Rebel
Allan Sherman Lyrics

He stood four foot eight
He was a short man

And wore a beatnik beard
He had a beard which was popular among the beatnik culture

He had big thick glasses
He wore glasses with thick lenses

That looked real weird
It made him look strange

He weighed ninety-eight pounds
He was a very light person

But a whole nation feared
Despite his small size, he was feared by many people in the country

The rebel!
He was known as a rebel

He had a chick named Rhonda
He had a girlfriend named Rhonda

A college prize
She was a prize or a valuable catch among the college students

Her hair hung down
Her hair was long

Over her eyes
Her hair covered her eyes

Kinda half Barbra Streisand
Her appearance was similar to Barbra Streisand's

And half Joan Baez
Her appearance was also similar to Joan Baez's

She dug the rebel!
She was a fan of the rebel

Well, they met one day
They met each other at a certain day

At a pop art bash
They met at a party that had a pop art theme

Between a painting of a can
They met between a painting of a can of food

Of succotash
The food can was containing succotash

And a high camp sculpture
There was also a strange and quirky sculpture at the party

Of a pile of trash
The sculpture depicted a pile of trash

It was groovy!
The party and its surroundings were cool and fashionable

To a discotheque
They went to a disco

Called the Anaconda
The name of the disco was the Anaconda

When the frugging was over
When the dancing was finished

But his pockets they were empty
However, he didn't have any money with him

So he yelled, "Oh, heck!"
He shouted the word 'heck' as an expression of frustration

"Heck," said the rebel
He repeated the word 'heck'

But the rebel said
The rebel answered

To his old adversary
To the person he was previously arguing with

"Just as long as that word's
As long as the word 'heck'

In the slang dictionary
Exists in the slang language

I swear by Peter
He promised by the names of Peter

Paul & Mary
Paul and Mary are other names he swears by

I'll use it!"
He will continue to use the word 'heck'

"Furthermore," said the rebel
The rebel continued

I won't let the issue pass
He will not let the issue go unnoticed

The whole student boby's gonna
All students are going to

Sit down en masse
They will organize a mass sit-in

Besides, that way
Furthermore

We don't have to go to class
As a result, they will not have to go to their classes

We're gonna clew it!
They are going to blow it up

Well, the sit-in started
The mass sit-in began

'Bout 7:15
Around 7:15

The whole thing was covered
The event was reported

By Time magazine
Time magazine did the reporting

They even took Batman
Even Batman was taken off

Off the TV screen
Off the television

To show the rebel!
In order to display the rebel

Out came the captain
The captain came out

Of the state police,
The captain of the state police appeared

Arresting lots of students
He arrested many students

For disturbing the peace
The cause was for disturbing the peace

Including his own son
He even arrested his own son

His daughter, and his niece
And his family members

And the rebel
And, of course, the rebel

Someone called the governor
A person contacted the governor

To see what he could do
To get the governor involved

The governor said, "Sorry
The governor apologised

But I cannot talk to you
He did not have time to talk to them

'Cause I'm a-sittin' in
The governor was also sitting in

At the state house too
At the state government headquarters

Just like the rebel!
Just like the rebel, he was also protesting

Soon the secondary schools
High schools also began protesting

Began to rebel
They began to protest

Kindergarten kids were sitting
Even toddlers were participating in the sit-ins and protesting

During show and tell
Specifically during the show and tell lesson

Then the older generation
The older citizens started protesting as well

Started sitting down as well
They also started participating in sit-ins

Man, what a protest!
It was an epic and widespread protest

Doctors sat, firemen sat
Even medical doctors and firefighters participated in the sit-ins

Teachers wouldn't teach
Teachers also joined the protest by refusing to teach

People sat at home
Many people protested by simply staying at home

And on the street and on the beach
Many people also protested by staying on the street or at the beach

Jus a-sittin' and a-waitin'
They are just sitting and waiting

For freedom of speach
They are waiting for their right to free speech

Nobody was talkin' to anybody!
People were not communicating with each other because of the protest

The nation was in trouble
The nation was facing issues

There wasn't any doubt
It was certain that the nation was facing issues

The President went on TV
The President made an appearance on television

To try to pull us out
He wanted to resolve the issues

And the President shouted
The President exclaimed

"What the heck's it all about?!"
He was confused as to what was happening

"Heck," said the President!
The President also used the word 'heck'

Soon everyone was saying "heck"
Everyone began using the word 'heck'

They said it everywhere
The word 'heck' was being used in all places

And the rebel said to Rhonda
The rebel talked to Rhonda

"This is terribly unfair
He expressed how the situation was not proper

Being hip is getting middle class
He commented on how being 'hip' was becoming too mainstream and insincere

Let's you and I be square"
He proposes they become straightforward and honest people

And the did, they squared it up
They became more conventional and followed the norm

Rhonda got a haircut
Rhonda got her hair cut

The rebel shaved his beard
The rebel shaved off his beard

They were married and had children
The couple got married and had children

Which they subsequently reared
They raised their children

They moved out to the suburbs
They moved to the suburbs

And they really disappeared
After becoming more conventional and settled down, they blended in and were no longer unique

Wow, did they conform!
They conformed to society's expectations

Folks built a statue of the rebel
A statue of the rebel was built by people

Just to prove the people's love
It was built as a proof of the people's love for him

But the public soon forgot it
However, the public eventually forgot about it

Just the pigeons up above
Only the pigeons still frequented the area around the statue

Seem to know the right location
The pigeons knew where the statue was located

They've all found that statue of The rebel
All the pigeons seem to be congregating around the statue of the rebel