Yakko's World is a song from Episode 2: Yakko's World/Cookies For Einstein/Win Big, and probably the most famous of their songs. In the song, Yakko names all (well, most) of the nations of the world (in 1993). A clip of the sing-along version of this song has been viewed more than six million times on YouTube. To this day, Rob Paulsen, the voice of Yakko, never misses an opportunity to perform this song live, rarely with error.
The song was written by Randy Rogel, a writer from Batman: The Animated Series and Animaniacs, whose son was studying geography. When he saw that "United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama" all rhymed, he got to work on the lyrics and sent the song to Animaniacs. The music is that of the "Jarabe Tapatío," better known as the Mexican Hat Dance dune, a traditional Mexican song.
The song has been referenced and parodied several
times.
In one episode, Yakko sings "All the Words in the English Language" to the same tune, while Dot Warner and Dick Button (playing himself) comment on his performance like an Olympic ice-skating routine.
In "Cutie and the Beast", when Yakko demonstrates that he can say Dot's full name (Princess Angelina Contessa Louissa Francesca Banana Fana Bo Besca the Third) without error, she sarcastically comments, "Oh, thank you, Mr. United States Canada Mexico Panama!", which were the first four nations of the song.
In one episode of Pinky and the Brain, Brain asks Pinky if there is in fact anything that he does know, Pinky replies, "I know all the words to 'Yakko's World'." (Both Pinky and Yakko are voiced by Rob Paulsen.)
In a Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain episode, "Squeeze Play", Brain was talking about his latest plan when Pinky bursts into this song until Brain strangles him.
A commercial bumper for Animaniacs that was used on Kids' WB! from 1997 to 1999 had Tweety start singing the song.
In some songs that has Yakko singing has the same Announcer voice is used. (Ex. When You're Traveling form Nantucket has the announcer saying "And now, Yakko Warner sings about time.")
In 2017, Rob Paulsen performed the song live during a Nerdist video and included a new updated verse written by Randy Rogel.
Lyrics
Animaniacs - Yakko's World - HIGH QUALITY-0
Announcer:
And now, the nations of the world, brought to you by Yakko Warner!
Yakko:
United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama,
Haiti, Jamaica, Peru,
Republic Dominican, Cuba, Caribbean,
Greenland, El Salvador, too.
Puerto Rico, Colombia, Venezuela,
Honduras, Guyana, and still,
Guatemala, Bolivia, then Argentina,
And Ecuador, Chile, Brazil.
Costa Rica, Belize, Nicaragua, Bermuda,
Bahamas, Tobago, San Juan,
Paraguay, Uruguay, Suriname,
And French Guiana, Barbados, and Guam.
*Music*
Norway, and Sweden, and Iceland, and Finland,
And Germany, now in one piece,
Switzerland, Austria, Czechoslovakia,
Italy, Turkey, and Greece.
Poland, Romania, Scotland, Albania,
Ireland, Russia, Oman,
Bulgaria, Saudi Arabia, Hungary,
Cyprus, Iraq, and Iran.
There's Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan,
Both Yemens, Kuwait, and Bahrain,
The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium, and Portugal,
France, England, Denmark, and Spain.
*Faster music*
India, Pakistan, Burma, Afghanistan,
Thailand, Nepal, and Bhutan,
Kampuchea, Malaysia, then Bangladesh, Asia,
And China, Korea, Japan.
Mongolia, Laos, and Tibet, Indonesia,
The Philippine Islands, Taiwan,
Sri Lanka, New Guinea, Sumatra, New Zealand,
Then Borneo, and Vietnam.
Tunisia, Morocco, Uganda, Angola,
Zimbabwe, Djibouti, Botswana,
Mozambique, Zambia, Swaziland, Gambia,
Guinea, Algeria, Ghana.
*Even faster music*
Burundi, Lesotho, and Malawi, Togo,
The Spanish Sahara is gone,
Niger, Nigeria, Chad, and Liberia,
Egypt, Benin, and Gabon.
Tanzania, Somalia, Kenya, and Mali,
Sierra Leone, and Algiers,
Dahomey, Namibia, Senegal, Libya,
Cameroon, Congo, Zaire.
Ethiopia, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar,
Rwanda, Mahore, and Cayman,
Hong Kong, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Yugoslavia...
Crete, Mauritania, then Transylvania,
Monaco, Liechtenstein, Malta, and Palestine,
Fiji, Australia, Sudan!
(2017 verse)
Montenegro and Bosnia Herzegovina,
The Soviet Union is gone,
South Africa, Georgia, Moldovia, Latvia,
Belarus, Azerbaijan.
Uzbekistan, HEY! Kazakstan, HEY!
Then there's Tajikistan too, HEY!
Turkmenistan, HEY! Kyrgyzstan,
Armenia, Tonga, Palau.
Lithuania, Serbia, Kosovo,
US Samoa, the Balkans, Brunei,
Macau and Crimea, then Eritrea...
