Making fun of music, one song at a time. Since the year 2000.
Check out the two amIright misheard lyrics books including one book devoted to misheard lyrics of the 1980s.
(Toggle Right Side Navigation)

Song Parodies -> "Civil Rap"

Original Song Title:

"Tom's Diner"

 (MP3)
Original Performer:

Suzanne Vega

Parody Song Title:

"Civil Rap"

Parody Written by:

Emily Nghiem

The Lyrics

Bill of Rights set to Tom's Diner by Suzanne Vega (DNA remix)
Congress shall not, Congress shall not,
Congress shall not make a law.
Doot doot DO doot, doot de DO doot,
Congress shall not make a law.

Congress shall not make a law
That would establish a religion,
Or disrupt the peaceful exercise
Of your religious freedom;
Or abridge the right to free speech,
Or the freedom of the press;
Or stop the people from assembling
To petition for redress.

Doot doot DO doot, doot de DO doot,
Congress shall not make a law.
Doot doot DO doot, doot de DO doot,
Congress shall not make a law.

The Bill of Rights Would not suffice
Without the next amendment,
Which protects the right to bear arms
From the government's infringement,
To counteract the forces
That defend our country's freedom.
(If you'll learn your rights ahead of time,
The cops won't have to read 'em!)

Congress shall not, Congress shall not, Congress shall not make a law.
Doot doot DO doot, doot de DO doot, Congress shall not make a law.

No soldier shall be quartered
In a time of war or peace
Without consent of the homeowner
Or the holder of the lease.

What's more, the right to safety
In our persons, houses, and effects
Shall not be breached without a warrant
By police or by the feds.

Doot doot DO doot, doot de DO doot,
Doot doot DO doot DOOT de DO doot.
Congress shall not, Congress shall not,
Congress shall not make a law.

No one shall be deprived of rights
Without due process of the laws,
Compelled to self-incriminate,
Tried more than once for the same cause,

Or be deprived of private property
Without just compensation,
Or denied a public trial with help
To face the accusation.

The right to trial by jury
Is preserved in suits at hand
Involving more than twenty dollars . . .
. . . No fact being re-examined . . .

Except by common law
Or in accordance with the rules.
No bails or fines shall be extreme,
No punishment unfairly cruel.

Congress shall not, Congress shall not, Congress shall not make a law.
Doot doot DO doot, doot de DO doot, Congress shall not make a law.

No rights shall be disparaged
By the laws' enumeration,
Nor the power retained by states
Or by the people of the nation,

Such as the right to happiness,
To life, and liberty
To practice equal voice in government
And true democracy.

Congress shall not, Congress shall not, Congress shall not make a law.
Doot doot DO doot, doot de DO doot, Congress shall not make a law.

The U.S. Congress shall make no laws.
Period!
http://www.houstonprogressive.net/mp3/Civil Rap demo.mp3

Your Vote & Comment Counts

The parody authors spend a lot of time writing parodies for the website and they appreciate feedback in the form of votes and comments. Please take some time to leave a comment below about this parody.

Place Your Vote

 LittleLots
Matches Pace of
Original Song: 
How Funny: 
Overall Score: 



In order for your vote to count, you need to hit the 'Place Your Vote' button.
 

Voting Results

 
Pacing: 3.2
How Funny: 3.2
Overall Rating: 3.2

Total Votes: 5

Voting Breakdown

The following represent how many people voted for each category.

    Pacing How Funny Overall Rating
 1   2
 2
 2
 
 2   0
 0
 0
 
 3   0
 0
 0
 
 4   1
 1
 1
 
 5   2
 2
 2
 

User Comments

Comments are subject to review, and can be removed by the administration of the site at any time and for any reason.

Patrick - April 03, 2015 - Report this comment
Notice how often the line "Congress shall not" is used. I am not acquainted with the melody of this piece, but it might make an effective tool for teaching citizens their rights. If we know them, the cops may not be so keen on reciting them to us. That is a great observation.
Phil Alexander - April 06, 2015 - Report this comment
I think this is really rather brilliant - DKTOS, but I can guess how it goes. Only query.. did you really mean
"To counteract the forces
That defend our country's freedom."?

The author of the parody has authorized comments, and wants YOUR feedback.

Link To This Page

The address of this page is: http://www.amiright.com/parody/80s/suzannevega39.shtml For help, see the examples of how to link to this page.

This is view # 1086