Thursday, March 5, 2009

Three Ring Circus

So Levi has been learning about migrations and as part of that he has learned about the migration west in the USA. He learned the Schoolhouse Rock song "Elbow Room". As a reward for learning this and performing it at school we bought the two DVD set of Schoolhouse Rock. It was something I'd been wanting to get as I was addicted to Schoolhouse Rock every Saturday morning. There is one song about the government that seems to ring loudly today. It's called Three Ring Government. Here are the lyrics:

Gonna have a three-ring circus someday,
People will say it's a fine one, son.
Gonna have a three-ring circus someday,
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,
Talkin' 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, circus.

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.
Passin' laws and juggling bills,
Oh, it's quite a thrill in the Congress.
Focus your attention on ring number three.
The Judiciary's in the spotlight.
The courts take the law and they tame the crimes
Balancing the wrongs with your rights.

No one part can be
more powerful than any other 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 kinda 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, circus.

Gonna have a three-ring circus someday.
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.


Watching what's going on in Washington today seems like a three-ring circus to me.

2 comments:

TopSurf said...

I too grew up on School House Rock. I can still to this day recite without fail most of the songs. Yes, that Three Ring song is perfect for what we are seeing today.

Anonymous said...

I loved Schoolhouse Rock! I agree, this song fits the politics of today and the last several years to a tee!