| Animaniacs song | |
|---|---|
| "The Presidents" | |
| Season no. | 3 |
| Episode no. | 75 |
| Orig. airdate | November 11, 1995 |
| Episode theme | The Presidents of the United States of America |
| Sung by | Rob Paulsen, Tress MacNeille, Jess Harnell |
| Written by | Randy Rogel & Tom Ruegger |
| List of all Animaniacs episodes... | |
"The Presidents" is a song from the children's television series Animaniacs, sung by Yakko, Wakko, and Dot Warner. The melody of the song is set to the William Tell Overture, with slight variations. The Warners sing about every United States President that had been in office up to the time that this episode aired in 1995 (every president up to and including Bill Clinton). To make the song entertaining and educational, the Warners include interesting facts about each president as the song progresses. "The Presidents" was later featured on the Animaniacs album Variety Pack (albeit with slightly altered lyrics), released on Rhino Records. The song begins by asking if the listener knows the names of United States Presidents who resided in the White House, and thus had a good view of Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House bathroom. Although the song attempts to make both historical, political and personal references for each president, many presidents receive only a cursory mention, as though the only notable thing about them was that they were president. The decision of what to include or leave out was probably driven primarily by what would fit nicely in tune with the music.
| President | Lyrical content |
|---|---|
| George Washington | The song references the rumor that George chopped down his father's cherry tree. |
| John Adams | The song merely mentions him as "number two". |
| Thomas Jefferson | The song references the fact that Jefferson was instrumental in composing the Declaration of Independence. One version of the song incorrectly refers to him authoring the Constitution. |
| James Madison | The song references the fact that the War of 1812 occurred during Madison's presidency, and that he didn't have any sons at the time. |
| James Monroe | The song references the belief that Monroe had a very large nose. |
| John Quincy Adams | The song references the fact that Adams, the sixth president, beat Andrew Jackson in the presidential race... |
| Andrew Jackson | ...but that Jackson regroups and wins the presidency to be the seventh president. |
| Martin Van Buren | The song mentions that he was "number eight" and served one term. |
| William Harrison | The song references that Harrison died in office after only 30 days as president. |
| John Tyler | Tyler, as a Southerner, liked "country folk". |
| James Polk | The song mentions his name, which happens to rhyme with "folk". |
| Zachary Taylor | The song references that Taylor liked to smoke. |
| Millard Fillmore | The song references that Fillmore was president in 1850. |
| Franklin Pierce | The song notes how Pierce lacked an anatomically prevalent chin. |
| James Buchanan | The song references that Buchanan served one term and that division arose between the North and the South, ultimately leading to the Civil War. The lyrics also suggest that the South was the instigator, as well as making a reference to the South being referred to as Dixie. |
| Abraham Lincoln | The lyrics point to Lincoln as a visionary who took control of the country and saved it from a potentially permanent split. |
| Andrew Johnson | The lyrics tell of Johnson's "defects," telling how he was impeached by both the upper and lower houses of Congress. |
| Ulysses S. Grant | The song informs us that Grant's middle name was Simpson. It also tells of his rowdy behavior and often drunken state. This could be a reference to the fact that Grant was tone deaf, and in order to be able to tolerate the incessant drumming of the presidential entourage, he would often drink himself into a stupor. |
| Rutherford Hayes | The song explains how, in 1877, there was a tie in the electoral college, forcing a Congressional vote to choose the president. In a tremendous surprise to the Democrats, Hayes, a Republican, won by a single vote. |
| James Garfield | The song mentions that Garfield was assassinated. |
| Chester Arthur | The song mentions that Arthur served for four years. |
| Grover Cleveland | The lyrics refer to Cleveland as a "really fat" individual who was elected to two terms as a Democrat. |
| Benjamin Harrison | The song mentions his name. |
| William McKinley | The song mentions his name. |
| Teddy Roosevelt | The song mentions that Roosevelt "charged up San Juan Hill" (while he fought in the Spanish-American War). |
| William Howard Taft | The song references the Payne-Aldrich tariff, which increased tariffs and increased tensions between producers and consumers across the country. |
| Woodrow Wilson | Wilson, president in 1913, brought the United States into World War I. |
| Warren Harding | The song mentions his name. |
| Calvin Coolidge | The song mentions his name. |
| Herbert Hoover | The song references the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and how Hoover is blamed for it, thus losing his opportunity to a second term. |
| Franklin D. Roosevelt | The song references how Roosevelt "helped us win in World War II". |
| Harry Truman | The lyrics refer to Truman as a "weird little human," probably because he was then considered to possess a very strange demeanor. He served two terms. |
| Dwight D. Eisenhower | The song references Eisenhower's "power," probably because of his military prowess and because it rhymes. He served from 1953 to 1961. |
| John F. Kennedy | There are two version of the lyrics. One references the analogy of the Kennedy family to Camelot, while the other references his assassination. |
| Lyndon B. Johnson | The song references how Johnson took over when Kennedy was assassinated. |
| Richard Nixon | The song tells how Nixon was "caught" (in the Watergate scandal). |
| Gerald Ford | The song references how Ford "fell down a lot." This could be taken in the literal sense, as he tripped on the stairs during his swearing in, but it could also refer to the many political lows he encountered during his term. |
| Jimmy Carter | The song references Carter's penchant for campaign trips. |
| Ronald Reagan | The lyrics refer to Reagan's history as an actor, suggesting that his speeches derived from movie clips. |
| George H.W. Bush | The song references Bush's infamous line, "No new taxes," spoken Republican National Convention on August 18, 1988 as he accepted the Republican nomination. Although holding out at first, Bush eventually reversed his promise, to the chagrin of many voters. |
| Bill Clinton | The song references how Hillary Clinton was a strong force in her husband's presidency, going to far as to say that she was the president. A revised version states that the country was run by "the Clintons, Bill AND Hillary." |
The song then continues on to say that it doesn't know who will be president next, but no matter who it will be, the press will "distort anything he or she might say" anyway. It then recommends that the president take advantage of Air Force One to escape the press.
References
Educational Cyberplayground, calling this song "one of the most useful cartoon songs ever." script language="JavaScript" src="http://www.boreme.com/bm-embed.js" type="text/javascript"></script><script language="JavaScript" type="text/javascript">AC_FL_Run_BM("10138");</script>
