"Wakko's America" is a song from Episode 21 of Animaniacs. Like "Yakko's World," it is a geographical patter song, this one listing each of the United States of America and their respective capitals. The song is framed as Wakko's answer to a "Jeopardy!" Daily Double question asked in a lesson taught by Miss Flamiel, which Wakko ultimately gets wrong because he does not phrase his answer in the form of a question. The music is "Turkey in the Straw," with lyrics written by Randy Rogel.
There's Montgomery, Alabama, south of Helena, Montana,
Then there's Denver, Colorado under Boise, Idaho.
Texas has Austin, then we go north,
To Massachusetts' Boston and Albany, New York.
Tallahassee, Florida, and Washington, D.C.,
Santa Fe, New Mexico and Nashville, Tennessee.
Elvis used to hang out there a lot, you know.
Trenton's in New Jersey, north of Jefferson, Missouri,
You've got Richmond in Virginia, South Dakota has Pierre,
Harrisburg's in Pennsylvania, and Augusta's up in Maine,
And here is Providence, Rhode Island next to Dover, Delaware.
Concord, New Hampshire, just a quick jaunt
To Montpelier, which is up in Vermont.
Hartford's in Connecticut, so pretty in the fall.
And Kansas has Topeka, Minnesota has St. Paul.
Juneau's in Alaska, and there's Lincoln in Nebraska,
And it's Raleigh out in North Carolina, and then,
There's Madison, Wisconsin and Olympia in Washington,
Phoenix, Arizona and Lansing, Michigan.
Here's Honolulu, Hawaii's a joy,
Jackson, Mississippi and Springfield, Illinois,
South Carolina with Columbia down the way
And Annapolis in Maryland on Chesapeake Bay.
They have wonderful clam chowder.
Cheyenne is in Wyoming, and perhaps you'd make your home in
Salt Lake City out in Utah, where the buffalo roam.
Atlanta's down in Georgia, and there's Bismarck, North Dakota,
And you can live in Frankfort in your old Kentucky home.
Salem in Oregon, from there we join
Little Rock in Arkansas, Iowa's got Des Moines,
Sacramento, California, Oklahoma and its city,
Charleston, West Virginia and Nevada, Carson City!
That's all the capitals there are!
Trivia
Even if Wakko had phrased his answer in the form of a question, it wouldn’t have mattered, as the song is almost two minutes long and contestants on Jeopardy only get about 10 seconds to answer. Of course, Jeopardy would not normally give a clue requiring a full one hundred answers with such a time limit in place.
In the July 15, 2019 episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, a parody of the song is performed by "Wakko" (not voiced by Jess Harnell) to give a geography lesson to then-U.S. president Donald Trump. It can be viewed here.
Errors
This song is still not perfect but with a few errors:
The Jeopardy clue introducing the song misspells "capital" as "capitol." A capital is a city that is the seat of government for a political entity (country, state, province, etc.) A capitol is the building in which a legislature meets to make laws for their respective political entity.
It is stated that Providence, Rhode Island and Dover, Delaware are next to each other, though they are separated by nearly 300 miles and three states.
The song also lists Washington, D.C. as a state capital. The city of Washington, D.C. is not part of any of the states, much less the capital of one, and is instead the nation's capital. However, on January 4, 2021, the 117th Congress proposed H.R. 51, "To provide for the admission of the State of Washington, D.C. into the Union.". If the bill will become law by about 2022, then D.C. will become the 51st state and the song will probably become correct.
Though technically passable, Jefferson City, Missouri is almost never referred to as just "Jefferson".
Trenton is more East of Jefferson City than North of it.
Wakko pronounces South Dakota's capital, Pierre, with the French pronunciation to rhyme with the next line, while it is actually pronounced "peer."
There are also a few animation errors:
When Wakko mentions Michigan, its upper peninsula does not light up.
Most of Massachusetts' coastline is missing at several points through the song.
When Wakko points to Tennessee, it is very close to Texas. Immediately afterwards, when Wakko says "Elvis used to hang out there a lot, you know," Tennessee is back in its normal place.
Near the end of the third verse, Illinois is seen bordering Tennessee, but when Wakko says "They have wonderful clam chowder," this error is fixed.
Other Appearances
Wakko appears and sings the beginning of the song in the Freakazoid! episode "The Freakazoid" after Freakazoid's neighbour asks Freakazoid himself, "What are you, wacko?" He, Freakazoid, and the Brain then proceed to argue over which of their respective shows is Steven's favorite.
The song's first two lines is sung in "Equal Time" when Wakko becomes disappointed that nothing has changed.
Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain Theme Song • Two of a Kind • Tellechubbies Theme • Be More Like The Brain • Mercury • Flip-Flop • Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies • Sea Food • Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo • The Icky Mouse Club • The Circle's Theme • The Hop • Pinky's Dream House • Robot Weekend Song • Children of Many Lands • Yum Yum Doodle Dum Day • Mousey Ballet • Pigstuck • I'm a Pretty Girl • Let Me Be Your Leader • Learning • Patty Ann • Juggling With Meat • Gristle Meat • Animal Pieces in my Stew • Party Night • Braino • Underwear Head
