The Rebel
Allan Sherman Lyrics

He stood four foot eight
He was very short in stature

And wore a beatnik beard
He had a scruffy beard like those associated with the beatnik culture

He had big thick glasses
He wore large, thick glasses

And looked real weird
His appearance was unconventional and strange

He weighed ninety-eight pounds
He was very thin and slight

But a whole nation feared
Despite his small size, the entire nation was afraid of him

The rebel
He was known as the rebel

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

A college prize
Rhonda was highly regarded and considered valuable in academic circles

Her long hair hung down
Her hair was long and covered her eyes

Over her eyes
Her hair obscured her vision

Kinda half Barbra Streisand
She resembled Barbra Streisand to some extent

And half Joan Baez
She also had similarities with Joan Baez

She dug the rebel
Rhonda was attracted to the rebel

Well, they met one day
They encountered each other on a particular day

At a pop art bash
They met at a gathering centered around pop art

Between a painting of a can
In the midst of a painting depicting a can

Of succotash
The can contained succotash, a mixed vegetable dish

And a high camp sculpture
In close proximity to a sculpture characterized by exaggerated and theatrical style

Of a pile of trash
The sculpture depicted a heap of garbage or waste materials

It was groovy
The atmosphere was cool and enjoyable

Rhonda dug the rebel
Rhonda had a strong attraction to the rebel

And the rebel dug Rhonda
The rebel was also deeply enamored with Rhonda

So she grabbed her guitar
Rhonda took hold of her guitar

And rode off on his Honda
Together, they departed on his Honda motorcycle

To a discotheque
They went to a nightclub

Called the Anaconda
The nightclub was named the Anaconda

With the Rebel
The rebel accompanied Rhonda to the Anaconda

When the frugging was over
After they finished dancing the frug, a popular dance at the time

At the discotheque
At the nightclub

The Rebel was a-tryin'
The rebel attempted

To pay his check
To settle the bill

But his pockets, they were empty
Unfortunately, he had no money in his pockets

So he yelled, 'oh, heck'
In frustration, he exclaimed 'oh, heck'

'Heck,' said the rebel
The rebel spoke the word 'heck'

Well, the Dean walked by
The Dean of the university passed by

Just as that occurred
Right at that moment

He said, 'you can get expelled
He warned the rebel that he could be kicked out of school

For what I just heard
Due to the rebellious language he used

Don't you realize 'heck'
A rhetorical question asking if the rebel was aware that 'heck'

Is a four-letter word
Referring to the fact that 'heck' is a mild profanity

You rebel?
Insinuating that the rebel was a troublemaker

But the rebel said
In response, the rebel declared

To his old adversary
To the person he often clashed with

'Just as long as that word's
As long as 'heck' remains

In the slang dictionary
Recognized as part of informal or colloquial language

I swear by Peter, Paul & Mary
He promises or affirms earnestly, using the iconic names of Peter, Paul & Mary as a reference

I'll use it
He will continue to use 'heck'

'Furthermore,' said the rebel
Additionally, the rebel added

'I won't let the issue pass
He won't allow the matter to be ignored

The whole student body's gonna
The entire group of students will

Sit down en masse
They will all collectively protest by sitting down

Besides, that way
Furthermore, by doing so

We don't have to go to class
They can avoid attending classes

We're gonna cool it
They will cool down the situation and ease tensions

Well, the sit-in started
The protest through sit-ins commenced

'Bout 7:15
Around 7:15

The whole thing was covered
The entire event was extensively reported

By Time magazine
Time magazine featured it in their coverage

They even took Batman
The media coverage was so widespread that even Batman

Off the TV screen
Was taken out of the television lineup

To show the rebel
In order to present the rebel's story

Out came the captain
The captain of the state police arrived

Of the state police
Of the state's law enforcement agency

Arresting lots of students
He began arresting numerous students

For disturbing the peace
Charging them with the crime of disrupting public order

Including his own son
Even his own son was among those being arrested

His daughter and his niece
His daughter and niece were also detained

And the rebel
The rebel himself

Someone called the governor
An individual contacted the governor

To see what he could do
To inquire about the governor's potential actions

The governor said, 'sorry
The governor expressed regret and said

But I cannot talk to you
He couldn't engage in conversation with that individual

'Cause I'm a-sittin' in
Because he was participating in

At the state house too
A sit-in at the state capital

Just like the rebel
Similar to what the rebel was doing

Soon the secondary schools
Soon, even the secondary schools

Began to rebel
Started to protest against the system

Kindergarten kids were sitting
Even the young children in kindergarten were participating by sitting down

During show and tell
Even during show and tell activities

Then the older generation
Subsequently, the older generation

Started sitting down as well
Also began joining in the sit-in protests

Man, what a protest
It was an impressive and impactful protest

Doctors sat, firemen sat
Not only did doctors sit, but also firemen

Teachers wouldn't teach
Teachers refused to conduct classes

People sat at home
Individuals sat down even in their own homes

And on the street and on the beach
They were sitting down on the streets and beaches alike

Just a-sittin' and a-waitin'
Simply sitting and waiting

For freedom of speech
Anticipating the freedom to express themselves

Nobody was talkin' to anybody
There was a lack of communication and dialogue

The nation was in trouble
The country was facing significant problems

There wasn't any doubt
No one had any uncertainty

The President went on TV
The President appeared on television

To try to pull us out
In an attempt to resolve the situation

And the President shouted
The President exclaimed with emphasis

'What the heck's it all about?'
'What is the meaning of all this?'

'Heck,' said the President
The President uttered the word 'heck'

Soon everyone was saying 'heck'
Soon, 'heck' became a widely used word

They said it everywhere
People uttered it in various locations

And the rebel said to Rhonda
The rebel said to Rhonda

'This is terribly unfair
'This is extremely unjust

Being hip is getting middle class
Being fashionable and trendy is becoming too mainstream

Let's you and I be square'
We should abandon our countercultural image and conform

And they did, they squared it up
They did conform and adopted a conventional lifestyle

Rhonda got a haircut
Rhonda had her hair cut

The rebel shaved his beard
The rebel got rid of his beard by shaving

They were married and had children
They got married and started a family

Which they subsequently reared
They took care of and raised their children

They moved out to the suburbs
They relocated to the suburban areas

And they really disappeared
They virtually vanished from the counterculture scene

Wow, did they conform
They fully embraced the conformist lifestyle

Folks built a statue of the rebel
People constructed a statue in honor of the rebel

Just to prove the people's love
As a way to demonstrate the love and admiration of the people

But the public soon forgot it
Unfortunately, the public quickly forgot about the statue

Just the pigeons up above
Only the pigeons flying above

Seem to know the right location
They seem to be aware of the ideal spot

They've all found that statue of
The pigeons have discovered that statue of the rebel

The rebel
The rebel's statue