I have never seen 1776 in its entirety, although it seems like lots of people I know have, mostly in its movie form. The recording I have is of the recent Broadway revival, which features former Trekkie Brent Spiner as John Adams. I think it's a great recording, and I'm glad that a lot of dialogue is included with the songs to give you a better sense as to what's going on. Anyways, it's a pretty neat show and an interesting subject...
Songs: Sit Down, John � The Lees of Old Virginia � But Mr. Adams
� He Plays the Violin � Momma Look Sharp � The Egg
Broadway Revival Cast � Take this week's quiz � Take my Musical Theatre Survey
John Adams: I have come to the conlusion that one useless man is called a
disgrace, that two are called a law firm, and that three or more
become a congress, and by God, I have had this congress. For ten
years King George and his parliament have galled, cullied, and
diddled these colonies with their illegal taxes. Stamp Acts,
Townshend Acts, Sugar Acts, Tea Acts, when we dared stand up to
them like men, they stopped our trade, seized our ships, blockaded
our ports, burned our towns, and spilled our blood, and still this
congress won't grant any of my proposals on independence even so
much as the courtesy of open debate. Good God! What in hell are
they waiting for?
Congress: Sit down, John. Sit down, John. For God's sake, John, sit down.
Sit down, John. Sit down, John. For God's sake, John, sit down.
Congressman: Someone ought to open up a window.
Congress: It's ninety degrees; have mercy, John, please.
It's hot as hell in Philadelphia.
Congressman: Someone ought to open up a window.
John Adams: I say, vote yes.
Congress: No.
John Adams: Vote, yes. Vote for independency.
Congress: Someone ought to open up a window.
John Adams: I say, vote yes.
Congress: Sit down, John.
John Adams: Vote for independency.
Congressman: Someone ought to open up a window.
Congressmen: No! No! No! Too many flies. Yes, too many flies,
And it's hot as hell in Philadelphia.
Congressmen: I am going to open up a window.
Congressmen: Can't we compromise here?
John Adams: Vote yes.
Congressmen: No, too many flies here.
John Adams: Vote yes.
Congress: Oh, for God's sake, John, sit down.
John Adams: Good God, consider yourselves fortunate that you have John
Adams to abuse, for no sane man would tolerate it.
Congress: John, you're a lore; we've heard this before.
Now, for God's sake, John, sit down.
John Adams: I say, vote yes.
Congress: No!
John Adams: Vote yes.
Congress: No!
John Adams: Vote for independency.
Congressmen: Someone ought to open up a window.
John Adams: I say, vote yes.
Congress: Sit down, John.
John Adams: Vote for independency.
Congressman: Will someone shut that man up?
John Adams: Never! Never!
Benjamin Franklin: Strictly speaking, Richard, while Virginia's views on
independence are well known, your legislature in
Williamsburg has never formally authorized this delegation
here in Congress to support the cause. Of course, if we
could think of a Virginian who could have enough influence
who could go down there and persuade that House of
Burgesses-
Richard Henry Lee: Dear me, if I haven't noticed someone!
Franklin and Adams: Who?
Richard Henry Lee: Me.
John Adams: Incredible... What makes you so sure you could do it?
Richard Henry Lee: Ha! My name is Richard Henry Lee; Virginia is my home.
My name is Richard Henry Lee; Virginia is my home,
And may my horses turn to glue if I can't deliver up to you
A resolution on independency.
For I am F. F. V., the first family
In the sovereign colony of Virginia.
Yes, the F. F. V., the oldest family
In the oldest colony in America.
And may the British burn my land
If I can't deliver to your hand
A resolution on independency.
You see, it's here a Lee, there a Lee,
Everywhere a Lee, a Lee.
Benjamin Franklin: Social
Richard Henry Lee: Lee.
Benjamin Franklin: Political
Richard Henry Lee: Lee.
Benjamin Franklin: Financial
Richard Henry Lee: Lee.
Benjamin Franklin: Natural
Richard Henry Lee: Lee.
Benjamin Franklin: Internal
Richard Henry Lee: Lee.
Benjamin Franklin: External
Richard Henry Lee: Lee.
Benjamin Franklin: Fraternal
Richard Henry Lee: Lee.
Benjamin Franklin: Eternal
Richard Henry Lee: Lee.
Lee and Franklin: The F. F. V., the first family
In the sovereign colony of Virginia.
Richard Henry Lee: And may my wife refuse my bed
If I can't deliver as I said
A resolution on independency.
