Post Broadway Song Lyrics to Celebrate Obama's Inauguration- Page 2

[LotteTBS138]

Posted: 1/20/09 at 9:07am

[BOOTH]
Everybody's
Got the right
To be happy.
Say, "Enough!"
It's not as tough
As it seems.

Don't be scared
You won't prevail,
Everybody's
Free to fail,
No one can be put in jail
For their dreams.

Free country-!

[PROPRIETOR]
-Means your dreams can come true:

[BOOTH]
Be a scholar-

[PROPRIETOR]
Make a dollar-

[BOOTH, PROPRIETOR]
Free country-!

[BOOTH]
-Means they'll listen to you:

[PROPRIETOR]
Scream and holler-

[BOOTH]
Grab 'em by the collar!

[BOOTH, PROPRIETOR]
Free country-!

[BOOTH]
-Means you dont have to sit-

[PROPRIETOR]
That's it!

[BOOTH]
-And put up with the ****.

[ASSASSINS]
Everybody's
Got the right
To some sun shine-

[BOOTH]
Everybody...

[ASSASSINS]
Not the sun
But maybe one
Of its beams.
One of its beams.

[ALL]
Rich man, poor man
Black or white,
pick your apple,
Take a bite,
Everybody
Just hold tight
To your dreams.
Everybody's
Got the right
To their dreams...

[jasonf]

Posted: 1/20/09 at 9:09am

sondheimgeek - because Bush sucked.

[iamdangoodman]

Posted: 1/20/09 at 9:26am

"...knowing that the darkest night/will one day see the sun/when our long night is done/there will be light/there will be light...there. will. be. light!" (LIGHT, from Next to Normal)

Happy America Day. Wish I'd stayed in DC for this-- I can't believe what I'm seeing on television!!

[jam_man]

Posted: 1/20/09 at 10:40am

"Morning Glow, Morning Glow
Starts to glimmer when you know
Winds of change are set to blow
And sweep this whole land through -
Morning Glow is long past due."

[sondheimgeek]

Posted: 1/20/09 at 10:47am

jasonf- So then why isn't it fair to post things about Obama?

[jasonf]

Posted: 1/20/09 at 11:06am

It's fine -- any day but today. Regardless of your beliefs, I think today deserves some respect. Tomorrow, bashing can resume, but it just feels very inappropriate today.

[Josh Freilich]

Posted: 1/20/09 at 11:42am

Morning glow, by your light
We can make the new day bright
And the phantoms of the night
Will fade into the past

Morning glow is here...

AT LAST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Pippin]

Posted: 1/20/09 at 12:41pm

"If we can have Bush hatred in the thread, why can't we have Obama skepticism?"

because Bush had 8 years to EARN his hatred.

Obama just started 41 minutes ago and made a wonderfully stirring speech that should knock out the skeptic in any decent human being.

[brandontwin2]

Posted: 1/20/09 at 12:49pm

I'm not happy with it at all, but this was the first though I thought of when I heard he won.

[COALHOUSE]
I see his face.
I hear his heartbeat.
I look in those eyes.
How wise they seem.
Well, when he is old enough
I will show him America
And he will ride
on the wheels of a dream.

[COALHOUSE]
We'll go down South

[SARAH]
Go down South,

[COALHOUSE]
And see your people

[SARAH]
See my folks.

[COALHOUSE]
Won't they take to him

[SARAH]
They'll take to him

[COALHOUSE]
Like cats to cream!

[SARAH]
Mmm...

[COALHOUSE]
Then we'll travel on from there.

[SARAH]
California or who knows where!

[BOTH]
And we will ride
On the wheels of a dream.

[COALHOUSE]
Yes, the wheels are turning for us, girl.
And the times are starting to roll.
Any man can get where he wants to
If he's got some fire in his soul.
We'll see justice, Sarah,
And plenty of men
Who will stand up
And give us our due.
Oh, Sarah, it's more that promises.
Sarah, it must be true.
A country that let's a man like me
Own a car, raise a child, build a life with you...

[COALHOUSE]
With you...

[SARAH]
With you...

[BOTH]
Beyond that road,
Beyond this lifetime
That care full of hope
Will always gleam!
With the promise of happiness
And the freedom he'll live to know.
He'll travle with head held high,
Just as far as his heart can go
And he will ride-
Our son will ride-
On the wheels of a dream.

