(accordion music) - [Narrator 1] For generations, Americans have spent their summers out on the open road, loading up the family station wagons with suitcases, roadmaps, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

And whether the destination be the Hoover Dam, the Grand Canyon, or the World's Biggest Ball of Paint, it's all part of the American experience.

And what better soundtrack for a cross country summer road trip than polka music?

(accordion music) - [Announcer] The Chardon Polka Band presents Polka Across America.

A cross country polka extravaganza delivered to polka fans everywhere.

See the USA with P-O-L-K-A.

(accordion music) - Hi, I'm Jake Kouwe from the Chardon Polka Band, and I will be your tour guide on this cross country polka road trip today.

And before we hit the open road, we're gonna start things out here in Geauga County, and start you guys off with a song called "This Land is Your Land".

(accordion music) ♪ This land is your land, this land is my land ♪ ♪ From California, to the New York Island ♪ ♪ From the Redwood Forest, to the Gulf Stream waters ♪ ♪ This land was made for you and me ♪ ♪ As I was walking that ribbon of highway ♪ ♪ I saw above me the endless skyway ♪ ♪ I saw below me a golden valley ♪ ♪ This land was made for you and me ♪ ♪ This land is your land, this land is my land ♪ ♪ From the California, to the New York Island ♪ ♪ From the Redwood Forest, to the Gulf Stream waters ♪ ♪ This land was made for you and me ♪ Take it, Mitch.

(saxophone music) ♪ I roamed and rambled, and followed my footsteps ♪ ♪ To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts ♪ ♪ And all around me a voice was sounding ♪ ♪ This land was made for you and me ♪ ♪ This land is your land, this land is my land ♪ ♪ From California, to the New York Island ♪ ♪ From the Redwood Forest, to the Gulf Stream waters ♪ ♪ This land was made for you and me ♪ ♪ I say this land was made for you and me ♪ ♪ Oh, this land was made for you and me ♪ With so many wonderful sights and sounds in the United States of America, we thought that would be the perfect tune to start this program, but we better get moving, because we have a lot of ground to cover.

So right now we're gonna head to Texas, and meet our great friend, Isaak.

The accordion's a pretty big deal in Texas.

And every year they have the Big Squeeze State Accordion Competition, and we've got one of the winners from the 2020 Big Squeeze here with us today.

Ladies and gentlemen, we're gonna hand things over to our good friend, Isaak in the great State of Texas.

(accordion music) - Hello, everyone.

My name is Isaak Klaus.

I'm from New Braunfels, Texas.

Today, we took a little road trip down to Shiner.

Now , when most people think of Shiner, they think of the brewery, but there's a lot of little hidden gems in Shiner, and I'm not one of them right now.

That is Howard's Convenience.

Down here, you can get your gas, snacks, ammo, Shiner beer on tap, and you can listen to live music.

So we're gonna do a song that's very fitting today, and that is the "Shiner Polka".

(accordion music) (singing in Czech) (accordion music) (singing in Czech) - Isaak won the Polka Category in the 2020 Big Squeeze Competition there in Texas.

And now, you guys know why.

He is a terrific accordion player.

But accordions aren't just used in polka music.

We're gonna travel to Louisiana next, and meet someone who shares Isaak and my passion for the accordion.

His name is Nathan, and he plays Zydeco music.

(accordion music) - Hi, guys, Nathan Plumbar here from Grand Coteau, Louisiana, a little town out in Southwest Louisiana where Cajun music and Zydeco music is very, very, very, very important to our culture.

And therefore, accordion is pretty much very important to my culture.

I'm pretty much been around it, all of my life.

The music and listening to accordion music, all of my life.

Been playing accordion since I was about a sophomore in high school, and just kinda carried on up until now.

I'm still doing it.

I got my own Zydeco band, Nathan Plumbar, and Steady Steppin.

And we've just been having a lot of fun with it, man.

When I'm not at work, I'm normally putting music together.

So that's about it, guys.

God bless, and I hope you all enjoy.

(accordion music) (singing in French Creole) (accordion music) (singing in French Creole) (accordion music) (accordion music drowns out speaker) - That's Nathan Plumbar joining us from the flying solo ranch in Louisiana.

And while we're on that side of the country, we're gonna head to Florida and meet our friends from the DeLeon Band.

(accordion music) - Hi, I'm Alex.

- And I'm Anthony.

- And we're from the DeLeon Family Band.

- Thanks to Jake and the Chardon Polka Band for asking us to play a song for you.

- Here's the "Clarinet Polka".

Three.

(accordion music) (laughing) Yeah.

(accordion music) - When the COVID-19 pandemic started shutting things down in 2020, there were businesses closed, venues closed, entertainment was closed, but this next young man rose to the challenge.

