My musical is nearly done. There is one last song, a chorus number called LEGACY, that I will probably write tomorrow.
But this song brings the actual story of Theodore Roosevelt to its close, and I really wanted to share it with somebody tonight.
And you guys . . . are SOMEBODY!
THE ROUGH RIDER’S LAST HURRAH
Col. Leonard Wood:
What do you do after you have already been the President,
Hunted every creature in Africa, and on a Grand Tour of Europe went?
Where do you go when you have split your political party open wide,
Unseated a President you chose, and gave the White House to the other side?
Where do you go where the Old Guard’s glares can’t find you –
And the stares of heartbroken Progressives aren’t there to remind you
Of how greatly you tried and how badly you failed to deliver?
How about a year long exploration of the mighty Amazon River!
TR: I have a friend in South America named Colonel Candido Rondon,
Who told me of a mysterious river that drained into the Amazon.
No one knew how long it was or exactly where it started –
To find its source and map its course we from civilization departed!
For over six hundred miles we paddled and walked and drew up lots of maps –
In danger from cannibals and piranha, we all suffered some mishaps.
Once I jumped into the roaring waters to prevent our boats from tipping,
I gashed my leg up good and proper, and soon infection was dripping!
Mosquitos feasted on my blood, and if that wasn’t enough to scare ya,
Their bites resurrected a disease from Cuba; the dreaded scourge malaria!
By journey’s end I was half dead and dropped fifty pounds of weight.
I told them more than once to leave me, but my boy Kermit set me straight.
And finally, not one day to soon, we reached civilized regions;
The doctors were able to save my life, though my illnesses were legion.
But we had traced that river through six hundred miles of tropical veldt,
And in my honor Brazil now named that stream the Rio Roosevelt!
I came back home, and my sweet Edith was shocked at my appearance,
But under her care my health came back, and the doctors gave me clearance
To get back to all the things I loved – writing, reading, and politics!
I’ll admit that though I didn’t like Wilson the man had done some tricks.
Progressive reforms were on the march, two Constitutional amendments wrote –
An income tax for robber barons, and Senators chosen by a direct people’s vote!
Woodrow Wilson was a Democrat, and on some things rather spineless,
But I had to admit on domestic policy he lacked his party’s usual blindness.
Then in the summer of nineteen fourteen, all Europe went to war –
On a scale unimagined in all of history, blood flowed and flowed some more!
The German Kaiser, Austria, Turkey, Bulgaria, all of Europe’s Central Powers –
Were out to conquer the Western Allies in civilization’s darkest hour!
Most Americans watched in shock and sadness, then returned to daily junkets.
But in my mind the song of war was a call of distant trumpets!
In 1914 the Progressive Party took a savage beating in the mid-term elections,
My friends and I decided maybe it was time to change political directions.
So we returned to the welcoming fold of the good old Republican party,
Taft and I made our amends, and in 1916 we decided to make a hearty
Effort to unseat Wilson, and bring our party back into power – and I hoped
To be the nominee one more time, and nearly got it on the first set of votes!
But I had burned too many bridges, and I knew the bosses would not choose
Me to be their standard bearer – And sure enough, they picked Charles Hughes!
Judge Hughes was not the guy Progressives would have selected –
But busting the party had done nothing but get Woody Wilson elected!
So I went on tour and spoke out for Hughes and mended a lot of fences
In the end, we came close, but Wilson managed to wage an effective offensive.
He carried the election by his cowardly boast: “He kept us out of war!”
What drivel! It seemed to me the Allies had a cause worth fighting for.
By April nineteen seventeen Wilson had seen enough – war was finally on!
Despite my years I wanted to help see that it was rightly fought and won.
So I went to the President and asked for a Brigadier’s star and command;
I knew men from far and wide would want to serve in any campaign I planned!
But that pious schoolmaster in the White House refused to let me lead –
He said “War is a young man’s game, to your health you must give heed!
It would do the country no good to see a former President killed in action;
But supporting the administration’s policies should give you satisfaction!”
What a fool! I snorted as I returned home to Oyster Bay;
Then I called my boys together and told them what I had to say:
“My sons, your country is at war, but the President will not let me fight.
I want each of you to volunteer and aid our country in her current plight!
My heart will travel with you all, as I truly wish my body could –
Now go and serve your country, lads, as any man named Roosevelt should!”
In all my life I never shrunk away when I owed my country my duty;
My sons signed up and shipped out to fight; I stayed and got quite moody.
What if none returned? Oh Kermit, Ted, Archie, and Quentin!
Be safe, my lads! To see you harmed was never my intention.
Edith: I know Theodore told our boys they needed to go and serve their nation;
Ted was nearly killed, Archie and Kermit both hit, but then – oh, desolation!
Quentin our boy, the bravest and best, had become a fighter pilot.
He wrote us after he scored his first kill – how his father smiled at
The courage of his youngest boy, but that smile vanished without a trace.
For the next day Quentin was shot down and killed by a German flying ace!
My heart was broken as much as his, but my husband seemed about to die.
In all the long years of our marriage, it was the only time I saw him cry.
Something broke inside him on that dreadful day we received the telegram.
Theodore lived for another year longer, but his brave front was just a sham.
His friends tried to get him involved; they said he could be President again –
But Theodore, for all his strength, was now just a shadow of a man.
TR: It’s awfully hard to say goodbye, to such a darling boy –
Of all my sons, brave young Quentin always brought me so much joy!
His death has unmanned me, and sapped my strength, I don’t know what to do!
The war was won, but I felt no joy, still I don’t want my life to be through.
My fever keeps on coming back, my leg aches every day.
Even though I’m only sixty, my hair has gone thin and grey.
That leg is a constant reminder of pain, my Amazon souvenir;
I just need a little more time to get well - but I will, don’t you fear!
Nineteen twenty is coming soon; the bosses are all in agreement
That I will be the nominee this time, and once more become President.
I just need to get my strength back, so I can give one more roar!
Let the world hear for the very last time, the voice of Theodore.
But right now I am so very tired, and it’s getting late at night.
So I’ll turn in and continue tomorrow – James, would you turn out the light?
(Stage goes black, and the curtains drop)
