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Song Parodies -> "But Mr. Adams"
Original Song Title:
"But Mr. Adams"
Original Performer:
1776 Broadway Cast (Original 1969 / Revival with Brent Spiner 1997)
Parody Song Title:
"But Mr. Adams"
Parody Written by:
The Comedian
The Lyrics
Tonight (Friday April 23) is opening night for The Concord Players production of the musical "1776", in which I play Dr. Lyman Hall, delegate from Georgia. I've been working on parodies for the show's songs (of course!), and I'd like to share with you one of my "1776" parodies: "But Mr. Adams" - a song-and-dance number in which John Adams, Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert Livingston, and Roger Sherman all try to figure out who should write the Declaration of Independence. Here is a link to an audio sample from the 1997 Broadway revival starring Brent Spiner (Mr. Data from Star Trek TNG) as John Adams: ... http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000000GU0/002-9368759-0928047?v=glance ........ Here is a link to a MIDI audio file of the entire song "But Mr. Adams" : ...... http://www.hamienet.com/6611.mid ..... And here is a link to the original lyrics of "But Mr. Adams": ..... http://thespia.topcities.com/1776/1776songs.html#but
(The parody's basic theme is that John Adams is a Patriotic Exhibitionist who never wears anything below the waist, and who is therefore trying to get Congress to approve a Declaration of Public Nudity)
(spoken)
(ADAMS: )
All right now gentlemen, let's get on with it... Which one of us shall write our Declaration of Public Nudity?
(singing)
(FRANKLIN: )
Mr. Adams, I say you, should write it
To your shameless self-exposure we defer
(ADAMS: )
Nay, sir, nay!
For if I'm the one to do it
They'll run their quill pens through it
They're all jealous of my wood, you know that, sir
(FRANKLIN, rolling his eyes: )
Whatever you say...
(ADAMS: )
So I say you should write it, Franklin, yes, you!
(FRANKLIN: )
Hell, no!
(ADAMS: )
Yes, you, Dr. Franklin, you!
(FRANKLIN: )
But!
(ADAMS: )
You!
(FRANKLIN: )
But!
(ADAMS: )
You!
(FRANKLIN: )
But!
(FRANKLIN: )
Mr. Adams
But, Mr. Adams
The things I write are pornographic entertainia
I put erotica on paper - that's my mania
So please peruse, and use your hand for Masturbania
(FRANKLIN, SHERMAN, LIVINGSTON, AND JEFFERSON: )
Mas-turbania!
Mas-turbania!
Peruse
And use
Your ha-a-a-a-and!
(ADAMS: )
Mr. Sherman, I say you, should write it
You are not an exhibitionist, no sir!
(SHERMAN, shrugging: )
Clothes are good...
(ADAMS: )
For if I'm the one to do it
They'll run their quill pens through it
They're all jealous of my wood, you know that, sir
(SHERMAN: )
What's a "wood" ?
(ADAMS: )
So I say you should write it, Sherman, yes you!
(SHERMAN: )
Good heavens, no!
(ADAMS: )
Yes, you, Roger Sherman, you!
(SHERMAN: )
But!
(ADAMS: )
You!
(SHERMAN: )
But!
(ADAMS: )
You!
(SHERMAN: )
But!
(SHERMAN: )
Mr. Adams
But, Mr. Adams
I dare not write about a topic such as nudity
It offends my sense of modesty and prudity
Besides which I might get aroused from all that crudity
(FRANKLIN, SHERMAN, LIVINGSTON, AND JEFFERSON: )
Ca-rudity!
Ca-rudity!
A horny cobbler he!
(ADAMS: )
Mr. Livingston, maybe you should write it
You have orgies in your downtown New York flat!
(FRANKLIN: )
Lusty whores!
(ADAMS: )
For if I'm the one to do it
They'll run their quill pens through it
(FRANKLIN, SHERMAN, AND JEFFERSON: )
He thinks WE en-vy his wood, did you know that?
(LIVINGSTON: )
He's such a bore !
(ADAMS: )
So I say you should write it, Livingston, yes you!