He took his accordion out on his front lawn and started entertaining his neighbors, many who had been shut inside for weeks with nothing to do.

That's why we chose Jameson as our next guest, and our representative from the great State of Nebraska.

(accordion music) (accordion music) - Beautiful day to sit outside and listen to some good old polka music.

- And we are enjoying, even though the puppy doesn't understand polka, she's a country fan, but we are enjoying the polka music from Jameson Brettman, and it makes the mood happy.

(accordion music) (broom scratching) (man sighs) - Little polka with the broom.

(man laughing) (broom scratching) (accordion music) (people clapping along with accordian music) - So nice to be out on a sunny day, and listening to beautiful music and thankful for Jameson and his talents.

♪ Yah, yah, yah, yah ♪ (singing in German) - America is a diverse place, and there's a lot of people who live here, but when times are tough, these people come together in truly amazing ways.

All right, folks, I apologize, but why we are in Nebraska, we are contractually obligated to play some footage of Brian on his 'tuba-cordion'.

That's right.

It's a tuba with a keyboard taped to it.

We owe Brian money.

So we got to play his clips in any project we create.

Here it is Brian Brazier, from Lincoln, Nebraska.

(tuba and keyboard music) - Hi, Brian Brazier and the Bolzen Beer Band all the way from Lincoln, Nebraska.

We're glad to be part of Chardon Polka Band and Jake's road trip across America.

We'll be seeing them this Oktoberfest season, and we're just here to tell you support the Constitution, and don't blow your hands out with fireworks.

(fireworks booming) - All right, here's a fun factoid for you on this little polkarific road trip.

If you had 35 million buses, and you line them up end-to-end, they would stretch from here to the moon.

But if you had 35 million buses, why would you waste them putting them in outer space, all the way up to the moon?

When you could load those 35 million buses, full of people, and take them to the great State of Pennsylvania, to watch and listen to a truly amazing polka artist, Mr. Johnny Koenig.

(accordion music) - Hey, everybody, Johnny Koenig here in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

I hope everybody's having a great summer so far.

You know, summer is all about having a good time, and having a party.

And what's better than having a party is having a party with cold beer right here.

We're gonna play a little song, one called "Party Time".

(accordion music) ♪ It's time for the weekend, to go have some fun ♪ ♪ But when the night is over, the party is not done ♪ ♪ We'll eat, drink and yell and sing until the morning light ♪ ♪ We'll never stop to take a break, it's always party time ♪ ♪ Party time, party time ♪ Come on, everybody, it's party time ♪ ♪ Eat and drink, dance and sing ♪ ♪ It's party time for you and me, hey ♪ (accordion music) ♪ Hey (accordion music) ♪ It's party time, party time ♪ Come on, everybody, it's party time ♪ ♪ Eat and drink, dance and sing ♪ ♪ It's party time for you and me, hey ♪ (accordion music) Happy summer, everyone.

Prost!

- The official state tree of Pennsylvania is the eastern hemlock.

And if they ever come up with an official state polka musician for the great State of Pennsylvania, I submit that it should be the wonderful and magical Mr. Johnny Koenig.

Now, Johnny played as a song called "Party Time".

And our next polka party is going to take place far away from Pennsylvania, in California, where we've collaborated with a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful group of polka musicians.

And I'll let them tell you about it themselves.

(accordion music) - Hi, everybody, it's Roxy from Die Sauerkrauts Band, coming at you all the way from sunny Los Angeles, California.

We got a chance to do a little number with the Chardon Polka Band, and I hope you all enjoy it.

Auf wiedersehen!

(accordion music) ♪ I love to go a-wandering ♪ Along the mountain track ♪ And as I go, I love to sing ♪ My knapsack on my back ♪ Val-deri, Val-deri, Val-dera, Val-dera ♪ ♪ Val-deri, Val-deri, Val-dera-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha ♪ ♪ Val-deri, Val-deri, Val-dera, Val-dera ♪ ♪ My knapsack on my back (polka band music) ♪ I wave my hat to all I meet ♪ And they wave back to me, yoo-hoo ♪ ♪ And blackbirds call so loud and sweet ♪ ♪ From every green wood tree ♪ I love to wander by the stream ♪ ♪ That dances in the sun ♪ So joyously it calls to me ♪ Come, join my happy song ♪ Val-deri, Val-deri, Val-dera, Val-dera ♪ ♪ Val-deri, Val-deri, Val-dera-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha ♪ ♪ Val-deri, Val-deri, Val-dera, Val-dera ♪ ♪ My knapsack on my back (polka band music) - [Man] Woo-hoo!

(polka band music) ♪ Hey, hey!

