Released: May 1, 1962

Songwriter: Harold Rome

Producer: Charles Burr Elizabeth Lauer

Are you ready to hear your lesson for today?

Yes, Teacher! Yes, Teacher!

Are you ready to learn what History has to say?

Yes, Teacher! Yes, Teacher!

Then take your books and follow me to 1776 AD
And as the History page is turned
We will see what we can learn

Yes, Teacher! Yes, Teacher! Yes, Teacher!

In 1776, Tom Paine was writing books with might and main
The Tories said "Now man alive
Stop giving out with this here liberty jive!"

"Stop giving out with this here liberty jive"

"Don't sing of people's rights that way
They might believe in what you say
So stop your song, it's not polite
Pipe down before you start a fight"

You don't say, Teacher, is that right?

Aha, but Tom Paine looked ahead
And to those Tories Thomas said, "No, no, no, no
When you got to go, you got to go
You can't stand still on freedom's track
If you don't go forward, you go back
You can't giddyup by saying "Whoa"
And sitting on your status quo!"

Yes, Teacher! Yes, Teacher! Yes, Teacher!

To Washington at Valley Forge
A wise guy whispered "Slow down, George
Why stir up trouble for the king?
This freedom racket is a corny thing"

"This freedom racket is a corny thing"

"Your troops are ickys, they can't move
You'll never get them in the groove
So if you're wise, you'll just lay low
And play with the guys that have the dough"

You don't say, Teacher, is that so?

Aha, but George just looked ahead
And to that Tory Georgie said, "No!
When you got to go, you got to go
You can't stand still on freedom's track
If you don't go forward, you go back
You can't giddyup by saying "Whoa"
And sitting on your status quo!"

Yes, Teacher! Yes, Teacher! Yes, Teacher!

Now Paul Revere saw a belfry light
And that boy rode to town one night
Sang to the farmers near and far
"Here come the British beating eight to the bar"

"Here come the British beating eight to the bar"

One slippery Tory said, "Now, Paul
Your manners aren't nice at all
Turn back, don't be an old hep cat
The right people don't sing like that"

But Paul Revere turn him down flat

Aha, that's right, he rode ahead
And to that Tory Paul just said, "No, no, no, no
When you got to go, you got to go
You can't stand still on freedom's track
If you don't go forward, you go back
You can't giddyup by saying "Whoa"
And sitting on your status quo!"

Yes, Teacher! Yes, Teacher! Yes, Teacher!

So students, now you're hep, don't stop!
Keep stepping to that freedom hop
Although the Tories beef and blow
To keep you sitting on your status quo

To keep us sitting on our status quo

When they say, "Let's stand still a bit
Give up some rights, no harm in it"
Remember those are just the tricks
That did not work in '76

Now ain't that right, the same old tricks?

Though Tories talk, don't be misled
And do what all those others said

No, no, no, no
When you got to go, you got to go
You can't stand still on freedom's track
If you don't go forward, you go back
You can't giddyup by saying "Whoa"
And sitting on your status quo
Sitting on your, sitting on your, padded status quo!

Woah!

Barbra Streisand

Barbra Streisand is an Oscar-winning, Tony-winning, Emmy-winning, Golden Globe-winning Broadway legend, film star, movie director and one of the biggest-selling recording artists of all time - a staggering amount of accomplishments for someone whose mother insisted she not to go into show business.

By the time she was sixteen, she’d graduated high school and was living on her own in Manhattan. After winning a talent contest at a gay bar on West 9th Street, Streisand’s ‘spellbinding’ voice quickly became popular at New York clubs and in Broadway shows. After appearances on a number of popular television shows including The Tonight Show, Streisand signed with Columbia Records and released several top 10 albums in the 1960s, scoring two US top 40 hits with “People” and “Second Hand Rose”.

Her success as a recording artist continued through the 1970s with several more gold/platinum-certified albums and four US “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers”, “No More Tears”, the Oscar-winning “The Way We Were”, and the Academy Award-winning “Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star Is Born)”. The 1980s would begin with Streisand’s biggest-selling release of her career Guilty, a collaborative effort with BeeGees member Barry Gibb. It topped the albums chart in several countries and as did its lead single “Woman In Love”.