee!
What an excellent application of electricity.
He worked hard and pulled a switch,
he was smart and very rich!
 
Mother Necessity, help us to see.
 
Now the mother of Samuel Morse
Always sent the lad out on a horse.
"Take a message to Miss Peavy
On the far side of the pike,
Spread the word about the quilting bee
Next Saturday night."
Little Samuel started thinking 
Of a way to send a message,
Though he never met a horse he didn't like.
 
Mother Necessity...
 
"Elias can you help me with my sewing?"
"Mother dear, I'll fulfill your fondest wishes."
"Elias, how?"
"This machine I've made will keep 
Your sewing really flowing,
In fact we'll keep the whole nation in stitches!  Aaaaaa!"
 
Mother Necessity, where would we be?
 
"Ring me on the Alexander Graham Bell,
Thank you Alexander for the phone.
I'd never get a date, I'd never get a job,
Unless I had a telephone."
 
Mother Necessity... 
 
"Orville!  Wilbur!  Go outside this minute,
And then continue with your silly playing!
Take these plans, take those blueprints,
Take that funny looking thing,
Take that wheel, take that wing,
I can't hear a thing that Mrs. Johnson's sayin'!
Orville!  Wilbur!  Come back, boys!  Orville!  Wilbur!"
 
Mother Necessity, where would we be?
 
When Robert Fulton made the steamboat go...
When Marconi gave us wireless radio...
When Henry Ford cranked up his first automo...
When Samuel Slater showed us how factories go...
And all the iron and oil and coal and steel and Yankee don't
 you know?
They made this country really grow... grow... grow... grow...
 
With Mother Necessity...
And where would we be
Without the inventions of your progeny?
 
 
 

 
SUFFERIN' TILL SUFFRAGE
Music: Bob Dorough
Lyrics: Tom Yohe
Sung by: Essra Mohawk
 
>> Yeah!...  Hurray!
 
Now you have heard
Of women's rights
And how we've tried
To reach new heights
If we're all created equal,
That's us too.
 
>> Yeah!
 
But you will proba-
Bly not recall...
That it's not been
Too long at all,
Since we even had the right to
Cast a vote.
 
>> Well...
 
Well sure some men
Bowed down and called us misses,  >> Yeah!
Let us hang the wash out,
And wash the dishes,              >> Huh...
But when the time rolled around
To elect a president
What did they say, sisters?
 
>> What did they say?
 
They said, uh, see you later,
Alligator, and don't forget my, my...
My mashed potatoes,
Because I'm going downtown to
Cast my vote for president.
 
But we were sufferin',
Until suffrage,                >> Whoah...
Not a woman here could vote
No matter what age.
Then the 19th Amendment
Struck down that restrictive rule.
 
>> Oh yeah!
 
Now we pull down
On the lever
Cast our ballots,
And we endeavor
To improve our country,
State, county, town and school.
 
>> Tell 'em bout it!
 
Those pilgrim women who
Who braved the boat
>> They cook, cook, cooked!
Could cook the turkey, but they,
They could not vote
Even Betsy Ross who sewed the flag
Was left behind that first election day.
 
>> What a shame, sisters!
 
Then Susan B.
Anthony                  >> Yeah!
and Julia Howe,          >> Lucretia!
Lucretia March,          >> And others!
They showed us how,
They carried signs
And marched in lines
Until at long last 
The law was passed.
 
Oh we were sufferin',
Until suffrage,
Not a woman here could vote
No matter what age.
Then the 19th Amendment
Struck down that restrictive rule.
 
>> Oh yeah!
 
And now we pull down
On the lever
Cast our ballots,
And we endeavor
To improve our country,
State, county, town and school.
 
Yes the 19th Amendment
Struck down that restrictive rule.
Yes the 19th Amendment
Struck down that restrictive rule.
 
>> Yeah, yeah!
 
(We've got 'em now!)
Since 1920, Sisters Unite!  Oh lord!
 
 
 

 
THE GREAT MELTING POT
Music & Lyrics: Lynn Ahrens
Sung by: Lori Leiberman
 
My grandmother came from Russia,
A satchel on her knee;
My grandfather had his father's cap
He brought from Italy.
They'd heard about a country
Where life might let them win,
They paid the fare to America
And there they melted in.
 
Lovely Lady Liberty,
With her book of recipes,
And the finest one she's got
Is the great American meltin' pot.
The great American meltin' pot.
 
>> (America was founded by the English.)
>> (But also by the Germans, Dutch and French.)
>> (The principle still sticks,
    Our heritage is mixed.)
>> (So any kid can be the president!)
 
You simply melt right in,
It doesn't matter what your skin.
It doesn't matter where you're from,
Or your religion,
You jump right in
To the great American meltin' pot.
Great American meltin' pot
 
Ooh what a stew,
Red white and blue.
 
America was the new world,
And Europe was the old.
America was the land of hope,
Or so the legend told.
On steamboats by the millions,
In search of honest pay,
Those 19th-century immigrants sailed
To reach the U.S.A.
 
Lovely Lady Liberty
With her book of recipes
And the finest one she's got
Is the great American melting pot.
The great Anerican melting pot.
 
What good ingredients:
Liberty and immigrants.
 
They brought their countries' customs,
Their language and their ways.
They filled the factories,
Tilled the soil,
Helped build the U.S.A.
 
Go on and ask your Grandma,
Hear what she has to tell,
How great to be an American
And something else as well.
 
Lovely Lady Liberty
With her book of recipes
And the finest one she's got
Is the great American meltin' pot.
The great American meltin' pot.
The great American meltin' pot.
The great American meltin' pot.
The great American meltin' pot.
The great American meltin' pot.
The great American meltin' pot...
 
 


THREE-RING GOVERNMENT
Music & Lyrics: Lynn Ahrens
Sung by: Lynn Ahrens
Animation: Phil Kimmelman and Assoc.

Gonna have a three-ring circus someday
People will say it's a fine one, son
Gonna have a three-ring circus some day
People will come from miles around

Lions, Tigers, Acrobats and Jugglers and Clowns galore,
Tightrope walkers, pony riders, elephants and so much more...

Guess I got the idea right here at school
Felt like a fool when they called my name
Talking about the government and how it's arranged
divided in three like a circus
Ring one--Executive
Two is legislative, that's Congress
Ring three--Judiciary 
See it's kind of like my circus
Cir-cus

Step right up and visit ring number one
The show's just begun. Meet the president
I am here to see that the laws get done
the ringmaster of the government

(On with the show!)

Hurry, hurry, hurry to ring number two
See what they do in the Congress
Passing laws and juggling bills
Oh, it's quite a thrill in the Congress
Focus your attention on ring number three
The judiciary is in the spotlight
The courts take the laws and they tame the crimes
Balancing the wrongs with your rights

No one part can be
More powerful than anyother is
Each controls the other you see
and that's what we call checks and balances

Well everybody's act is part of the show
And no one's job is more important
The audience is kind of like the country you know
Keeping an eye on their performance

Ring one--Executive
Two is legislative that's Congress
Ring three--Judiciary
See it's kind of like my circus
Cir-cus

Gonna have a three-ring circus some day
People will say it's a fine one, son
But until I get it I'll do my thing
with government it's got three rings

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