Ho, Ho!

♪ (polka band music) ♪ High overhead, the skylarks wing ♪ ♪ They never rest at home ♪ And just like me, they love to sing ♪ ♪ As o'er the world they roam ♪ Val-deri, Val-deri, Val-dera, Val-dera ♪ ♪ Val-deri, Val-deri, Val-dera-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha ♪ ♪ Val-deri, Val-deri, Val-dera, Val-dera ♪ ♪ My knapsack on my back (polka band music) ♪ Oh, may I go a-wandering ♪ Until the day I die ♪ Oh, may I always laugh and sing ♪ ♪ Beneath God's clear blue sky ♪ Val-deri, Val-deri, Val-dera, Val-dera ♪ ♪ Val-deri, Val-deri, Val-dera-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha ♪ ♪ Val-deri, Val-deri, Val-dera, Val-dera ♪ ♪ My knapsack on my back (polka band music) - [Man] Woo-hoo!

(polka band music) ♪ Oh, may I go a-wandering ♪ Until the day I die (man grunting) ♪ Oh, may I always laugh and sing ♪ ♪ Beneath God's clear blue sky ♪ Val-deri, Val-deri, Val-dera, Val-dera ♪ ♪ Val-deri, Val-deri, Val-dera-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha ♪ ♪ Val-deri, Val-deri, Val-dera, Val-dera ♪ ♪ My knapsack on my back (polka band music) (man cheering) (polka band music) ♪ My knapsack on my back - Sunny, splendid, California, and the sunny, splendid Die Sauerkrauts Band.

I love it, and we had a good time jamming with them.

And you know what's perfect on a sunny summer day?

A little ice cream, like I've got here.

Now, this is very special ice cream.

It just came in the mail today from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a place called Purple Door, Purple Door Ice Cream parlor in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

This is good ice cream.

And we're about to get some good polka music, as you can probably guess.

It's also from Wisconsin.

Now, just like there's a lot of different flavors of ice cream, there's also a few different flavors of polka music.

See, I'm eating just one of many flavors of this delightful ice cream.

But if I were this next band, I would probably take every flavor, and put them all in the same dish.

That's what they do with polka music.

They're the Copper Box Band from Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

And they take influences from all over; Zydeco, jazz, rock and roll, a little bit of everything and they mix it up and they play some polka too.

You're gonna love them.

Here is Michelle and Danny from the Copper Box Band.

(accordion music) - Hi, I'm Danny Jerabik.

- I'm Michelle Jerabik- (laughing) - Yes, you are for 23 years, baby.

- Yeah.

- Awesome.

We're from the band, Copper Box from Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and we love accordions.

We love guitars, and we love music, in general.

(banging) Here's a little song called "Mas Tequila".

(accordion music) - What does that mean?

More tequila.

(accordion music) One, two, three.

(accordion and guitar music) Woo!

(accordion and guitar music) One more time.

Hey!

(accordion and guitar music) (indistinct) (Danny laughing) (accordion and guitar music) Woo!

(yelling) (accordion and guitar music) (Danny laughing) (Danny humming along) (accordion and guitar music) (accordion and guitar music) Yeah.

- I put down my ice cream so I can hold on to my hat.

And I certainly need to, to talk about this next group.

We're heading to the apple of John Denver's eye, the Centennial State, the home of the Mile High City.

That's right.

It's got the rocky mountains.

It's got skiing, and it's got one of the greatest polka bands of our time.

Ladies and gentlemen, boldly going where no polka band has ever gone before, nor should they, The Polkanauts.

(accordion music) - This is James from The Polkanauts from Denver, Colorado.

The song goes out to aunt Susie, who always liked to keep her beers nice and cold on those hot summer days.

This is "Ice Cubes and Beer".

Enjoy.

(fast polka band music) ♪ Gather around boys, listen to me ♪ ♪ Tell you a story that's hard to believe ♪ ♪ Its about my sweetheart that I love so dear ♪ ♪ All that she drinks is ice cubes and beer ♪ ♪ Ice cubes and beer boys, ice cubes and beer ♪ ♪ All that she drinks is ice cubes and beer ♪ ♪ Ice cubes and beer boys, ice cubes and beer ♪ ♪ All that she drinks is ice cubes and beer ♪ (fast polka band music) ♪ We had a date one Saturday night ♪ ♪ I ordered whiskey, she started to fight ♪ ♪ She said, "Hey, Floren, why not be nice" ♪ ♪ Buy me a beer with plenty of ice ♪ ♪ Ice cubes and beer boys, ice cubes and beer ♪ ♪ All that she drinks is ice cubes and beer ♪ ♪ Ice cubes and beer boys, ice cubes and beer ♪ ♪ All that she drinks is ice cubes and beer ♪ (fast polka band music) ♪ When we get married, we'll settle down ♪ ♪ We'll buy a house on the outside of town ♪ ♪ I'll do the wooing, I'll make it nice ♪ ♪ I'll bring the whiskey, forget the ice ♪ ♪ Whiskey and beer boys, whiskey and beer ♪ ♪ All that we drink is whiskey and beer ♪ ♪ Whiskey and beer boys, whiskey and beer ♪ ♪ All that we drink is whiskey and beer ♪ (fast polka band music) - That was truly out of this world.