John Adams: Spoken modest-Lee, God help us.
Benjamin Franklin: He will, John. He will.
Richard Henry Lee: They say that God in Heaven is everybody's God.
Benjamin Franklin: Amen.
Richard Henry Lee: I'll admit that God in Heaven is everybody's God,
But I tell you, John, with pride,
God leans a little on the side
Of the Lees, the Lees of Old Virginia.
You see, it's here a Lee, there a Lee,
Everywhere a Lee, a Lee.
You see, it's here a Lee, there a Lee,
Everywhere a Lee--Look out,
There's Arthur Lee, Bobby Lee,
And General Lighthorse Harry Lee,
Willy Lee, Jesse Lee-
Benjamin Franklin: And Richard H.!
Richard Henry Lee: That's me, and may my blood stop running blue
If I can't deliver up to you
A resolution on independency.
Yes, sir, by God, it's here a Lee, there a Lee.
Come on, boys, join in with me.
All Three: Here a Lee, there a Lee.
Benjamin Franklin: When do you leave?
Richard Henry Lee: Immediately.
All Three: Here a Lee, there a Lee.
Benjamin Franklin: When do you return?
Richard Henry Lee: Shortly.
All Three: Here a Lee, there a Lee.
Richard Henry Lee: And I'll come back triumphant-Lee.
All Three: Here a Lee, there a Lee, everywhere a Lee, a Lee.
Richard Henry Lee: Forward Ho!
John Adams: That was the most revolting display I've ever
witnessed.
Benjamin Franklin: They're warm-blooded people, Virginians.
John Adams: Not him, Franklin. You!
Benjamin Franklin: Cheer up, John. At this very moment, our cause is again
riding high, sitting straight in the saddle, and in full
gallop of Virginia.
Richard Henry Lee: And our women are serene-
John Adams: Good God...
Richard Henry Lee: Full-bosomed.
Benjamin Franklin: Full-bosomed?
Richard Henry Lee: Full-bosomed, Benji. Every one, a queen.
Why? They are Lees, damn it, Lees of Old Virginia.
Yes, sir, by God, it's here a Lee, there a Lee.
Come on, John, step lively.
All Three: Here a Lee, there a Lee, everywhere a Lee, a Lee.
Richard Henry Lee: Forward Ho!
John Adams: Alright, gentlemen, let's get on with it. Which of us
will write our declaration on independence?
Benjamin Franklin: Mr. Adams, I think you should write it.
To your legal mind and brilliance, we defer.
John Adams: Is that so? Well, if I'm the one to do it,
They'll run their quill pens through it.
I'm obnoxious and disliked, you know that, sir?
Benjamin Franklin: Yes, I know.
John Adams: Then I say, you should write it Franklin, yes you.
Benjamin Franklin: Hell no.
John Adams: Yes, you, Dr. Franklin, you.
Benjamin Franklin: But-
John Adams: You!
Benjamin Franklin: But-
John Adams: You!
Benjamin Franklin: But, Mr. Adams, but, Mr. Adams,
The things I write are only light extemporania.
I won't put politics on paper, it's a mania,
So I refuse to use a pen in Pennsylvania.
Ensemble: Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, refuse to use the pen.
John Adams: Mr. Sherman, I say you should write it.
You are never controversial, as it were.
Roger Sherman: That is true.
John Adams: Whereas, if I'm the one to do it,
They'll run their quill pens through it.
I'm obnoxious and disliked, you know that, sir?
Roger Sherman: Yes, I do.
John Adams: Then I say, you should write it, Roger, yes you.
Roger Sherman: Good heavens, no!
John Adams: Yes, you, Roger Sherman, you.
Roger Sherman: But-
John Adams: You!
Roger Sherman: But-
John Adams: You!
Roger Sherman: But, Mr. Adams, but Mr. Adams,
I cannot write with any style or proper etiquette.
I do not know a participle from a predicate.
I am just a simple cobbler from Connecticut.
Ensemble: Connecticut, Connecticut, a simple cobbler he.
John Adams: Mr. Livingston, maybe you should write it.
You have many friends, and you're a diplomat.
Whereas, if I'm the one to do it,
They'll run their quill pens through it.
Ensemble: He's obnoxious and disliked, did you know that?
Robert Livingston: I hadn't heard.
John Adams: Then I say, you should write it Robert, yes you.
Robert Livingston: Not me, Johnny.
John Adams: Yes, you, Robert Livingston, you.
