Smart Without Art

Smart Without Art
by Tom Chapin, Michael Mark & Jon Cobert
© 2013 The Last Music Co., HCD Music & Red Wagon Music (ASCAP)

They sorted through the data and found as a rule
That kids who have The Arts do much better in school.
In song and in the dance, on the canvas, on the stage,
Art gives life to the lessons they read on a page.

Oh, you can’t spell "smart" without Art,
You can’t spell "smart" without Art.
You’re gonna need art for to get a good start, oh
You can’t spell "smart" without Art.

Imagination’s needed in a challenging world
To nuture the mind of each boy and each girl.
The Arts are an answer to an old paradox:
How to teach a whole class to think out of the box.

Oh, you can’t spell "smart" without Art,
You can’t spell "smart" without Art
All the testing will tell you, it’s there on the chart, that
You can’t spell "smart" without Art.

So let’s make kids more likely to start on a path
To do better in reading and science and math.
And help out our teachers, provide them with tools,
Watch our kids grow and blossom with The Arts in our schools.

Oh, you can’t spell "smart" without Art,
You can’t spell "smart" without Art
Yes, science and reading and math do their part, but
You can’t spell "smart" without Art.
Oh, you can’t spell "smart" without Art,
You can’t spell "smart" without Art
You’re gonna need Art for to get a good start,
All the testing will tell you, it’s there on the chart,
You know in your heart that you’ve got to have art, ‘cause
You can’t spell "smart" without Art.

This song appears on Tom Chapin's 70 CD.

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