(LIVINGSTON: )
Not me, Johnny!
(ADAMS: )
Yes, you, Robert Livingston, you!
(LIVINGSTON: )
But!
(ADAMS: )
You!
(LIVINGSTON: )
But!
(ADAMS: )
You!
(LIVINGSTON: )
But!
(LIVINGSTON: )
Mr. Adams
Dear Mr. Adams
I've been presented with an insult to my manly pride
So I am going home to shoot a gun be-tween the thighs
Of several bastards who said my man-hood could not a-rise!
(FRANKLIN, SHERMAN, LIVINGSTON, AND JEFFERSON: )
A-rise!
A-rise!
Livingston's going to shoot some guys!
(spoken)
(ADAMS: )
Well, Mr. Jefferson...?
(singing)
(JEFFERSON: )
Mr. Adams,
Fig-leaf your groin!
(spoken)
(ADAMS: )
Mr. Jefferson -
(JEFFERSON: )
Mr. Adams, I beg you, we've had enough of you swinging your Johnson around these six months!
(ADAMS: )
"...and we solemnly declare we will dress lightly in the midst of the summer's heat, being with one mind resolved to die cool men, rather than to live as sweat-hogs."
Thomas Jefferson, "On The Stupidity Of Wearing Wool In The Summer", 1775 - magnificent ... 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, Mr. Jefferson - will you be a nudist...or a prudist?
(JEFFERSON: )
A prudist.
(ADAMS: )
No!
(JEFFERSON: )
But I might get aroused, Mr A !
(ADAMS: )
So might I, Mr. J !
(FRANKLIN: )
John, you can still get it up?
(SHERMAN: )
Really?
(LIVINGSTON: )
Who'd have thought it!
(singing)
(ADAMS: )
Mr. Jefferson
Dear Mr. Jefferson
Although I still possess my potent male virility
No sweaty Congressmen can make my Johnson stiff, you see -
Only my dear wife Abigail has that ability!
(FRANKLIN, SHERMAN, AND LIVINGSTON: )
That ability!
That ability!
Has-that-a-bi-li-
(spoken)
(ADAMS: )
QUIET !!!
Now, you'll write it, Mr. J.!
(JEFFERSON: ) (Six-foot-three)
Who will make me, Mr. A.?
(ADAMS: ) (Five-foot-eight)
I !
(JEFFERSON: )
You?
(ADAMS: )
Yes!
(JEFFERSON: )
How?
(ADAMS: ) (Taps Jefferson on chest with quill pen)
By--by physical force, if necessary! It's your duty--your duty, dammit!!
(singing)
(JEFFERSON: )
Mr. Adams
Damn you, Mr. Adams
You're unclothed below the waist and now you've realized
That you need my help to get your Johnson legalized
(FRANKLIN, SHERMAN, AND LIVINGSTON: )
" Le-ga-lized..."
(JEFFERSON: )
Ohhhh Mr. Adams, you are begging to be CIRCUMCISED!!!
(FRANKLIN, SHERMAN, AND LIVINGSTON: )
Circumcised!
Circumcised!
We
May
Hear
John scream
Yet!
(spoken)
(ADAMS: )
All right now gentlemen, let's get on with it... Which one of us shall write our Declaration of Public Nudity?
(singing)
(FRANKLIN: )
Mr. Adams, I say you, should write it
To your shameless self-exposure we defer
(ADAMS: )
Nay, sir, nay!
For if I'm the one to do it
They'll run their quill pens through it
They're all jealous of my wood, you know that, sir
(FRANKLIN, rolling his eyes: )
Whatever you say...
(ADAMS: )
So I say you should write it, Franklin, yes, you!
(FRANKLIN: )
Hell, no!
(ADAMS: )
Yes, you, Dr. Franklin, you!
(FRANKLIN: )
But!
(ADAMS: )
You!
(FRANKLIN: )
But!
(ADAMS: )
You!
(FRANKLIN: )
But!
