Schoolhouse Rock: Fireworks on the Fourth of July
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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 “Fireworks” teaches some basic facts about the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America.
Watch and sing along with the lyrics provided below:
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. (Yeah!)
In seventeen seventy six, (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-huh,
The Declaration of Independence. (Oh, yeah!)
In seventeen hundred seventy six, (Right on!)
The Continental Congress said that we were free, (We’re free!)
Said we had the right of life and liberty,
And the pursuit of happiness!
Ooh! When England heard the news, (Kapow!)
They blew their stack! (They really blew their cool!)
But, the colonies lit the fuse.
There’d be no turning back. (No turnin’ back!)
They’d had enough of 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!
And, 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-huh,
The Declaration of Independence. (Oh, yeah!)
In seventeen hundred seventy six, (Right on!)
The Continental Congress said that we were free, (We’re free!)
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 inalienable 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 it’s—(ooh!)
There’s gonna be fireworks!
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.]
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