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John Adams:        Alright, gentlemen, let's get on with it.  Which of us 
                   will write our declaration on independence?

Benjamin Franklin: Mr. Adams, I think you should write it.  
                   To your legal mind and brilliance, we defer.

John Adams:        Is that so?  Well, if I'm the one to do it, 
                   They'll run their quill pens through it.
                   I'm obnoxious and disliked, you know that, sir?

Benjamin Franklin: Yes, I know.
                
John Adams:        Then I say, you should write it Franklin, yes you.

Benjamin Franklin: Hell no.

John Adams:        Yes, you, Dr. Franklin, you.
Benjamin Franklin: But-
John Adams:        You!
Benjamin Franklin: But-
John Adams:        You!

Benjamin Franklin: But, Mr. Adams, but, Mr. Adams, 
                   The things I write are only light extemporania.
                   I won't put politics on paper, it's a mania, 
                   So I refuse to use a pen in Pennsylvania.

Ensemble:          Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, refuse to use the pen.

John Adams:        Mr. Sherman, I say you should write it.
                   You are never controversial, as it were.
Roger Sherman:     That is true.

John Adams:        Whereas, if I'm the one to do it, 
		   They'll run their quill pens through it.
                   I'm obnoxious and disliked, you know that, sir?       

Roger Sherman:     Yes, I do.

John Adams:        Then I say, you should write it, Roger, yes you.

Roger Sherman:     Good heavens, no!

John Adams:        Yes, you, Roger Sherman, you.
Roger Sherman:     But-
John Adams:        You!
Roger Sherman:     But-
John Adams:        You! 

Roger Sherman:     But, Mr. Adams, but Mr. Adams, 
                   I cannot write with any style or proper etiquette.
                   I do not know a participle from a predicate.
                   I am just a simple cobbler from Connecticut.

Ensemble:          Connecticut, Connecticut, a simple cobbler he.

John Adams:        Mr. Livingston, maybe you should write it.
                   You have many friends, and you're a diplomat.
		   Whereas, if I'm the one to do it, 
		   They'll run their quill pens through it.
Ensemble:          He's obnoxious and disliked, did you know that?

Robert Livingston: I hadn't heard.

John Adams:        Then I say, you should write it Robert, yes you.

Robert Livingston: Not me, Johnny.

John Adams:        Yes, you, Robert Livingston, you.
Robert Livinston:  But-
John Adams:        You!
Robert Livingston: But-
John Adams:        You! 

Robert Livingston: But, Mr. Adams, dear Mr. Adams,
                   I've been presented with a new son by the noble stork, 
                   So I going home to celebrate and pop a cork
                   With all the Livingstons together back in Old New York.

Ensemble:          New York, New York, Livingston's going to pop a cork.

John Adams:        Mr. Jefferson-

Thomas Jefferson:  Mr. Adams, leave me alone!

John Adams:        Mr. Jefferson-

Thomas Jefferson:  Mr. Adams, I beg you.  I've not seen my wife in six months.

John Adams:        You write ten times better than any man in Congress, 
                   including me.  For a man of only thirty-three years, you 
                   possess a happy talent for composition and a remarkable 
                   felicity of expression.  Now, will you be a patriot... or a 
                   lover?

Thomas Jefferson:  A lover...

John Adams:        No!

Thomas Jefferson:  But I burn, Mr. A.

John Adams:        So do I, Mr. J.

Thomas Jefferson:  You?  You do?

Benjamin Franklin: John!

Thomas Jefferson:  Who'd have thought it?

John Adams:        Mr. Jefferson, dear Mr. Jefferson, 
                   I'm only forty-one, I still have my virility, 
                   And I can romp through Cupid's grove with great agility, 
                   But life is more than sexual combustibility.
                  
Ensemble:          Bustibility, bustibility, combustibili-

John Adams:        Quiet!  Now, you'll write it, Mr. J.

Thomas Jefferson:  Who will make me, Mr. A.?

John Adams:        I!

Thomas Jefferson:  You?

John Adams:        Yes.

Thomas Jefferson:  How?

John Adams:        By, by physical force, if necessary.  It's your duty, 
                   it's your duty, damn it.

Thomas Jefferson:  Mr. Adams, damn you, Mr. Adams, 
                   you're obnoxious and disliked, that cannot be denied.
                   Once again you stand between me and my lovely bride.
                   
Ensemble:          Lovely bride.

Thomas Jefferson:  Oh, Mr. Adams, you are driving me to homicide.

Ensemble:          Homicide, homicide, we may see murder yet.