Renaissance Man
Gutenberg
(To the tune of Blister in the Sun)
(To the tune of Sunday Girl by Blondie)
There was a time, long time ago in cities of Italy
Rich middle class, patrons of arts, like the famed Medici
There was a guy, Johannes Gutenberg
Revolution of written word
Perfected the printing press
The Renaissance - Is a French word for “rebirth”
The Renaissance - They understood human worth!
Leonardo - Last name da Vinci, he was really the guy
The Last Supper, the Mona Lisa, building wings to fly
Renaissance man! He can do most everything
Renaissance man - Paint, sculpt, design, and sing!
Then there was Dante, he wrote in Tuscan, The Divine
Comedy
Talking of life in Heaven and Hell and dreaded Purgatory!
Renaissance man! He can do most everything
Renaissance man - A truly great Florentine!
Michelangelo was intense, liked to work with his hands
Making the marble come to life, the Pope was one of his fans
Renaissance man! Painting ceilings upside down
Renaissance man - David’s the pride of the town
Sir Thomas More, he was all for girls learning to read
Dreamed of the perfect society, full of equality
Renaissance man! Working for Henry VIII
Writing Utopia, A perfect, ideal place
Shakespeare’s plays, told of the days
Of Romans and Danish kings
Hamlet and Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Renaissance man! The Bard of the London scene
Renaissance man – A favorite of the queen
Albrect Durer, Miguel Cervantes, and Copernicus
Castiglione, Brughel, Erasmus, and Vesalius
Renaissance men! The great thinkers of their time
Renaissance men - and that’s the end of this rhyme!
Born at the start of the new century
1400’s in Germany
Yeah that’s him, Gutenberg
(CHORUS)
No more writing books by hand
His moveable type was in demand
News and knowledge traveled fast
Ignorance is for the past
He improved on some Asian techniques
Woodblock printing and oil ink
Based it on a winepress
His Bible only 42 lines a page
The beginning of a new age
Thanks to him Gutenberg – ooh
Yeah he’s the guy, Johannes Gutenberg
Revolution of written word
Perfected the printing press
Though his press never
Made him much money
Over centuries he would be
Man of the millennium
CHORUS (2x’s)
Oh Gutenberg, Oh Johannes
Yeah Gutenberg, the Printing Press (2x’s)