A Quake! A Quake! is a song from Episode 70 of Animaniacs. The song was written about the 1994 Northridge earthquake that occured in Los Angeles, California on January 17, 1994. The music was adapted by Randy Rogel from Robert Schumann's piano composition "The Happy Farmer" and the lyrics by Rogel. The version that appears on the album Yakko's World is substantially different from the television version with all references to California removed and some lines sung by Wakko, Dot, and Dr. Scratchansniff sung instead by Yakko.
Lyrics
Original version
- Yakko:
- This is the city: Los Angeles, California.
- On a starlit winter's night,
- When the moon was shining bright,
- Back in January of 1994,
- At 4:30 in the morning,
- And without a single warning,
- Something strange began to move the floor.
- A quake, a quake,
- The house begins to shake.
- You're bouncing 'cross the floor
- And watching all your dishes break.
- You're sleeping, there's a quake,
- You're instantly awake.
- You're leaping out of bed and shouting...
- Dr. Scratchansniff:
- Oh, for heaven's sake!
- Yakko:
- I ran outside with neighbors,
- Their faces filled with shock.
- That's because I'm standing there
- In nothing but my socks.
- Oh, a quake, a quake...
- Dot:
- Say, it's all a big mistake!
- Wakko:
- Just feel the ground go up and down!
- Yakko:
- Won't someone hit the brake?
- A quake, a quake,
- Oh, what a mess they make!
- The bricks, the walls,
- The chimney falls,
- Destruction in its wake!
- Dr. Scratchansniff:
- I did not have insurance,
- So I called them from the scene
- Und suddenly I'm listening to
- An answering machine, saying...
- Yakko:
- Too late! Too late!
- You shouldn't oughta wait!
- So now you're stuck,
- We wish you luck!
- Here comes a six-point-eight!
- Whose fault? Whose fault?
- The San Andreas' fault,
- 'Cause Mister Richter
- Can't predict her
- Kicking our asphalt!
- Seismologists all say
- Tectonic plates are in between
- An encroaching crustal mantle.
- Wakko and Dot:
- Yeah, so what the heck's that mean?
- Yakko:
- It means a quake, a quake!
- Wakko and Dot:
- Oh, really, yeah, no fake?
- We kinda had that feeling
- When the ground began to shake!
- Yakko:
- California's great!
- It's such a lovely state!
- 'Cause every lawn
- Is sitting on
- A continental plate!
- Los Angeles had fires
- And a riot and a flood
- And then a drought and a recession
- And now we hear this thud
- Of a quake, a quake!
- The Warners:
- How much more can we take?!
- Dot:
- We thought that we had seen it all...
- Yakko:
- But this one takes the cake!
- The dirt...
- Dot:
- The rocks...
- Wakko:
- And all those aftershocks!
- The Warners:
- It's just the planet
- Moving granite
- Several city blocks!
- (to the tune of London Bridge)
- LA town is falling down
- While the ground moves around!
- We won't let it get us down,
- We're Californians!
- Yakko:
- A quake...
- Dot:
- A quake...
- Wakko:
- It's time to pull up stake.
- Yakko:
- We're all fed up,
- We can't deny it!
- Dot:
- Fires, quakes, and floods, and riot!
- The Warners:
- We want someplace with peace and quiet...
- So we're moving to Beirut!
Album version
- Yakko:
- It's a quiet peaceful night,
- The moon is shining bright,
- Giving not a hint of what's in store.
- A few hours before morning
- Without a single warning,
- Something strange begins to move the floor.
- A quake, a quake,
- The house begins to shake.
- You're bouncing 'cross the floor
- And watching all your dishes break.
- You're sleeping, there's a quake,
- You're instantly awake.
- You're leaping out of bed
- And shouting, "Oh, for heaven's sake!"
- I ran outside with neighbors,
- Their faces filled with shock.
- That's because I'm standing there
- In nothing but my socks.
- Wakko and Dot:
- Oops!
- Yakko:
- A quake, a quake!
- This must be a mistake!
- Just feel the ground
- Go up and down!
- Won't someone hit the break?
- A quake, a quake,
- Oh, what a mess they make!
- The bricks, the walls,
- The chimney falls,
- Destruction in its wake!
- I did not have insurance,
- So I called them from the scene
- And suddenly I'm listening to
- An answering machine
- Saying, "Too late! Too late!
- You shouldn't oughta wait!
- So now you're stuck,
- We wish you luck!
- Here comes a six-point-eight!"
- Whose fault? Whose fault?
- Blame it on the fault,
- 'Cause Mister Richter
- Can't predict her
- Kicking our asphalt!
- Seismologists all say
- Tectonic plates are in between
- An encroaching crustal mantle.
- Yeah, so what the heck's that mean?
- It means a quake, a quake!
- Wakko and Dot:
- Oh, really, yeah, no fake?
- We kinda had that feeling
- When the ground began to shake!
- Yakko:
- And so, we wait,
- Resign ourselves to fate,
- Because our lawn
- Is sitting on
- A continental plate.
- We shivered through a blizzard,
- Went swimming in a flood,
- Then we blew off a hurricane,
- And now we hear a thud
- Of a quake, a quake!
- How much more can we take?!
- We thought that we had seen it all
- But this one takes the cake!
- The dirt, the rocks,
- Those crazy aftershocks!
- It's just the planet
- Moving granite
- Several city blocks!
- The Warners:
- (to the tune of London Bridge)
- Now the town is falling down
- While the ground moves around!
- We won't let it get us down,
- Get beneath the doorframe!
- Yakko:
- A quake, a quake,
- It's time to pull up stake.
- Dot:
- The worst is over!
- Yakko and Wakko:
- We don't buy it!
- We're fed up,
- We can't deny it!
- We just want some peace and quiet!
- The Warners:
- So we're moving to Beirut!