They didn't stumble into freedom
It wasn't chance or whim
They bent their knees to Providence
And then they signed for Him
Fifty-six names, they knew the cost
Everything they had would be the thing they'd lose or lost
But with a firm reliance on the hand of Providence
They pledged their Lives, their Fortunes, and their sacred Honor – consequence?
They counted it and signed it anyway
And freedom was the price they were willing to pay
New Hampshire sent her Bartlett, Whipple, Thornton three
Massachusetts: Hancock, Samuel and John Adams – you see
Treat Paine and Gerry, Rhode Island's Hopkins, Ellery too
Connecticut: Sherman, Huntington, Williams, Wolcott – freedom's crew
They prayed for Providence to guide the quill
And signed their names despite the coming bill
New York: Floyd, Livingston, Lewis, Morris – four men bold
New Jersey: Stockton, Witherspoon, Hopkinson, Hart, Clark – a story told
Pennsylvania: Morris, Rush, the sage Franklin, Morton, Clymer,
Smith, Taylor, Wilson, Ross – the fire grew brighter
They looked to Heaven as the Supreme Judge above
And pledged their sacred honor, bound by holy love
Delaware: Rodney, Read, McKean – the smallest of them all
Maryland: Chase, Paca, Stone, Carroll of Carrollton – standing tall
Virginia: Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, and Jefferson who wrote the creed
Harrison, Nelson, Francis Lightfoot Lee, Braxton – every man in need
Of Providence to shield their infant state
They signed and sealed the document of fate
North Carolina: Hooper, Hewes, Penn – three who dared
South Carolina: Rutledge, Heyward, Lynch, and Middleton – the cost they shared
Georgia: Gwinnett, Hall, Walton – the last names on the page
But not the least in courage on that revolutionary stage
With firm reliance on the God who holds the sky
They pledged their lives and fortunes – and they did not blink an eye
"And for the support of this Declaration,
with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence,
we mutually pledge to each other
our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor."
Fifty-six names, they knew the cost
Everything they had would be the thing they'd lose or lost
But with a firm reliance on the hand of Providence
They pledged their Lives, their Fortunes, and their sacred Honor
And built a nation out of confidence
In God.