Lyrics & Music by: Bob Dorough
Performed by: Bob Dorough, Blossom Dearie, Essra Mohawk, and Jack
Sheldon
Mother Necessity
With her good intentions,
Where would this country be
Without her inventions?
Oh, things were rotten in the land of cotton
Until Whitney made the cotton gin.
Now old times there will soon be forgotten
For it did the work of a hundred men.
Mother Necessity, where would we be?
Mother Edison worked late each night.
It went well until the fading light.
Little Thomas Alva Edison said, "I'll grow up to be
A great inventor and I'll make a lamp to help my mommy see,
Wowee! What an excellent
application of electricity!"
He worked hard and pulled the switch.
He was smart and very rich.
Mother Necessity, help us to see.
Now, the mother of Samuel Morse
Always sent the lad out on a horse.
"Take a message to Ms. Peavy on
the far side of the pike;
Spread the word about the quilting
bee next Saturday night!"
Little Samuel started thinking of a
way to send a message,
Though he'd never met a horse he
didn't like. Uh!
Mother Necessity!
Elias, can you help me with my sewing?
Mother dear, I'll fulfill your fondest wishes.
Elias, how?
This machine I've made will keep
your sewing really flowing.
In fact, we'II keep the whole nation in stitches. Ah!
Mother Necessity, where would we be?
Ring me on the Alexander Graham Bell.
Thank you Alexander for the phone.
I'd never get a date, I'd never get a job
Unless I had a telephone.
Mother Necessity!
"Orville, Wilbur, go outside this minute,
And there continue with your silly playing!
Take these plans and take those blueprints.
Take that funny looking thing,
Take that wheel, take that wing,
I can't hear a thing that Mrs.
Johnson's saying.
Orville! Wilbur! Come back, boys!
Orville! Wilbur!"
Mother Necessity, where would we be?
When Robert Fulton made the steamboat go,
When Marconi gave us wireless radio,
When Henry Ford cranked up his first automo,
When Samuel Slater showed us
how the factories go,
And all the iron and oil and coal and
steel and Yankee don'tyou know,
They made this country really grow,
grow, grow, grow,
With Mother Necessity and where
would we be
Without the inventions of your
progeny?