Rome
by Chi Cago
Mmmmmmmm
Let me talk to ya
Let me talk to ya
(Let it rain)
Mmmmmmmm
Let me talk to ya
C'mon!
Well, you got the Etruscans and the Greeks (Greeks)
But the Latins came first (Latins first)
To the shores of the River Tiber
They drained a swamp (they drained a swamp)
Next thing you know
Livin’ in Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome
Now Tarquin’s kinda proud
But he got a little loud (a little loud)
They turned around and ran that tyrant outta town (hey!)
Next thing you know (next thing you know)
No kings no more
Happened in Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome
Hey, we got three governments rolled into one
Patricians and plebeians havin’ some fun
Two consuls gotta be better than one
Brand new republic ready to run
Democracy
Aristocracy
Plus monarchy
Not a tyranny
Ho-o-o-old up wait a minute, do I see what I think I… hey!
That’s a Roman legion clear as day
5000 soldiers - not in it for pay
Group of eighty’s a century
On horseback is the cavalry
Shield, sword, dagger, and armor and tunic
Fightin ’gainst Carthage in wars that are Punic
Hannibal riding on elephant back
Crossing the Alps just to launch his attack
So now you get the picture
All the rich are getting richer
And they’re livin’ on the latifundia
Farmers can’t cope (They just can’t cope)
They’re low on hope
They moved to Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome
I can hear the brothers Gracchus
Sayin, “Rich, please don’t attack us” (don’t attack us)
“We got a feeling that the senators will whack us” (hey!)
They hit the floor (they hit the floor)
Next thing you know
It’s civil war, war, war, war, war, war, war, war
Hey, let me take you back to 60 BC
It’s the start of the rise of Julius C
He grabbed two dudes and he formed a team
It’s a triumvirate -- that’s a group of three
“Crassus (come on), Pompey (come on), I’m JC! (come on)
We three will rule!
What you think I'm playing, baby girl? I'm the man!
I'm conquering Gaul!”
All of his soldiers gave him their devotion
That’s why he swept over Gaul just like an ocean
Pompey couldn’t understand all the commotion
When he crossed the Rubicon, he kept up motion
It’s just like a potion
Caesar had self-locomotion
Power’s an ambitious emotion
Dictator is not a demotion
It’s promotion
But in 44 BC (BC)
On a day called March 15 (Ides of March)
Brutus and the Senate murdered Julius C
He hit the floor (he hit the floor)
Next thing you know
Caesar’s no more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more
You know he’s so depressed
23 stab wounds in his chest (in his chest)
He saw his friend and he raised one last protest (hey!)
“Et tu, Brute?” (Et tu, Brute?)
That’s what he say
Cuz he felt low, low, low, low, low, low, low, low
Only eighteen, Octavian makin’ the scene
He says, “I tell you what,
Got a new triumvirate
Here’s my boy Lepidus
And Mark Antony I trust
‘Til Marky met this chick
Cleopatra from Egypt”
Octavian was freakin’
Lust for power started peakin’
“Don’t try to play me or my navy,
At Actium you won’t slay me”
“O” won that game
Did explain
Now Augustus was his name
All his subjects did proclaim
He’s in the Roman Hall of Fame
Twenty-seven BC (BC)
For a couple hundred years (207)
Pax Romana is the word that brings the cheers (Yay!)
They’re on a roll (they’re on a roll)
They built some roads
Leading to Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome
Slaves don’t have many rights and
Then there’s gladiator fightin’ (OW!)
People find the Circus Maximus excitin’ (hey!)
Blood on the floor (knee-deep in gore)
And now you know
All about Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome
(C'mon!)
