Joan Osborne - Just A Bill Lyrics

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!