Ukraine, and Estonia, here's Macedonia,
New Caledonia, Eastern Slavonia,
Ivory Coast, and Cape Verde, Andorra,
The Solomon Islands, Dubai!
Goodbye!
Trivia
The full list of nations not mentioned in the original song is as follows: Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Vatican City, Andorra, Equatorial Guinea, São Tome and Príncipe, St. Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, St. Vincent-Grenadines, St. Lucia , Grenada, Estonia, Belarus, Croatia, Slovenia, Macedonia, Montenegro, San Marino, Serbia, Cabo Verde, Burkina Faso, Eritrea, Central African Republic, Cote d'Ivoire, South Africa, Armenia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Georgia, Mauritius, Comoros, Maldives, Seychelles, Brunei, Singapore, Timor-Leste, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Samoa, Tuvalu, Nauru, Kiribati, Micronesia, Palau, and Marshall Islands.
Trinidad and Tobago, and Papua New Guinea are mentioned incorrectly as Tobago and New Guinea, instead of their full names. Not only is Tobago not an independent country, but it is by far the smaller of the two islands, having roughly 1/20th the population and being approximately 1/16th as the size of Trinidad.
The song mentions “Gambia” when it is actually called “The Gambia.”
Several countries have changed their names since the song was written:
"Kampuchea" was renamed "Cambodia" in 1990, three years before the song aired but possibly still within its production time.
"Zaire" changed its name to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1997 (not to be confused with the neighboring Republic of the Congo.)
In April 2018, King Mswati III announced that Swaziland was officially renamed "Eswatini" to mark the 50th anniversary of Swazi independence from the UK.
Countries covered twice include Algeria (as "Algiers," Algeria's capital city), Romania (as "Transylvania," a region within Romania), Indonesia (as "Borneo" and "Sumatra," two of its largest islands), Malaysia (as "Borneo," which it shares with Indonesia), Greece (as "Crete," the largest of the Greek Islands), Denmark (as "Greenland," an autonomous constituent country of Denmark), and Benin (as "Dahomey," Benin's name prior to 1975).
France is mentioned three times: as "France," but also as "French Guiana" and "Mahore" (another name for Mayotte), both of which are overseas departments and regions of France.
The United States is mentioned four times: as "United States," "Puerto Rico" (a US territory), "San Juan" (Puerto Rico's capital city), and "Guam" (another US territory.)
The United Kingdom is mentioned five times: as "Bermuda" (a UK territory), "Scotland" and "England" (two constituent countries of the UK), "Cayman," (the Cayman Islands, another UK territory), and "Hong Kong" (a UK territory at the time the song aired, now an autonomous region of China). Oddly, the UK itself is not mentioned, nor are its other constituent countries: Wales and Northern Ireland.
Several nations mentioned in the song that have since been dissolved include:
The USSR in 1991 -- almost 2 years before the song aired -- but, because of the time required for production, it was still undivided when the song was written and is all covered by "Russia." This would include fourteen independent countries and one republic besides Russia itself (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, North Ossetia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan) plus much more recently the Republic of Crimea which was taken by the country from Ukraine (and is still partially unrecognized).
Yugoslavia (mentioned in the coda) was broken up in 1991-1992 into Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia and Montenegro.
In 2006, the federation of Serbia and Montenegro split into the country of Serbia and the country of Montenegro.
Serbia was further split when the state of Kosovo declared its independence in 2008, though it remains partially unrecognized by UN member states.
Macedonia was officially renamed North Macedonia in 2019.
Czechoslovakia had divided into two separate countries, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, just months before the song aired.
East Timor (Timor-Leste), which became independent from Indonesia in 2002.
Most recently, Sudan broke into the two countries of Sudan and South Sudan on July 9, 2011, almost 18 years after the song was aired.
Territories mentioned in the song but that do not constitute independent nations include:
"Hong Kong" was a British territory at the time of the song and is now an autonomous region of China.
"Bermuda" and "Cayman" are British territories as well, where "Cayman" is actually a series of three islands: Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman.
"Scotland" and "England" are constituent countries of the United Kingdom.
"Guam" and "Puerto Rico" are US territories.
This means that the inclusion of "San Juan," Puerto Rico's capital city, is doubly inaccurate as a city within a dependent territory of another country.
"Caribbean" is a sea, presumably mentioned to cover several small island countries such as St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, Grenada, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, and so on.
"Asia" is a continent rather than a country, though since only the country of Bangladesh is lit up on the map when it is said this appears to be part of the phrase "Bangladesh, Asia" (as in "Bangladesh, which is in Asia") rather than its own separate entry. This was undoubtedly thrown in to supply an extra two syllables and because it rhymes with "Malaysia."
"Tibet" was annexed by the People's Republic of China in the 1950's so it is not an independent nation. This error is later noted in the "Please Please Please Get a Life Foundation" cartoon. However, at the time the song was written, the Free Tibet movement was wildly popular so it could had been added to the song as a shown of support. On the map Tibet is shown as part of China and it lightens up when both it and China are mentioned.
"Greenland" is an autonomous constituent country of Denmark.
