Hey all…well, I haven't been contributing much lately, which is due to my part in the school's Variety Show. Ya, I'm singing…eh, thank God you guys won't be there! But, in the spirit of my performance, I wrote this song parody, H! style, I'm hoping!

(To the tune of "American Pie")

(Scene: A bleak December day in 1799. George Washington, General, President, father of his country, has just died, and things are looking bad for the Federalists in the country. Spotlights open to a stage, decked out in black. The two main singers will be Light-Horse Harry Lee (who was a major Federalist, and one of Washington's biggest supporters) and Alexander Hamilton…(for obvious reasons!) the Kid Chorus will be doing the chorus and background. Ok guys, use your imaginations for the scenes from the song! ::Hammy takes a deep breath:: here goes!)

Charity: We are here tonight to pay our respects to the greatest American to grace our history pages…

Cho-Cho: A general, a president…and the man responsible for keeping out nation strong…George Washington.

(Hamilton walks on)

(Tune of "American Pie" starts up)

Hamilton: (deep, bass voice. Try to imagine…)
A long, long time ago
I can still remember
How the "music" used to make me smile
And I knew he'd given us this chance
To be more than just a passing glance
And to hang on for a little while
But December made me shiver
With every speech that I'd deliver
Bad news on the front page
Grief on every American face
And I remember how I cried when I
Heard about his widowed bride
Something touched me deep inside
The day the "music" died

Kid Chorus:
And we were singing
Bye, Bye to America's Pride
Though they went heavy on the levy
It just shows that we tried
And all our good old boys
Fought over whiskey and rye
Singing this'll be the day that I die…
This'll be the day that I die

Lee: (a sweet tenor voice)
Did you write the book of war?
And do you have faith in who came before
If the papers tell you so
And do you believe in unity
Can you remember his great dream
Or do you think the dream's gone cold?
Well I know that you once loved him
'Cause I heard you cheer when he came in
But now you've changed your views
Thanks to the weekly news
I was a lonely, Federalistic buck
With metals, memories, and love
But I knew it wasn't enough
The day the music died

Kid Chorus: (Repeats chorus)

Hamilton:
Well, for sixteen years we've been on our own
Trying to find a way to pay back that loan
Trying to remember how it used to be
When we went against the king's tyranny
With a single, liberating scream
Who's voice came from you and me
And when the King thought he had us down
The General burnt his sparkling crown
The Congress was adjourned
Had a government when they returned
So the Convention made its mark
With the General leading us from dark
And we began to play our part
The day the music died

Kid Chorus: (repeats chorus)

Lee:
Foreign relations began to swelter
We no longer needed the French for shelter
Perpetual alliances falling fast
And the British tried to get us past
While Tom's Republicans praised France
With the General on the sidelines holding fast
Well neutrality was sweet perfume
We were still too weak to chose
But Tom still wanted to dance
In support of his beloved France
They tried to open the playing field
But the General refused to yield
And both sides had hidden swords to wield
The day the music died

Kid Chorus: (repeat)

Hamilton:
And there we all were in one place
A generation losing face
Though it was us who had helped them win
So come on, John be nimble, John be quick
John got burned by Tom's candle stick
'Cause fire is the devil's only friend
And as I watched him win that race
My hands were clenched in fists of rage
No angel born in hell
Could destroy what we had worked for so well
And as the flames climbed high into the night
To burn the General's founding right
Jefferson was laughing with delight
The day the music died

Kid Chorus: (repeat)

Lee: (as the music slows down, Lee turns to Hamilton, who is suddenly fading from view, his face sad. Lee reaches out, closing his eyes in pain. Hamilton is gone)
I met a man who lost a duel
And I tried to help him use his views
But he was too far gone to stay
So I went down to the Tavern floor
Where I heard men had been brave before
But I saw they all had gone away
And on every face the tears streamed as
Federalists cried
And Republicans dreamed
Not a word was spoken
As the funeral bells were tolling.
And the three men I admired most
The father (picture of Washington), son (pic of Hamilton), and their holy ghost (pic of the Constitution)
All lamented their lost hope
The day the music died

Kid Chorus: (repeats chorus slowly. Suddenly, the room is filled with Federalists---Hamilton reappears, John Adams, John Marshall…many of our Founders. They all sing the reprise of the chorus)

And we were singing
Bye, bye to America's pride
Though they went heavy on the levy
It just showed that we tried
And all our good old boys
Fought over whiskey and rye
Singing, this'll be the day that I die…
This'll be the day that I die…


(Fade to black)

So, what'd ya think? Bad? Horrible? Fear-inducing? Lol…seriously, review if you are so inclined…lol

Ah, I forgot...50 billion imaginary, fake, computer dollars to whoever can figure out the historical references! Shouldn't be hard, and I imagine Nftnat, BB, or one of you guys can ::winks:: ya...well, wish me luck on my performance tonight!!!
--Hammy

That's pretty good! It'd be nice to see this animated and put in another American eppy. Here are the historical references I see:

1. THE FEDERALIST paper: Hamilton wrote these.
2. The U.S. for many years had trouble paying war loans to Spain, France, the Netherlands, etc.
3. The Constitutional Convention is mentioned. Washington is the President of this thing.
4. I notice you mention of the Quasi-War America had with France. I also note how Jefferson's party wanted stronger relations with France. Washington thought it best to be neutral during this point to keep us out of what would become the Napoleonic Wars. We did admitedly flounder on the forigen relation field at this point; it'd help lead to the War of 1812.
5. Adams was proven unpopular with Jefferson. Adams also kept us out of all-out war with France and stopped the Quasi-War.
6. Hamilton did die in a duel with Aaron Burr.
7. "The Wishkey Rebellion" is mentioned, Washington stamped out farmers who hated the wiskey tax.
8....Aaaand of course Washington defeated British forces in the Revolution. Yorktown, Monmouth, Boston, etc...

Sadly enough, without Hamilton and Washington, the Federalist party died out by the time James Monroe got to office. As such, this was a bad time for the party.
...

Good luck on the performance. Anyone who visits these boards is always talented. And tell me if I got all the refs! (P.S.: If you need me to explain where the refs as I see them are, please tell me)

Lol, you got most of the refs, BB, except one, which was pretty buried. "The Tavern floor" was the Ralegh Tavern, where Washington, R.H. Lee, Patrick Henry, Jefferson and all the other Burgess members went when Lord Dunmore closed down the assembly. Lol, but that's just nitpicking on my part. Ah, I won't be able to make the chat tonight because I have my second show-thngy. Ah, last night...well, I'll wait till next week to tell you guys about it! Or maybe I'll be back in time tonight. Anyway...lol

You did a fine job of integrating the old song (albeit as long as it is) with these new lyrics. Three cheers for American folk songs!!