My friend Billy he was actin' kinda silly by the seashore He started goofin', countin' all the grains of sand About a thousand and thirty he was gettin' kinda dirty And he looked at himself and he laughed He said "I'll never even finish what I got right here in my hand" He had a revelation, had a revelation He had some kinda knowledge comin' in from somewhere else for free He had a revelation, special information And I'm hopin' they'll be catchin' it from sea to shining sea A girl named Nancy started talkin' kinda fancy over dinner Usin' clever phrases she would always hafta stop and explain As each sentence ended all her guests were more offended And she looked at herself and she laughed She said "I'll never ever use those hundred dollar words again" She had a revelation, she had a revelation She had some kinda knowledge comin' in from somewhere else to see She had a revelation, a special situation And I'm sure they'll be catchin' it from sea to shining sea Well there's a time and a place for everything A way of standin' up and never tippin' your canoe Sometimes it's better if you just give in Never use a hammer on a screw Mister L. da Vinci said he wouldn't budge an inch he Was convinced that someday humans would fly He made some little paper aeroplanes to show them what he had on his mind Even men of learnin' would have rather seen him burnin' like the devil or the witch they thought he was So he kept his big mouth shut and he didn't have to say goodbye He had a revelation, he had a revelation He had some kinda knowledge comin' in from A to Z Had a revelation, a pile of information And I'm hopin' they'll be catchin' it from sea to shining sea Revelation, revelation Special information Special situation Pile of information Revelation