Robert Livinston: But-
John Adams: You!
Robert Livingston: But-
John Adams: You!
Robert Livingston: But, Mr. Adams, dear Mr. Adams,
I've been presented with a new son by the noble stork,
So I going home to celebrate and pop a cork
With all the Livingstons together back in Old New York.
Ensemble: New York, New York, Livingston's going to pop a cork.
John Adams: Mr. Jefferson-
Thomas Jefferson: Mr. Adams, leave me alone!
John Adams: Mr. Jefferson-
Thomas Jefferson: Mr. Adams, I beg you. I've not seen my wife in six months.
John Adams: You write ten times better than any man in Congress,
including me. For a man of only thirty-three years, you
possess a happy talent for composition and a remarkable
felicity of expression. Now, will you be a patriot... or a
lover?
Thomas Jefferson: A lover...
John Adams: No!
Thomas Jefferson: But I burn, Mr. A.
John Adams: So do I, Mr. J.
Thomas Jefferson: You? You do?
Benjamin Franklin: John!
Thomas Jefferson: Who'd have thought it?
John Adams: Mr. Jefferson, dear Mr. Jefferson,
I'm only forty-one, I still have my virility,
And I can romp through Cupid's grove with great agility,
But life is more than sexual combustibility.
Ensemble: Bustibility, bustibility, combustibili-
John Adams: Quiet! Now, you'll write it, Mr. J.
Thomas Jefferson: Who will make me, Mr. A.?
John Adams: I!
Thomas Jefferson: You?
John Adams: Yes.
Thomas Jefferson: How?
John Adams: By, by physical force, if necessary. It's your duty,
it's your duty, damn it.
Thomas Jefferson: Mr. Adams, damn you, Mr. Adams,
you're obnoxious and disliked, that cannot be denied.
Once again you stand between me and my lovely bride.
Ensemble: Lovely bride.
Thomas Jefferson: Oh, Mr. Adams, you are driving me to homicide.
Ensemble: Homicide, homicide, we may see murder yet.
Franklin: Tell us about yourself, madam. We've had precious little
information. What's your first name?
Martha Jefferson: Martha.
Franklin: Oh, Martha. He might at least have told us that. I'm afraid
your husband doesn't say very much.
Adams: He's the most silent man in Congress. I've never heard him
utter three sentences together.
Franklin: Not everyone's a talker, John.
Martha: It's true, you know. Tom is not a... talker.
Oh, he never speaks his passions, he never speaks his views.
Whereas other men speak volumes, the man I love is mute.
In truth I can't recall being wooed with words at all, even now.
Adams: Go on, madam.
Franklin: How did he win you, Martha? How does he hold onto a bauble
such as you?
Martha: He plays the violin; he tucks it right under his chin,
and he bows, oh, he bows, for he knows, yes, he knows,
That it's hi-hi-hi-diddle-diddle,
'Twixt my heart, Tom, and his fiddle.
My strings are unstrung. Hi-hi-hi-hi, I am undone.
Franklin: The violin, madam?
Martha: I hear his violin, and I get that feeling within,
And I sigh, oh, I sigh. He draws near, very near,
And it's hi-hi-hi-diddle-diddle, and goodbye to the fiddle.
My strings are unstrung. Hi-hi-hi-hi, I'm always undone.
Franklin: That settles it, John. We're taking up the violin.
Adams: Very well, madam, you've got us playing the violin. What
happens next?
Martha: Why, just what you'd expect: we dance.
Adams: Dance?
Franklin: Dance? Incredible!
They dance
John, you can dance.
Adams: Not everyone's from Philadelphia, Franklin.
All Three: Hi-hi-hi-hi.
Martha: And Heaven calls to me, save me that sad elegy.
Say I die, loving bride, loving wife, loving life,
For it was hi-hi-hi-diddle-diddle,
'Twixt my heart, Tom and his fiddle,
And ever 'twill be.
All Three: Hi-hi-hi-hi
Martha: Through eternity.
Adams: He plays the violin.
Franklin: He plays the violin.
Martha: He plays the violin.
Andrew McNair: Another rum, General?
Courier: General? Lawd, I ain't even a corporal.
Andrew McNair: Yeah, well, what's the army like? What's it like out
there, General?
Courier: You probably know more than me.
McNair: Sitting in here? Sweet Jesus! This is the last place to
find out what's going on.
Leather Apron: You seen any fighting?