(FRANKLIN: )
Mr. Adams
But, Mr. Adams
The things I write are pornographic entertainia
I put erotica on paper - that's my mania
So please peruse, and use your hand for Masturbania
(FRANKLIN, SHERMAN, LIVINGSTON, AND JEFFERSON: )
Mas-turbania!
Mas-turbania!
Peruse
And use
Your ha-a-a-a-and!
(ADAMS: )
Mr. Sherman, I say you, should write it
You are not an exhibitionist, no sir!
(SHERMAN, shrugging: )
Clothes are good...
(ADAMS: )
For if I'm the one to do it
They'll run their quill pens through it
They're all jealous of my wood, you know that, sir
(SHERMAN: )
What's a "wood" ?
(ADAMS: )
So I say you should write it, Sherman, yes you!
(SHERMAN: )
Good heavens, no!
(ADAMS: )
Yes, you, Roger Sherman, you!
(SHERMAN: )
But!
(ADAMS: )
You!
(SHERMAN: )
But!
(ADAMS: )
You!
(SHERMAN: )
But!
(SHERMAN: )
Mr. Adams
But, Mr. Adams
I dare not write about a topic such as nudity
It offends my sense of modesty and prudity
Besides which I might get aroused from all that crudity
(FRANKLIN, SHERMAN, LIVINGSTON, AND JEFFERSON: )
Ca-rudity!
Ca-rudity!
A horny cobbler he!
(ADAMS: )
Mr. Livingston, maybe you should write it
You have orgies in your downtown New York flat!
(FRANKLIN: )
Lusty whores!
(ADAMS: )
For if I'm the one to do it
They'll run their quill pens through it
(FRANKLIN, SHERMAN, AND JEFFERSON: )
He thinks WE en-vy his wood, did you know that?
(LIVINGSTON: )
He's such a bore !
(ADAMS: )
So I say you should write it, Livingston, yes you!
(LIVINGSTON: )
Not me, Johnny!
(ADAMS: )
Yes, you, Robert Livingston, you!
(LIVINGSTON: )
But!
(ADAMS: )
You!
(LIVINGSTON: )
But!
(ADAMS: )
You!
(LIVINGSTON: )
But!
(LIVINGSTON: )
Mr. Adams
Dear Mr. Adams
I've been presented with an insult to my manly pride
So I am going home to shoot a gun be-tween the thighs
Of several bastards who said my man-hood could not a-rise!
(FRANKLIN, SHERMAN, LIVINGSTON, AND JEFFERSON: )
A-rise!
A-rise!
Livingston's going to shoot some guys!
(spoken)
(ADAMS: )
Well, Mr. Jefferson...?
(singing)
(JEFFERSON: )
Mr. Adams,
Fig-leaf your groin!
(spoken)
(ADAMS: )
Mr. Jefferson -
(JEFFERSON: )
Mr. Adams, I beg you, we've had enough of you swinging your Johnson around these six months!
(ADAMS: )
"...and we solemnly declare we will dress lightly in the midst of the summer's heat, being with one mind resolved to die cool men, rather than to live as sweat-hogs."
Thomas Jefferson, "On The Stupidity Of Wearing Wool In The Summer", 1775 - magnificent ... 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, Mr. Jefferson - will you be a nudist...or a prudist?
(JEFFERSON: )
A prudist.
(ADAMS: )
No!
(JEFFERSON: )
But I might get aroused, Mr A !
(ADAMS: )
So might I, Mr. J !
(FRANKLIN: )
John, you can still get it up?
(SHERMAN: )
Really?
(LIVINGSTON: )
Who'd have thought it!
(singing)
(ADAMS: )
Mr. Jefferson
Dear Mr. Jefferson
Although I still possess my potent male virility
No sweaty Congressmen can make my Johnson stiff, you see -
Only my dear wife Abigail has that ability!
(FRANKLIN, SHERMAN, AND LIVINGSTON: )
That ability!
That ability!
Has-that-a-bi-li-
(spoken)
(ADAMS: )
QUIET !!!
Now, you'll write it, Mr. J.!
(JEFFERSON: ) (Six-foot-three)
Who will make me, Mr. A.?
(ADAMS: ) (Five-foot-eight)
I !