"Mahore" is an alternative name for the French overseas department and region of Mayotte, which is part of the Comoros Islands.
"French Guiana" is also an overseas department and region of France. "Guyana" is the original name of the region covered by Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, parts of Brazil and parts of Venezuela. During the European colonization of South America, the territory got divided between British Guiana (now the independent country of Guyana), Dutch Guiana (now the independent country of Suriname) and French Guiana. Some historians contend there was also Portuguese and a Spanish Guiana (small parts of Brazil and Venezuela respectively).
"Abu Dhabi" is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates and the largest of the 7 emirates. The UAE is not otherwise mentioned in the song.
Germany and Korea had each been divided into two different states through the Cold War, but are mentioned as single entries. In Germany's case, this is because it reunified a few years before the song aired (as noted in the lyrics, "now in one piece.") Korea, meanwhile, was then and is still now divided between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK, or North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (RoK, or South Korea). They have yet to reunify.
Korea being mentioned as one nation rather than a historical state becomes even more confusing as even the animation clearly shows it is two. North Korea is colored in yellow, while South Korea is colored in green.
On the other hand, the countries of North and South Yemen had reunified into Yemen in 1990, and yet it is still mentioned as "both Yemens." Much like with the USSR, this is likely to have been missed due to the long lead time required by the animation production process.
Palestine and Taiwan which are mentioned in the song aren't fully recognized nations. The State of Palestine was accepted by the UN as a non-member observer state in 2012 while Taiwan is the main Island of the Republic of China (in contraposition to the People's Republic of China, aka Mainland China). However their inclusion on the song (as well as Tibet's and one Korea instead of two) can be seen as a sign of support to their causes, as the US still has not recognized either of them.
The omission of South Africa from the song may have been done on purpose, as lots of media and companies of the time joined the "International solidarity campaign with South Africa", which consisted in imposing some way of sanction or boycott against the nation as protest against the Apartheid regime of the time.
Manchuria has a whole list of problems of not being properly portrayed by the song such as:
The fact that a line between China and Manchuria which implies that Manchuria is an independent nation from China, even though it hasn't been a separate "puppet" state (as Manchukuo) since WWII.
Despite this, Manchuria has the same color scheme as China. And sometimes, the border between China and Manchuria completely vanishes whenever Yakko dances between the music.
Oddly enough however, Manchuria is never once been lit up during the entirety of the song. Yakko doesn't point to or mention Manchuria despite its apparent sovereignty in the song's animation.
All of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland are highlighted in the same color (yellow) despite England and Scotland being mentioned independently, and Wales and Northern Ireland not being mentioned at all.
A number of international dubs have changed the song for linguistic or political reasons:
The German dub of replaces “Yugoslavia, Crete, Mauritania, then Transylvania” with “Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia” and replaces “Russia” with “GUS,” the acronym of “CIS”, a post-Soviet organization of most of the former Soviet states, in German.
One of the Russian dubs of the song completely rewrites the lyrics. Due to Yakko now pointing at the wrong countries in the animation, he is referred to as “the unfortunate geographer” by the narrator.
In the Arabic dub, there are two mentions of Palestine: first, taking Israel's spot from the original song, and then again in its original spot.
However in the Egyptian Arabic version, Palestine was mentioned only once as, since 1979, Egypt is the first (and so far only) Arab state to recognize the State of Israel. Jordan world do the same in 1994.
The Brazilian Portuguese dub of the song replaces "Zimbabwe, Djibouti, Botswana" with "A lot of weird names."
The Latin Spanish dub of the song calls Brazil as "¡Arriba Brasil!"
The 2017 verse includes numerous countries that were excluded from or did not exist at the time of the original song, but introduces a few new inaccuracies:
US Samoa, Macau, New Caledonia and Crimea are all territories or autonomous regions of other countries: The United States of America, China, France and Russia (and Ukraine) respectively.
The Balkans are a region of south-eastern Europe that contains the entirety or parts of several different countries.
Eastern Slavonia is one of a couple of entities that existed for brief periods in the 1990s, but are now part of Croatia.
Dubai is a city in the United Arab Emirates.
In 1986, the government of the Ivory Coast declared that its official French name, Côte d'Ivoire, should be used in all international dealings and not be translated into other languages. "Ivory Coast" does continue to be used widely in English, however.
The Nerdist video in which Rob Paulsen sang the new verse live included Pakistan, which was already mentioned in the original song. This appears to have been a mistake on Paulsen's part, however, as other videos of him performing the song live have Kyrgyzstan at that spot in the lyrics. This correct version is reflected in the lyrics above.
In 2019, Macedonia was officially renamed "North Macedonia" to help settle a dispute with Greece over the name.
The following nations continue to be excluded from or mentioned inaccurately in the song:
Antigua and Barbuda, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, the Central African Republic, Comoros, Croatia, the Czech Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Grenada, Kiribati, the Maldives, the Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Micronesia, Nauru, North Korea, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, São Tomé and Príncipe, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, South Sudan, Timor Leste, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Vanuatu, Vatican City, and Yemen.
