Remarks:
“Schoolhouse Rock!” (1973-85, 1993-99) was a series of three-minute animated music videos that appeared during the Saturday morning cartoons on US television. Like “Sesame Street”, they were meant to be both entertaining and educational, but were aimed at older schoolchildren.
Lori Lieberman sang this one in 1977. She is best known for “Killing Me Softly With His Words” (1971), a song she sang about hearing Don McLean sing “Empty Chairs”. Her song later became a hit for Roberta Flack and later the Fugees.
See also:
- songs: the 1970s
- Lianne La Havas: Starry Starry Night – her remake of a Don McLean song
- The Melting Pot
- Lady Liberty
Lyrics:
My grandmother came from Russia
A satchel on her knee,
My grandfather had his father’s cap
He brought from Italy.
They’d heard about a country
Where life might let them win,
They paid the fare to America
And there they melted in.
Lovely Lady Liberty
With her book of recipes
And the finest one she’s got
Is the great American melting pot.
The great American melting pot.
America was founded by the English,
But also by the Germans, Dutch, and French.
The principle still sticks;
Our heritage is mixed.
So any kid could be the president.
You simply melt right in,
It doesn’t matter what your skin.
It doesn’t matter where you’re from,
Or your religion, you jump right in
To the great American melting pot.
The great American melting pot.
Ooh, what a stew, red, white, and blue.
America was the New World
And Europe was the Old.
America was the land of hope,
Or so the legend told.
On steamboats by the millions,
In search of honest pay,
Those 19th-century immigrants sailed
To reach the U.S.A.
Lovely Lady Liberty
With her book of recipes
And the finest one she’s got
Is the great American melting pot
The great American melting pot.
What good ingredients,
Liberty and immigrants.
They brought the country’s customs,
Their language and their ways.
They filled the factories, tilled the soil,
Helped build the U.S.A.
Go on and ask your grandma,
Hear what she has to tell
How great to be an American
And something else as well.
Lovely Lady Liberty
With her book of recipes
And the finest one she’s got
Is the great American melting pot
The great American melting pot.
The great American melting pot.
The great American melting pot.
Source: Schoolhouse Rock.
I read up on Lori Lieberman when i was listening to this song, last year.
There was some controversy about the song, killing me softly. They said she didn’t create the song but since then, another person corroborated her story that she saw Mclean sing empty chairs, giving her inspiration for the song, killing me softy. interesting fun facts on Wikipedia. ^_^
LikeLiked by 1 person
I always liked Schoolhouse Rock.
LikeLike
But no mention of those Africans kidnapped and bought to America.
LikeLiked by 2 people
[…] https://abagond.wordpress.com/2019/05/12/schoolhouse-rock-the-great-american-melting-pot/ […]
LikeLike
@ Mary Burrell – yeah, they have a hard time reconciling that.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Trini Lopez’s “America” (1963)
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z33hxOWjDLA)
LikeLike
Gen X grew up on school house rock. Years
After I still remember many of the songs.
LikeLiked by 1 person