(JEFFERSON: )
You?
(ADAMS: )
Yes!
(JEFFERSON: )
How?
(ADAMS: ) (Taps Jefferson on chest with quill pen)
By--by physical force, if necessary! It's your duty--your duty, dammit!!
(singing)
(JEFFERSON: )
Mr. Adams
Damn you, Mr. Adams
You're unclothed below the waist and now you've realized
That you need my help to get your Johnson legalized
(FRANKLIN, SHERMAN, AND LIVINGSTON: )
" Le-ga-lized..."
(JEFFERSON: )
Ohhhh Mr. Adams, you are begging to be CIRCUMCISED!!!
(FRANKLIN, SHERMAN, AND LIVINGSTON: )
Circumcised!
Circumcised!
We
May
Hear
John scream
Yet!
"1776" by The Concord Players . . . www.concordplayers.org
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Voting Breakdown
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| 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | ||||||||
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 5 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
User Comments
Comments are subject to review, and can be removed by the administration of the site at any time and for any reason.
Very funny stuff! My boyfriend Tom Sullivan referred me to your site. It's almost as good as your portrayal of Dr. Hall! Brilliant!
I have this vision of you accidently singing this during a performance.
Thanks Jenn! Tom does a wonderful job portraying Rev. William Emerson in The Concord Prologue! Thank you for your kind words.
Rick - I'm not in this musical number, so I can parody it with complete safety! Thanks for your vote.
Rick - I'm not in this musical number, so I can parody it with complete safety! Thanks for your vote.
I think this could be the start of a great parody of the entire show. I can see it now. . . "1769"!
I LOVE this, Johnny! It's so entertaining! 5's
1776 555s!
Thank you Tom, Adagio, and Jack!
Very clever. Definitely an eagle, certainly no turkey...
Johnny D - I got your note back with the Web site posting for the Concord Players and took a brief look. Thanks! It's late and I'm tired, but I promise to come back tomorrow and listen to the link & check this out when I'm a bit fresher. I didn't even try to read it yet (except the "Intro"), I think I'm gonna some fun. Hey, congratulations on Opening Night, I'm sure it went well.
Interesting -- if bizarre -- idea. Well done! Nice to see something from this under-appreciated musical.
Thank you, Leo Jay - please check out my two other "1776" parodies:
"Is Anybody There?"
http://amiright.com/parody/60s/1776broadwaycastoriginal1969revivalwithbrentspiner19972.shtml
"Prude Prude Inhibited Men"
http://amiright.com/parody/60s/1776broadwaycastoriginal1969revivalwithbrentspiner19971.shtml
"Is Anybody There?"
http://amiright.com/parody/60s/1776broadwaycastoriginal1969revivalwithbrentspiner19972.shtml
"Prude Prude Inhibited Men"
http://amiright.com/parody/60s/1776broadwaycastoriginal1969revivalwithbrentspiner19971.shtml
Johnny, U B 1 sick puppy - lol! This has got to be the strangest take on 1776 I have ever seen! I love it! What's next, "Mama, Look Shocked!"? 555
Thanks Stray Pooch! I was thinking of "Momma, Cook Shark".
Oh my god, what a riot! I'm writing a parody of "But Mr. Adams" at this exact moment, and went online to look up what the lines were immediately before the song started (and who said them), as I had forgotten for a moment, and that's what brought me to your parody. I'm an actor/writer, and I LOVE "1776"...I want to see a gender-reversed version of '1776" someday, because it's not fair that women don't get to play these great, interesting, hilarious roles! Anyway, nice work. I love that you stayed so true to Sherman's personality ("clothes are good!"). :-)
Thanks Amy!
i thought that this this was very funny and portrays the real "But Mr. Adams" song. I'm playing Stephen Hopkins in a performnace of 1776 at my school
Lol, this is so funny! We had to watch this movie for school and I was looking for the answers to some movie questions for homework. I just cant resist clicking on things that say "parody", sooooo...
Btw, this is my favorite song in the whole movie ;)
You are an ass.
Extremely entertaining.
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