Welcome to the Renaissance

War of the roses, Chaucer's tales
The brutal feudal system
Holy crusades, Bubonic plague
Can't say that we've really missed 'em
So dark and barbaric, so dull and mundane
That was so Middle Ages
That was so... Charlemagne

Welcome to the Renaissance
With poets, painters, and bon vivants
And merry minstrels
Who stroll the streets of London
A strummin' the lutes
In puffy pants and pointy leather boots!

Welcome to the Renaissance
Where we ooh and aah you with ambiance
We're so progressive
The latest and the greatest
We bring it to you with much ado
Welcome to the Renaissance
Where everything is new

Here we've made advances in the sciences
We have the latest gadgets and appliances
Our mugs are made of pewter
Our houses all are Tudor
Decorated with a modern flair

See us in our petticoats and farthingales
Our trendy beards we trim to look like swallow tails
We're called Elizabethans
They're all a bunch of heathens
Heathens heading straight for you know where

While witches are burning and
Wars tend to start
We bring you moments of culture
And art
Culture and art...

Welcome to the Renaissance
Well our printing press has the fancy fonts
That's right we're fancy
And very literary, theatrical, too
It's what we do

Welcome to the Renaissance
Where everything is new!

Hey look it's Francis Bacon with a chicken
What's he makin'?
Well, I think he's found a way of freezing meat
That's new!

Hey look it's Walter Raleigh
Found a new world by golly
And he's brought us all tobacco
What a treat!
Also new!

And we have a list of writers who
Are always writing something new
It's true! We do!
Like who?

Like who? Like Dekker!
Whoo!
John Webster!
Whoo!
Ben Johnson!
Uh-huh
And Christopher Marlowe
Thomas Kyd, Thomas Middleton,
Thomas Moore
And our brightest star

Yo, he's the bomb, the soul of the age
The whiz of the Elizabethan stage
He's incredible, unforgettable
He's just so freakin' awesome
Shakespeare! Shakespeare!

We love him, we love him
We love him, we love him
We love him, we love him
We love him, we love him

His plays are so brilliant
His writing's first rate
His acting's incredible

Isn't he great! (we love him, we love him)
Isn't he great (we love him, we love him, we love him, we love him)
We love him!

Welcome to the Renaissance
Not the one in Italy or in France
No the one in England
The one where William Shakespeare
Is the cream of the crop
The one where William Shakespeare is the top!

Welcome to the Renaissance
To a 16th century experience
In the age that's golden
The olden days are over, we bid them adieu
Well hal-le-lu!

Welcome to the Renaissance
Where everything is new!
Everything is new
Welcome to the Renaissance
Everything is new

'Cause Renaissance means rebirth!