BILL OF RIGHTS SONGS
Memorize the entire Bill of Rights by singing the exact text to familiar tunes!
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if people all over the country were to learn these songs? I would love to hear them sung in the schools along with the recitation of the “Pledge of Allegiance.”
PROGRESS REPORT: So far only the First Amendment, Second Amendment, and Fourth Amendment Songs have sound clips. The First, Second, Third, Fourth, Eighth, Ninth and Tenth Amendments have been fully arranged. Still incomplete: The Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Amendments.
Sorry, the links to audio samples no longer work.
FIRST AMENDMENT SONG
A 2006 survey discovered that more Americans could list the five members of the TV family “The Simpsons” than could identify the five rights guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution. Americans need a way to memorize the First Amendment! But how?
I’m a big believer in the power of learning through music. My kids can rattle off the Preamble to the Constitution in ten seconds flat, thanks to “Schoolhouse Rock.” A “First Amendment Song” seemed to be the answer.
Not being a composer, I began doggedly searching for a familiar (and out-of-copyright) tune that would work with the text of the First Amendment. Finally, EUREKA, I found it! The entire text works beautifully with one verse and one chorus of “Loch Lomond.”
CLICK HERE to listen to a MP3 of the song (a new window will open). The singer wishes his or her identity to remain anonymous.
THE FIRST AMENDMENT SONG
to the tune of “Loch Lomond”
Con-gress shall make no law
By yon bon- nie banksre- spec- ting
and by yon bonnie braesAn es- tab-lish- ment of re- lig-ion
Where the sun shines bright on Loch Lo- mondOr pro-hib-i- ting the free ex- er- cise there-of;
Where me and my true love were ev- er wont to gaeOr a- bridg- ing the free- dom of spee- eech.
On the bon-nie bon-nie banks of Loch Lo- mond. OhOr of the press; or the right of the peo- ple
Ye'll take the high road and I'll take the low road andPeace-a- bly to as-sem- ble,
I'll be in Scot-land a- fore ye, butAnd to pe- ti- tion
Me and my true lovethe Gov- ern- ment
will nev-er meet a-gain,for a re- dress of grie-van-ces.
On the bon-nie bon-nie banks of Loch Lo- mond.
SECOND AMENDMENT SONG
Having mastered the First Amendment, I set myself the task of finding tunes for the rest of the Bill of Rights. The Second Amendment was tricky because it is so short. The best tune I have found is the chorus to the hymn “Little Brown Church in the Vale.”
CLICK HERE to listen to a MP3 of the song (a new window will open). Again, the vocalist is anonymous.
THE SECOND AMENDMENT SONG
to the tune of “Little Brown Church in the Vale” (chorus only)
A well reg-u- la- ted mil-i- tia
Oh come to the church in the wild- wood,
Being neces- sa- ry to the se- curity
Oh, come to the church in the dale,
Of a free state, the right of the people to
No spot is so dear to my child- hood,
Keep and bear arms, shall not be in- fringed.
As the little brown church in the vale.
THIRD AMENDMENT SONG
The Third Amendment is not particularly relevant to our daily lives, but it can be sung to a tune by G.F. Handel — the Christmas carol “While Shepherds Watched.” An alternative, not shown here, is the tune of “Finlandia” by Sibelius.
THE THIRD AMENDMENT SONG
to the tune of “While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night”
No soldier shall in time of peace
While shepherds watched their flocks by nightBe quar- tered in any house
All sea- ted on the ground,
With- out the con- sent of the own- er, Nor
The an- gel of the Lord came down,
In time of war but in
And glo- ry shone a- round,
A man- ner to be prescribed by law.
And glo- ry shone a- round.
THE FOURTH AMENDMENT SONG
The Fourth Amendment seems to be under a considerable amount of assault nowadays, so this is an important one for Americans to learn by heart. The familiar melody of “Home on the Range” fits this amendment.
CLICK HERE to listen to a MP3 of the song (a new window will open). The singer is five years old and was paid the sum of one dollar to make this recording.
THE FOURTH AMENDMENT SONG
to the tune of “Home on the Range”
The right of the peo- ple to be se- cure
Oh give me a home where the buf- fa- lo roamIn their per- sons, houses, pa- pers, and ef- fects,
And the deer and the an- te- lope play
A- gainst un- reas- 'na- ble search- es and sei-
Where seldom is heard a dis- cour- ag- ing word
-Zures shall not be vi- o- la- ted,
And the skies are not clou- dy all day.