[brandontwin2]

Posted: 1/20/09 at 12:51pm

sondheimgeek, i love you.

[sondheimgeek]

Posted: 1/20/09 at 1:00pm

"It's fine -- any day but today. Regardless of your beliefs, I think today deserves some respect. Tomorrow, bashing can resume, but it just feels very inappropriate today."

That's fine. I completely respect todays occurance. I watched the innaguaration out of respect as well. However, it is also Bush's last day, and he deserves some respect for at least attempting to manage a country. That alone deserves some respect.

"because Bush had 8 years to EARN his hatred.

Obama just started 41 minutes ago and made a wonderfully stirring speech that should knock out the skeptic in any decent human being."

You're right, Bush had 8 years to earn it. But that doesn't mean there can't be skepticism of the next president because one of them made mistakes. Obamas speech was heartwarming and touching. I believe it to an extent, and to an extent I don't. I'm still skeptic. I wish him all the success in the world, but I have my doubts. No speech can fix that, only actions can.

My point in posting Obama skepticism in this thread is to attempt to conteract the Bush hatred. It's not needed today.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 1/20/09 at 1:11pm

sondheimgeek, you are, of course, entitled to your opinion. And whatever experience you want to have of this day, I hope you have it.

I have to point out, though, that as of your first post about all the "Bush hatred" there was precisely one anti-Bush comment in the thread. I believe there are now a total of three, two in response to you.

[sondheimgeek]

Posted: 1/20/09 at 1:17pm

Reginald, I'm not referring directly to the first Bush comment.

Each post conatins lyrics from songs that talk about freedom and the sun shinning. Lyrics from shows such as West Side Story, Les Mis, Urinetown, Ragtime, etc.

I'm going to take a wild guess here and assume they weren't throwing those lyrics towards the Clinton administration.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 1/20/09 at 1:20pm

I won't attempt to speak for anyone here, but I would take those lyrics to be about looking forward, not back.

[zoraksferal]

Posted: 1/20/09 at 1:27pm

Is it weird that the only song that comes to mind at this has no words... the music from the song Cyclone from the Wizard of Oz...

[PalJoey]

Posted: 1/20/09 at 1:39pm

The lyrics that are haunting me are from a song and a show that most of you probably don't even know.

They're from the failed musical 1600 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, with music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner.

It's been recorded by Julie Andrews and Judy Kaye and Joanna Gleason, as well as by opera singers Roberta Alexander and Marilyn Horne. It was sung by Frederica Von Stade at Jimmy Carter's inauguration, conducted by Bernstein himself.

This song, "Take Care of This House," is sung as the White House is being constructed, over the objections of many, by slave labor.

Here are Alan Jay Lerner's lyrics:

===

Take care of this house.
Keep it from harm.
If bandits break in
Sound the alarm.

Care for this house.
Shine it by hand,
And keep it so clean
The glow can be seen
All over the land.

Be careful at night;
Check all the doors.
If someone makes off with the dream,
The dream will be yours.

Take care of this house.
Be always on call,
For this house is the hope of us all.

Be careful at night;
Check all the doors.
If someone makes off with the dream,
The dream will be yours.

Take care of this house;
Be always on call.
Care for this house;
It's the hope of us all.

Updated On: 1/20/09 at 01:39 PM

[PalJoey]

Posted: 1/20/09 at 1:47pm

Sondheimgeek, your skepticism is poorly and inappropriately timed that's all.

This is a day of awesome pride and joy for all Americans, even you. There will be time for skepticism tomorrow, next week or after the new president's first hundred days.

But, for today, be proud of the miracle that is America: that a nation that built its capital by the shameful labor of slaves can elect an African-American man president and that he and his beautiful wife and adorable daughters can live, for four years or eight years, in a house built by slaves.

Reflect on that, and save your grumbling for a more appropriate day.

Don't miss the miracle happening in front of your eyes.

[degrassifan]

Posted: 1/20/09 at 1:50pm

That was awesome PalJoey

[sondheimgeek]

Posted: 1/20/09 at 2:01pm

PalJoey,

Thank you for the wonderful insight. Believe it or not I've been thinking about that a lot today. The fact that a man from a race that we oppressed and enslaved is now finally guiding us to a better day. I've been reflecting upon that a lot today. I hope Obama does exactly as he says, and I hope he never has to suffer harsh criticism while doing it.

