Little Liza Jane's United States

I've got a friend in Baltimore
Little Liza Jane
Street cars runnin' by her door
Little Liza Jane

Chorus:
Oh Eliza, Little Liza Jane
Oh Eliza, Little Liza Jane
Oh Eliza, Little Liza Jane
Oh Eliza, Little Liza Jane

Sound sample here (first song on Elizabeth Mitchell's album "You Are My Little Bird")

For the song "Little Liza Jane," I wanted to compose a verse for each of the 50 United States. When I couldn't find the right rhymes, I had to settle for near-rhymes. Some of those near-rhymes are stretches that would do terrible damage to your tendons were you to attempt to reproduce them in your exercises. If you think your state has been unfairly represented, please offer me a rhyming alternative. I have no plans to sing all 50 verses in storytimes. However, these 50 verses may come in handy when we drive out to Idaho this month to attend a friend's wedding. The drive from Seattle, Washington, to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho takes approximately 5 hours. I may need more than songs to keep us all sane.

Anyway, feel free to use these lyrics, alter them to fit your program needs, and of course, offer suggestions if you are compelled to do so. If someone likes the lyrics, please give me credit. If someone hates the lyrics, please tell him or her that you have NO IDEA as to who thought it would be amusing to rhyme "bok choy" with "Illinois."

Little Liza Jane's United States:

1) Alabama: She likes toast with rhubarb jam She's got lots of stamina
2) Alaska: She makes jewelry out of brass
3) Arkansas: She blows bubbles through a straw
4) Arizona: She makes gardens out of stone
5) California: She likes butter on her corn
6) Colorado: She makes bread from whole-wheat dough
7) Connecticut: She likes park slides when they’re wet
8) Delaware: She puts flowers in her hair
9) Florida: She skips by the shore all day
10) Georgia: She likes raisins in her porridge
11) Hawaii: She plays ukulele
12) Idaho: She makes angels in the snow
13) Illinois: She likes eating steamed bok choy
14) Indiana: She likes chocolate on bananas
15) Iowa: She likes raking leaves in Fall
16) Kansas: She plays drums in music class
17) Kentucky: She likes horses wild and free
18) Louisiana: She plays polkas on piano
19) (Who lives in) Maine: She waves to each passing plane
20) Maryland: She makes castles in the sand
21) Massachusetts: She spins ‘round in pirouettes
22) Michigan: She’s the best at kick-the-can
23) Minnesota: She thinks kids should have the vote
24) Mississippi: She likes ice-cream when it’s drippy
25) Missouri: She likes crunchy celery
26) Montana: She's a girl who wears bandanas
27) Nebraska: She’s a girl who likes to draw
28) Nevada: She builds houseboats with her dad
29) New Hampshire: She likes cats because they purr
30) New Jersey: She does cartwheels by the sea
31) New Mexico: She puts on a puppet show
32) (old) New York: She eats ice-cream with a fork
33) North Carolina: She fishes with a pole and line
34) North Dakota: She likes drinking root beer floats
35) Ohio: She flies kites when cold winds blow
36) Oklahoma: She writes very silly poems
37) Oregon: She thinks racing boats is fun
38) Pennsylvania: She goes riding on the train
39) Rhode Island: She plays banjo in a band
40) South Dakota: She wears buckles on her coat
41) South Carolina: She builds cabinets out of pine
42) Tennessee: She likes shortbread with her tea
43) Texas: She works on the library bus
44) Utah: She likes power drills and saws
45) Vermont: She likes syrup on croissants
46) Virginia: she’s got brothers who are twins
47) Washington: She likes rain as much as sun
48) West Virginia: She’s got dimples in her chin
49) Wisconsin: She runs races just to win
50) Wyoming: She plays folk guitar and sings

Bonus: Here is an interactive map of the USA with capitals that reveal themselves when your mouse hovers over the states.