Title: The Preamble
Music & Lyrics by: Lynn Ahrens
Performed by: Lynn Ahrens
First aired: 1976
My rank: #5

Growing up a child in the mid ’70s, I found myself subjected to a plethora of bicentennial excitement. Everything, and I mean everything, was dipped in George Washington- or Benjamin Franklin-flavored rhetoric. Unfortunately for me I had no idea why everyone was so excited about our country turning 200 years old. To me, anything turning 200 years old was just that – old. It wasn’t until I caught the various segments that made up Schoolhouse Rock’s “America Rock” that I began to catch my first glimmer of American history that I could understand. My favorite of all of these historical shorts was “The Preamble” which landed in the fifth spot on my all-time favorite Schoolhouse Rocks.

Musically, “Preamble” is another time-period piece like The Shot Heard ‘Round the World complete with banjos and bells. And how can you get more patriotic in 1976 (which is when this feature debuted) than by ringing a Liberty bell? Nice touch. Lynn Ahrens can be once again take a bow for creating another well done piece (Ahrens also made my list with the #8 entry, “Interjections!“).

What’s always amazed me about this piece is the way Ahrens managed to take something that, on paper (no pun intended), could not possibly be turned into a smoothly flowing song. And yet, she does it….brilliantly. She took the entire preamble and found a way to rhythmically bring it to life with a soundtrack that hugs onto every word. It’s no wonder why she’s had such an illustrious career over the years.

As I pointed out in my original article, this particular episode of Schoolhouse Rock holds a special place in my heart – and academic career. Thanks to me having committed the lyrics to “Preamble” to memory, I was able to stun my 8th grade social studies teacher by reciting word-for-word the beginning to our Constitution and simultaneously creating one of my most memorable moments from my school years.

If not for the above story, this song probably wouldn’t have landed in the fifth spot on my list. But here we are…and there are only four more Schoolhouse Rocks that rank higher.

Favorite line – “In 1787 I’m told / Our founding fathers did agree / To write a list of principles / For keepin’ people free.”

The lyrics:

Hey, do you know about the U.S.A.?
Do you know about the government?
Can you tell me about the Constitution?
Hey, learn about the U.S.A.

In 1787 I’m told
Our founding fathers did agree
To write a list of principles
For keepin’ people free.

The U.S.A. was just startin’ out.
A whole brand-new country.
And so our people spelled it out
The things that we should be.

And they put those principles down on paper and called it the Constitution, and it’s been helping us run our country ever since then. The first part of the Constitution is called the preamble and tells what those founding fathers set out to do.

We the people,
In order to form a more perfect union,
Establish justice, insure domestic tranquility,
Provide for the common defense,
Promote the general welfare and
Secure the blessings of liberty
To ourselves and our posterity
Do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

In 1787 I’m told
Our founding fathers all sat down
And wrote a list of principles
That’s known the world around.

The U.S.A. was just starting out
A whole brand-new country.
And so our people spelled it out
They wanted a land of liberty.

And the Preamble goes like this:

We the people,
In order to form a more perfect union,
Establish justice, insure domestic tranquility,
Provide for the common defense,
Promote the general welfare and
Secure the blessings of liberty
To ourselves and our posterity
Do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

For the United States of America…