My point though, is that today is not the day to scold Obama, but nor is it the day to dehumanize Bush. It is a celebration of presidents come and gone, not just Obama. Bush deserves the same amount of respect that Obama does.

To those who say they have not been proud of this country until today, I am dissapointed. No matter what president I will stand behind them and trust that what he or she is doing is what he or she truly feels is right. I will always be proud of America. To the people that have not been proud is upsetting and disrespectful. America is still better than any third world country. We have freedoms and we have rights. Think about those who can't say that today.

So while I understand the enduring suppot for Obama, I think it's disrespectful to post a thread praising Obama, and dehumanizing Bush in it's first post.

My point is that so many are ungrateful for the efforts of our presidents to keep us safe, whether they made mistakes or not.

I will always be proud of America and I wish every president the utmost success. Today proves we can break past one barrier, but now it's time to put the past behind us, and to seriously consider what the presidents before today have tried to do for us, whether mistaken or not.

Updated On: 1/20/09 at 02:01 PM

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 1/20/09 at 2:13pm

As I said before, everyone is entitled to their own feelings on the subject.

I for one a) don't see "asshat" as dehumanizing, b) don't think that that one comment warranted the derailing of a celebratory thread, and c) don't agree that all presidents have to be accorded the same amount of respect, regardless of their legacies. We have to equate Lincoln and Nixon? Really?

But even if that were true, sondheimgeek, your last post about respect, pride, and hope is not at all what I got from your earlier posts.

I saw words like "skeptic" and "doubt."

If today for you should be about praising the outgoing president, have at it. Start a thread or make a post about his accomplishments, whatever you think they are.

Wouldn't that be a better way to make your point?
Updated On: 1/20/09 at 02:13 PM

[PalJoey]

Posted: 1/20/09 at 2:21pm

No, you're wrong. It's NOT a day to celebrate all presidents past and present--ghat would be something called "Presidents' Day," not something called "Inauguration Day."

This is a day to celebrate the inauguration of THIS president.

[zoraksferal]

Posted: 1/20/09 at 2:22pm

I would say I hope Obama does great, and that I am just gleaming with pride... but I for one am not. I do not wish him a successful term, and at least I admit that. I could be just grinding my teeth saying a bunch of lies. Who cares if people are saying they are skeptical on this thread. It's a thread about celebration, true, but to a bit over 46% of people, there really isn't that much to celebrate, and staunch conservatives that cling to guns and religion, why should we even try and respect this President after all of the disrespect Bush got. Bush was dehumanized non-stop, including on this thread, so there is no way I will ever treat Obama better than the left treated Bush.

[sondheimgeek]

Posted: 1/20/09 at 2:23pm

A) I don't just mean the word "asshat". The fact that the lyrics posted mean freedom is coming, must mean that the posters felt freedom had been taken away. The last I checked the past four years I still had the freedoms I normally had.

B) If we can make comments about how bad Bush was and to praise Obama, than why can't we talk about our skepticisms? That was my only intention in posting what I originally did. If we're criticizing Bush's faults on his last day, than why not express views on Obama?

C) First, Lincoln wasn't that great of a president, but history has been kind to him. The point being that they deserve the respect for being president. I don't agree with Nixon's decisions at all but I respect that he was the president. I wouldn't dehumanize him.

I am skeptic, but I will support Obama. I respect him and I respect that he will do what is right. But that doesn't involve calling Bush an "asshat".

Updated On: 1/20/09 at 02:23 PM

[sondheimgeek]

Posted: 1/20/09 at 2:32pm

PalJoey, the way I view it is that we're innagurating a new president, but it's still a celebration of presidents of the past. I view it as a landmark: we are moving farther. We are still here after numerous presidents. So to you the innaguaration may just be about Obama, but to me it's the fact that we're still here. Still surviving, still in a wonderful country.

I'm sorry if you feel today is only a day for Obama, but I view it differently.

[AndAllThatJazz22]

Posted: 1/20/09 at 2:33pm

"Oh Oh Oh You Can't Sop Today, as it comes speeding down the track.
Child, yesterday is history and it's never coming back, cause tomorrow is a brand new day and it don't know white from black"


sondheimgeek:
you said "if we can make comments about how bad Bush was and to praise Obama, than why can't we talk about our skepticisms?"

the thread says CELEBRATE Obama's inauguration, that's why