And no war- rants shall issue,
Home, home on the range
But up- on prob- a- ble cause
Where the deer and the an- te- lope play,
Sup- por- ted by oath or af- fir- ma- tion,
Where sel- dom is heard a dis- cour- a- ging word
And
And
[spoken] Particularly
Des- cri- bing the place to be searched,
The skies are not clou- dy all day,
And the per- sons or things to be seized.
And the skies are not clou- dy all day.
FIFTH AMENDMENT SONG
The details have been difficult to work out, but I believe the best choice for the Fifth Amendment will turn out to be Stephen Foster’s “The Old Folks At Home,” otherwise known as “Way Down Upon the Swanee River.” The complex sentences of this amendment have made it difficult to fit into the rhythm of a song; editing the text, however, is not an option!
THE FIFTH AMENDMENT SONG
to the tune of “The Old Folks At Home”
No person shall be held to answer
for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime,
unless on a presentment or indictment
of a grand jury,
except in cases arising in the land or naval forces,
or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger;
nor shall any person be subject for the same offense
to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb;
nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself,
nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law;
nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
SIXTH AMENDMENT SONG
I haven’t found a tune for this one yet.
THE SIXTH AMENDMENT SONG
to the tune of “”
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.
SEVENTH AMENDMENT SONG
I haven’t found a tune for this one yet.
THE SEVENTH AMENDMENT SONG
to the tune of “”
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
EIGHTH AMENDMENT SONG
The eighth amendment works nicely with “Yankee Doodle”!
CLICK HERE to listen to a MP3 of the song (a new window will open). The singer wishes his or her identity to remain anonymous.
THE EIGHTH AMENDMENT SONG
to the tune of “Yankee Doodle”
Ex- cess- ive bail shall not be re- qui- red,
Yan- kee Doo- dle went to townnor ex- ces- sive fines im- posed,
Ri- ding on a po- ny,nor cruel and un- u- su- al
He stuck a feath- er in his cap andpun- ish- ments in- flic- ted.
Called it mac- a- ro- ni.Ex- cess- ive bail shall not be re- qui- red,
Yank- ee Doo- dle keep it up,nor ex- ces- sive fines im- posed,
Yan- kee Doo- dle dan- dy,nor cruel and un- u- su- al
Mind the mu- sic and the step andpun- ish- ments in- flic- ted.
With the girls be han- dy.
NINTH AMENDMENT SONG
The lilting cowboy lament “The Streets of Laredo” provides a tune for the Ninth Amendment, often considered the support for the “Right to Privacy” not explicitly listed in the Constitution.
THE NINTH AMENDMENT SONG
to the tune of “The Streets of Laredo”
The e- nu- mer- a- tion in the Con- sti- tu- tion,
As I walked out in the streets of La- re- doof cer- tain rights,
As I walked out in La- re- do one day,shall not be con- strued to de- ny or dis- par- age
I spied a young cow- boy all wrapped in white lin- en,oth- ers re- tained by the peo- ple.
All wrapped in white lin- en and as cold as the clay.
TENTH AMENDMENT SONG
The Bill of Rights ends with the Tenth Amendment and the chorus to the sentimental Victorian parlor ballad “After the Ball.”
THE TENTH AMENDMENT SONG
to the tune of “After the Ball” (chorus only)
The pow- ers not de- le- ga- ted
Af- ter the ball is o- ver,to the U- ni- ted States
Af- ter the break of morn,by the Con- sti- tu- tion,
Af- ter the dan- cers' leav- ing,nor pro- hi- bi- ted
Af- ter the stars are gone,by it to the states,
Ma- ny a heart is aching,are re- served
If you could read them all,to the states re- spec- tively,
Ma- ny the hopes that have va- nished,or to the people.
Af- ter the ball.
This page would not be possible without the vision and tenacity of George Mason of Gunston Hall. As one of Virginia’s delegates to the Constitutional Convention in 1787, Mason refused to sign the newly-written Constitution and later argued against its ratification. He felt it lacked essential safeguards to protect the people from the power of government. When his fellow Virginian James Madison introduced the Bill of Rights during the first session of Congress, he based it upon the “Declaration of Rights” Mason had written for the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Song Arrangements Copyright © 2006 Laura Claire Bligh. In the unlikely event these songs generate any revenue, this will be donated to the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia.
