Schoolhouse Rock!

"I'm Just A Bill"

Original Air Date

March 27, 1976

"I'm Just a Bill" is a Schoolhouse Rock! segment, featuring a song of the same title written by Dave Frishberg. The segment debuted as part of "America Rock", the third season of the Schoolhouse Rock series, in 1975. The song featured in the segment is sung by Jack Sheldon (the voice of the Bill) and his son (the boy learning the process). It is about how a bill becomes a law, how it must go through Congress, and how it can be vetoed, etc.

The Bill is for the law that school buses must stop at railroad crossings. In the song, the Bill becomes a law. In reality, while this law exists in many states, such a bill has never been approved by the United States Congress.

The song was covered by The Folk Implosion as "Deluxx Folk Implosion" for Schoolhouse Rock! Rocks in 1996.

 This song was voted #2 on the 30th Anniversary DVD Top 25. 

Lyrics to "I'm Just A Bill"

Boy: Woof! You sure got to 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?

Bill: 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 capital 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

Boy: 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 ought to be a law." Then he sat down and wrote me out and introduced me to 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

Boy: 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 me favorably, otherwise I may die.

Boy: Die?

Bill: Yeah, die in committee. Oh, but it looks like I'm going to live! Now I go to the House of Representatives, and they vote on me.

Boy: If they vote yes, what happens?

Bill: Then I go to the Senate and the whole thing starts all over again.

Boy: 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 if 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

Boy: 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 . . .

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

Bill: No!

But how I hope and I pray that I will

But today I am still just a bill

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

Bill: Oh yes!