Schoolhouse Rock: No More Kings
Thanks to the Schoolhouse Rock America Rock series, history became my favorite subject in elementary school and has remained one of my lasting interests.
Judging by the comments on You Tube, history teachers, today, are still using these very same films to teach their students important lessons in history.
As all lessons originally intended for children must be, these are brief with a positive spin, ignoring many of the uglier historical truths. That is appropriate for teaching very young children. However, this does not mean these are not useful tools to teach, not only easy lessons on early American history, law, and government, but also English, through the repetition of useful English words and correct grammar usage.
The Schoolhouse Rock animation short film called “No More Kings” tells the story of the Pilgrims who came to America as loyal British subjects and how they eventually rebelled against England to form the United States of America.
Watch and sing along with the lyrics provided below:
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 missing Mother England.
They swore their loyalty until the very end.
Anything you say, King.
It’s okay, King.
You know, it’s kinda 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 feeling 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!)
Nobody’s gonna tell us what to do!
Rockin’ and a-rollin’, splishin’, and a-splashin’,
Over the horizon, what can it be?
Looks like it’s going to be a free country.
CONCLUSION
Most of these Schoolhouse Rock animation short films were originally aired on TV in the early 1970s. While they were progressive for their time, some of the views expressed in them, as well as their production value, may seem dated by today’s standards. Also, keep in mind that they were intended for very young children who were glued to their TV sets (including me!) after school and every morning on the weekends. It was a noble effort by a lot of idealistic folks who wanted to provide some much needed education to America’s youth at the time.
Schoolhouse Rock offers broad explanations of difficult subjects, which I believe is extremely useful to anyone seeking to learn the English language and American culture. However, these animated short films are, in no way, meant to be complete lessons on the subject.
If you want to buy the entire collection of all 46 Schoolhouse Rock videos in a special edition 2-disc DVD 30th anniversary set from Amazon.com, click here
[For more Schoolhouse Rock videos, click here.]
[For more “Easy Steps to Success with English,” click here.]
