i'm just a bill

Joan Osborne

GIRL: Whew! You sure gotta climb a lot of steps to get to this Capitol Building here in Washington! But I wonder who that sad little scrap of paper is?

I'm just a bill
Yes, I'm only a bill
And I'm sitting here on Capitol Hill
Well, it's a long, long journey
To the capitol city
It's a long, long wait
While I'm sitting in committee
But I know I'll be a law someday
At least I hope and pray that I will
But today I am still just a bill

GIRL: Gee, Bill, you certainly have a lot of patience and courage!

BILL: Well I got this far. When I started, I wasn't even a bill. I was just an idea. Some folks back home decided they wanted a law passed, so they called their local congressman and he said, 'You're right, there oughta be a law.' Then he sat down and wrote me out and introduced me t Congress, and I became a bill. And I'll remain a bill until they decide to make me a law.

I'm just a bill
Yes I'm only a bill
And I got as far as Capitol Hill
Well, now I'm stuck in committee
And I'll sit here and wait
While a few key congressmen discuss and debate
Whether they should let me be a law
How I hope and pray that they will
But today I am still just a bill

GIRL: Listen to those congressmen arguing! Is all that discussion and debate about you?

BILL: Yeah, I'm one of the lucky ones. Most bills never even get this far. I hope they decide to report on my favorably, otherwise I may die.

GIRL: Die!

BILL: Yeah, die in committee. Ooh! But it looks like I'm gonna live! Now I got the House of Representatives and they vote on me.

GIRL: If they vote yes, what happens?

BILL: Then I got the Senate and the whole thing starts all over again.

GIRL: Oh no!

BILL: Oh yes!

I'm just a bill
Yes, I'm only a bill
And if they vote for me on Capitol Hill
Well, then I'm off to the White House
Where I'll wait in a line
With a lot of other bills
For the President to sign
And he signs me then I'll be a law
How I hope and pray that he will
But today I am still just a bill

GIRL: You mean even if the whole Congress says you should be a law, the President can still say no?

BILL: Yes, that's called a veto. If the President vetoes me, I have to go back to Congress, and they vote on me again, and by that time you're so old...

GIRL: By that time, it's very unlikely that you become a law. It's not easy to become a law, is it?

BILL: No!

But how I hope and pray that I will
But today I am still just a bill

CONGRESSMAN: He signed you, Bill! Now you're a law!

BILL: Right on!