Title:  punctuations

Composer:  Joe Raposo / Elaine Laron

Lead vocals:  Lee Chamberlin, Rita Moreno

Backing vocals:  Short Circus #1

Scene:  Lee and Rita, swaying in tropical outfits, with the kids chroma-keyed into the background.

[SC]  Punctuations.  Punc, punc, punc, punctuations.

They are the little marks that use their influence

To help a sentence make more sense.

[LC]  Now a period is just a little dot,

But it occupies a very special spot.

If you should see a period, my friend,

Ah, then you know a sentence just came to an end.

[SC]  Punctuations.  Punc, punc, punc, punctuations.

They are the little marks that use their influence

To help a sentence make more sense.

[RM]  Now an exclamation point is saying, “Pow!

Yes, sirree.  I don’t mean maybe.  Boy, and how.”

When you see it there, it means you ought to say

That sentence in a most emphatic way.

[SC]  Punctuations.  Punc, punc, punc, punctuations.

They are the little marks that use their influence

To help a sentence make more sense.

[LC]  Now a question mark is always there to show

That there’s something that somebody wants to know.

It’s as if a sentence tries to say to you,

“I don’t know the answer, but perhaps you do?”

[SC]  Punctuations.  Punc, punc, punc, punctuations.

They are the little marks that use their influence

To help a sentence make more sense.

[RM]  Now a comma is that funny little sign

That says, “Hey, wait.  Just a second.  Hold the line.”

When you see a comma, mostly it will mean

There are words you ought to take a breath between.

[SC]  Punctuations.  Punc, punc, punc, punctuations.

[LC]  They are the little marks that use their influence

[RM]  To help a sentence make more sense.

[LC, RM]  So if you want to be a reading sensation,

You’ve got to know your punctuations.

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