The Presidents [of the United States, in order], by Jonathan Coulton, revised and expanded by David Newman
You can find the original version, which has a Creative Commons BY-NC license, at his website: http://www.jonathancoulton.com
Let me start out by saying that Jonathan Coulton is one of my favorite songwriters at the moment, and so it feels almost blasphemous to be tinkering with one of his songs.
However, I thought this song was a reasonably fun way to learn a little bit about the presidents of the USA, including the order of their terms. I wanted to use it for my own kids to help them learn these facts.
But JoCo's lyrics were written while George W. Bush was in office, so they weren't up to date, and seemed more interested in times in being funny or shocking than being accurate and helpful. I fixed an error or two, brought it up to date, and tried to make the words a little more aligned with relevant history, and appropriate for elementary school kids.
Yes, I bowdlerized this a bit. This is not the same as censorship. You can still listen to the original version if you like. However, you may find, if you have kids, that this version is a little less likely to inspire uncomfortable conversations, and contains additional useful information. (Don't worry if you didn't know the name of Garfield's assassin before. I didn't either. Now I do.)
Video clips are all from the St. Louis leg of our summer trip. The presidential podium is in the Magic House. The slide is at the City Museum, and the Rube Goldberg contraption is at the St. Louis Science Center.
Revised lyrics:
Washington came first and he was perfect
John Adams kept us out of war with France
Jefferson made a Louisiana Purchase
In 1812 James Madison kicked the British in the pants
James Monroe was famous for his Doctrine
John Quincy Adams looked just like his Dad
Andrew Jackson got rid of all the indians
Van Buren served one term but he wasn't bad
William Henry Harrison died early
Tyler annexed Texas from Mexico
James K. Polk fought Mexico to keep it
Taylor was a Mexican War hero
Fillmore gave a boat to Commodore Perry
Pierce repealed the Missouri Compromise
Buchanan saw the Civil War's beginnings
Lincoln saved the Union, then he died
Andrew Johnson just survived impeachment
Grant had many favors to bestow
Rutherford B. Hayes ended reconstruction
Garfield was assassinated by Charles J. Guiteau
Arthur suspended Chinese immigration
Cleveland made the railroad people squirm
Harrison signed the Sherman Anti-Trust Act
Then Grover Cleveland served another term
McKinley kept the Spanish out of Cuba
Roosevelt was handy with a gun
Taft was big and fat and had a mustache
Wilson helped us win in World War I
Harding said let's laissez faire with business
Coolidge made the roaring 20's roar
Hoover missed the mark in the Great Depression
Then Roosevelt beat the Nazis in a war
Truman dropped the bomb on Hiroshima
Eisenhower kept the Cold War calm
Kennedy was killed by a magic bullet
Johnson built up force in Vietnam
Richard Nixon resigned amidst a scandal
Ford gave Nixon pardon for his crimes
Jimmy Carter couldn't stop stagflation
Reagan won the Cold War and lost his mind
George Bush senior poked at Saddam Hussein
Clinton got our budget well in hand
W led us into the Great Recession
Obama tries to change the things he can
Now we're here in 2011
Who knows what the future holds in store?
New names will be missing from these lyrics
And someone else will have to write some more.
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100 videos
Awesome!
wlmeng11 3 days ago
okay this is beyond cool. well done
ThePunisherGames 3 months ago
This is quite awesome
Blargmaster13 4 months ago in playlist Liked