The story of English is a story of success.
A thousand years ago, who woulda guessed
This obscure unpronounceable Germanic tongue
Would someday become No. 1.
Almost a billion people in the world today
Turn to English when they have something to say.
Oh some of them speak another language, I know.
Like some nights you might get Chinese food to go,
Some people like French for its tone of gravity,
Or Danish to exercise the oral cavity.
And there are some languages that more people use,
Certainly, but we should never confuse
Sheer quantity with pure quality. English
Is magnificent, it is distinguished
By its richness and its grace
Both elegant and commonplace
Both lyrical and humorous,
And very precise thanks to its numerous
Vocabulary, the official tongue of air and se
And of modern technology,
And best of all, as you can see,
The language spoken by you and me.

Notice how, in what I’ve spoken here,
Which you must agree has been wonderfully clear,
At no time did I revert to talking foreign—
I never have since the day I was boreign—
I have never been forced to parlez vous
In Chinese, Spanish or Hindu
To express myself or describe what I saw—
It’s all right here in English. Ja!
The language of the world’s elite.
We speak it when we meet and greet—
And press the flesh and make a deal,
Cut a rug, kick up our heels,
Tie one on or paint the town,
It’s English makes the world go round.
You can learn others if you please:
German, Russian, Japanese,
Swedish, Egyptian, or Moroccan.
But when you speak English, then you’re toccan.