Friday, July 5, 2013

1776, the musical - Cool, cool, conservative men

The more some things change, the more others stay the same.  Watching the 1972 movie musical, "1776", I was struck by the observations of the original 1969 multi-Tony award winning play that resonate today.



Of the many songs and lines of dialog which were applicable, this struck me as especially worth sharing here, about conservatives, past (and present).

Cool, Cool, Considerate Men by David Ford
Dickinson:
Oh say do you see what I see?
Congress sitting here in sweet serenity
I could cheer; the reason's clear
For the first time in a year Adams isn't here
And look, the sun is in the sky
A breeze is blowing by, and there's not a single fly

I sing hosanna, hosanna
Hosanna, hosanna
And it's cool

Come ye cool cool conservative men
The likes of which may never be seen again
We have land, cash in hand
Self-command, future planned
Fortune flies, society survives
In neatly ordered lives with well-endowered wives

We sing hosanna, hosanna
To our breeding and our banner
We are cool

Come ye cool cool considerate set
We'll dance together to the same minuet
To the right, ever to the right
Never to the left, forever to the right
May our creed be never to exceed
Regulated speed, no matter what the need

We sing hosanna, hosanna
Enblazoned on our banner
Is keep cool

What we do we do rationally
We never ever go off half-cocked, not we
Why begin till we know that we can win
And if we cannot win why bother to begin?
Rutledge:
We say this game's not of our choosing
Why should we risk losing?
All:
We are cool

To the right, ever to the right
Never to the left, forever to the right
We have gold, a market that will hold
Tradition that is old, a reluctance to be bold.
Dickinson:
I sing hosanna, hosanna
In a sane and lucid manner
We are cool
All:
Come ye cool cool considerate men
The likes of which may never be seen again
With our land, cash in hand
Self-command, future planned
And we'll hold to our gold
Tradition that is old, reluctant to be bold.
We say this game's not of our choosing
Why should we risk losing?

We cool, cool, cool
Cool, cool, cool
Cool cool men.

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