Courier: Sure did. I seed my two best friends get shot dead in the
very same day. At Lexington it was, too, right in the village
green. When they didn't come home for supper, their mommas
came down the hill looking for them. Miss Lowell, she found
Timothy right off, but Miss Pickett, she looked near half the
night for Willy 'cause he'd gone and crawled off the green
before he died.
Momma, hey, Momma, come lookin' for me.
I'm here in the meadow by the red maple tree.
Momma, hey, Momma, look sharp; here I be.
Hey, hey, Momma, look sharp.
Them soldiers, they fought, oh, Ma, did we run,
But then we turned 'round and the battle begun,
Then I went under. Oh, Ma, am I done?
Hey, hey, Momma, look sharp.
My eyes are wide open, my face to the sky.
Is that you I'm hearing in the tall grass nearby?
Momma, come find me before I do die.
Hey, hey, Momma, look sharp.
Ensemble: I'll close your eyes, my Billy, them eyes that cannot see,
And I'll bury you, my Billy, beneath the maple tree.
Courier: And never again will you whisper to me,
Hey, hey, oh, Momma, look sharp.
Adams: Jefferson, we've been looking for you.
Jefferson: They're reading the declaration.
Adams: Well, you've got nothing to fear, it's a masterpiece. I'm to be
congratulated.
Franklin: You?
Adams: For making him write it.
Franklin: Ah, yes, of course.
Adams: It's a masterpiece, I say.
They will cheer every word, every letter.
Jefferson: I wish I felt that way.
Franklin: I believe I can put it better.
Now then, attend as friend to friend our declaration committee,
For us I see immortality in Philadelphia city.
A farmer, a lawyer, and a sage a bit gouty in the leg.
You know, it's quite bizarre to think that here we are
Playing midwives to an egg.
All Three: We're waiting for the chirp, chirp, chirp of an eaglet being born,
Waiting for the chirp, chirp, chirp on this humid Monday morning
In this congressional incubator.
Franklin: God knows, the temperature's hot enough to hatch a stone,
let alone an egg.
Adams: We're waiting for the scratch, scratch, scratch
of that tiny little fellow,
All Three: Waiting for egg to hatch on this humid Monday morning
In this congressional incubator.
Adams: God knows, the temperature's hot enough to hatch a stone.
Jefferson: But will it hatch an egg?
Adams: This declaration will be a triumph, a triumph, I tell you! If I
was ever sure of anything, I'm sure of that. A triumph! And if
it isn't, well, we still have four more days to think of something
else.
The eagle's going to crack the shell of the egg that England laid.
All Three: Yes, so we can tell, tell, tell on this humid Monday morning
In this congressional incubator.
Franklin: And just as Tom here has written,
Though the shell may belong to Great Britain,
The eagle inside belongs to us.
All Three: And just as Tom here has written,
We say, to hell with Great Britain
The eagle inside belongs to us.
John Hancock, President Continental Congress............................Richard Poe Dr. Josiah Bartlett, New Hampshire................................Michael X. Martin John Adams, Massachusetts..............................................Brent Spiner Stephen Hopkins, Rhode Island..........................................Tom Aldredge Roger Sherman, Connecticut.............................................John Herrera Lewis Morris, New York.............................................Tom Riis Farrell Robert Livingston, New York...........................................Daniel Marcus Rev. John Witherspoon, New Jersey.....................................Jerry Lanning Benjamin Franklin, Pennsylvania..........................................Pat Hingle John Dickinson, Pennsylvania........................................Michael Cumpsty James Wilson, Pennsylvania..........................................Michael Winther Caesar Rodney, Delaware...........................................Michael McCormick Col. Thomas McKean, Delaware.............................................Bill Nolte George Read, Delaware...................................................Kevin Ligon Samuel Chase, Maryland................................................Ric Stoneback Richard Henry Lee, Virginia............................................Merwin Foard Thomas Jefferson, Virginia......................................Paul Michael Valley John Hewes, North Carolina.........................................David Lowenstein Edward Rutledge, South Carolina.......................................Gregg Edelman Dr. Lyman Hall, Georgia............................................Brian Sutherland Charles Thomson, Congressional Secretary...................................Guy Paul Andrew McNair, Congressional Custodian..............................Macintyre Dixon A Leather Apron......................................................Joseph Cassidy Courier...........................................................Eric J. McCormack Abigail Adams..........................................................Linda Edmond Martha Jefferson........................................................Lauren Ward Painter................................................................Ben Sheaffer
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