[Verse 1]
Capitol dome, two chambers humming,
Four three five in the House keep coming,
Every two years they face the voters' blade,
While cent sénateurs, one hundred strong, parade
Through six-year terms, a slower tide,
Staggered seats so a third steps aside,
Lower house hot, upper house cool,
Mon ami, that's the bicameral rule.
[Chorus]
C'est le Congrès, deux chambres, un seul bal,
House et Senate, mon capital,
Quatre cent trente-cinq, cent sénateurs,
Remember the numbers, remember avec coeur,
Deux ans, six ans — the clock never waits,
Vote, mon chéri, before it's too late.
[Verse 2]
Committees are the kitchens where the real bills cook,
Markup tables, hearing rooms, nobody reads the whole book,
But the Senate's got a trick, a stalling art,
Called the filibuster — talk till you fall apart,
Soixante voix, sixty votes for cloture's key,
Without them the bill just drifts out to sea,
Majority's not enough, you need that supermajority's nod,
Gridlock's the toll this chamber's often paid, by God.
[Chorus]
C'est le Congrès, deux chambres, un seul bal,
House et Senate, mon capital,
Quatre cent trente-cinq, cent sénateurs,
Remember the numbers, remember avec coeur,
Deux ans, six ans — the clock never waits,
Vote, mon chéri, before it's too late.
[Verse 3]
Mayhew said in seventy-four, plain and true,
Legislators chase reelection, that's their residue,
Three moves they master, watch them unfurl:
Advertise their name, claim credit, take a position, twirl,
Franked mail, photo ops, a ribbon freshly cut,
Position-taking speeches so the base won't budge,
Single-minded seekers, electoral connection tight,
Every roll call vote's a campaign hiding in plain sight.
[Bridge]
Ninety percent win back their House address,
Incumbency's a sinecure — soft chair, zero stress,
Gerrymandered lines, name recognition, cash in hand,
Interest groups lobby, PACs help them stand,
And down in the bureaucracy, agents may stray,
Principal-agent problem — who's watching, dites-moi?
Oversight hearings, the leash Congress still holds,
Checking the agencies before the story's told.
[Chorus]
C'est le Congrès, deux chambres, un seul bal,
House et Senate, mon capital,
Quatre cent trente-cinq, cent sénateurs,
Remember the numbers, remember avec coeur,
Deux ans, six ans — the clock never waits,
Vote, mon chéri, before it's too late.
[Outro]
Deux chambres, un Capitole, la démocratie chante,
Four three five, one hundred — now you hold the charpente,
Remember Mayhew, remember the game,
Reelection's the engine, Congress is the name.