Elbow Room

Elbow Room is a song from America Rock!. It is a song about Westward Expansion. It is sung by Sue Manchester.

America Rock

This song teaches about Westward Expansion, or moving south and west from the 13 original colonies.

Lyrics

Singer: One thing you will discover when you get next to one another is everybody needs some elbow room (elbow room)

It's nice when you're kinda cozy, but not when you're tangled nose-to-nosey; oh, everybody needs some elbow, needs a little elbow room

That's how it was in the early days of the U.S.A.; the people kept coming to settle though. The east was the only place there was to go.

The President was Thomas Jefferson. He made a deal with Napoleon. How'd you like to sell a mile or two?

Thomas Jefferson: Or a three, or a hundred, or a thousand?

Singer: And so, in 1803 the Louisiana Territory was sold to us without a fuss and gave us lots of elbow room.

Oh, elbow room, elbow room, got to, got to get us some elbow room. Its the West or bust, In God We trust. There's a new land out there...

Lewis and Clark volunteered to go. Good-bye, good luck, wear your overcoat! They prepared for good times and for bad (and for bad). They hired Sacajawea to be their guide. She led them all across the countryside. Reached the coast and found the most elbow room we've ever had.

The way was opened up for folks with bravery. There were plenty of fights to win land rights, but the West was meant to be. It was our Manifest Destiny!

The trappers, traders, and the peddlers, the politicians and the settlers. When they got there by any way they could.

Chorus: Any way they could!

Singer: The Gold Rush trampled down the wilderness. The railroads spread across from East to West. And soon the rest was opened up for... opened up for good.

And now we jet from East to West. Good-bye, New York! Hello, L.A.! But it took those early folks to open up the way.

Now we've got a lot of room to be a growing from sea to shining sea. Guess that we have got our elbow room (elbow room). But if there should ever come a time when we're crowded up together, I'm sure we'll find some elbow room ... up on the moon!

Oh, elbow room, elbow room, got to, got to get us some elbow room. It's the moon or bust, in God we trust. There's a new land up there!'

Trivia

• Thomas Jefferson was voiced by Bob Dorough.

Schoolhouse Rock: Math Rock (constellation cameo appearance)

• The astronauts appear as constellations.