Great Big Words

Great Big Words
by Michael Mark & Tom Chapin
© 1992 HCD Music & The Last Music Co. (ASCAP)

When I was a little kid, a "diminutive juvenile,"
I liked my folks to read to me, I was an "eager bibliophile."
Now I love words for how they sound
And how they "communicate."
Perhaps I should explain myself, that is, "elucidate."
Great big words, I like big words.
Letter by letter, the bigger the better
Great big words. La la la la la la la la la la!

Now maybe you're "adept" at sports or "excellent" at school,
Maybe you're "vainglorious,"
Which means you think you're cool.
But give me a "massive ideogram,"
A big word to make my point.
When you can "verbalize" yourself
You can really rock the joint.
Great big words, I like big words.
I get a thrill out of every syllable
Great big words.

My word of the week last week was "unique."
People thought I was one of a kind.
When my word of the day was "distingue"
People said I was very refined.
But they look at me like I'm an alien
When I say things like "sesquipedalian."
But what, me worry? I can't go wrong
With a word that's a foot and one half long.

Big words are "prodigious terms"
Now don't they sound delicious?
They impress your teachers, confuse your parents
And make your friends suspicious.
But that's okay we'll start a trend
That soon will sweep the nation;
The hyper-linguistic polysyllabic speech association.
Great big words, I like big words.
No extra charge if it's very large, those
Great big words.
Great big words, I like big words.
Letter by letter the bigger the better
Great big words. La la la la la la la la la la !
(Reiterate please!) La la la la la la la la la la !
(Diminuendo.) La la la la la la la la la la !
(Grand finale!) La la la la la la la la la la!

This song appears on Tom Chapin's Billy The Squid CD.

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