Thank you, The Polkanauts from Colorado.

Now, don't you forget that this is a summer road trip.

So ladies and gentlemen, our next guest is an icon of summer.

During the Major League Baseball season, Matthew Kaminski can be found playing the organ at SunTrust Park for the Atlanta Braves.

That's right, Matthew Kaminski provides the soundtrack for the Atlanta Braves.

And today he's here to play one of our very favorite summertime tunes.

So grab your Cracker Jacks, because we've gotten him to trade out his organ for an accordion on "Take Me Out to the Ball Game".

(accordion music) Baseball is the great American pastime, but we also love to pass our time with great music.

And this next songstress, her name is Marlene, and she celebrates her Mexican heritage with her music.

Music that shares a lot in common with our very favorite polkas.

So we're headed back to California this time to Modesto to meet our good friend, Marlene.

(Mexican music) ♪ Hablemos claro por favor hablemos claro ♪ ♪ aprovechemos este es el mejor momento ♪ ♪ nomas que sea como dos sivilizados ♪ ♪ no empesemos como el gato y como el perro ♪ (Mexican music) ♪ no estas agusto esta bien y yo lo asepto ♪ ♪ que quieres que haga si he tenido mala racha ♪ ♪ si crees que otra si a de amarte por completo ♪ ♪ porque no enpacas le buscas y le calas ♪ ♪ porque no le calas ♪ ♪ quisas bien dices y te quiera mas que yo ♪ ♪ quisas te haga mas feliz en el amor ♪ ♪ has tu maletas y vete con ella ♪ ♪ porque no le calas ♪ ♪ si te resulta de una ves te felisito ♪ ♪ y en verdad deseo que te valla bonito ♪ ♪ si no es asi nomas no piences en volver ♪ (Mexican music) ♪porque no le calas♪ ♪ si te resulta de una ves te felisito ♪ ♪ y en verdad deseo que te valla bonito ♪ ♪ si no es asi nomas no piences en volver ♪ (Mexican music) When our band performs at elementary schools, I often tell the kids, you know, when you move, you don't just leave everything behind.

You probably take your toys, your TV, your furniture.

You take that stuff with you.

Well, the same applies if you're moving to a different country.

You bring your culture, you bring your heritage.

And ladies and gentlemen, we are so very excited.

We have all this wonderful, beautiful culture and heritage in the United States of America.

That's what makes us the great American melting pot.

And speaking of melting, this is the time of year where things start to thaw out in the great state of Alaska.

And to celebrate this great state, we have a great group of musicians.

The Alaska Blaskapelle is going to share with us a performance from an annual summer block party in Anchorage, Alaska.

(German band music) (band members laughing) (trumpet music) (Tuba and trumpets) (German band music) And that just goes to show no matter where you are in this country, you can find some good polka music to jam to this summer.

I'd like to thank the Alaska Blaskapelle for sharing their summer experience with us today.

The road trip continues.

We're moving from the Alaskan frontier to the city.

The windy city to be exact.

That's right.

We're headed to sweet home Chicago to meet Don Hedeker of the Polkaholics, one of my original polka inspirations.

(strumming guitar) - Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, this is Dandy Don from the Polkaholics, and I'm gonna make some noise.

(guitar music) They said it couldn't be done!

(guitar music) ♪ The accordion sure sounds great ♪ ♪ When you hear the bellows shake ♪ ♪ But it's something we can't get ♪ ♪ We play polkas on the fret ♪ Clarinet has got a tone, that is surely all its own ♪ ♪ But we just can't leave this lick ♪ ♪ 'Cause we play polka with a pick ♪ ♪ On guitar, on guitar, we play polkas on guitar ♪ ♪ On guitar, on guitar, we play polkas on guitar ♪ ♪ On guitar, on guitar, we play polkas on guitar ♪ ♪ Hope you like our repertoire, of all polka on guitar ♪ ♪ Hey (man roaring) ♪ The concertina goes in and out ♪ ♪ To get a sound that really shouts ♪ ♪ But it's something we can't squeeze ♪ ♪ 'Cause we play polka without keys ♪ ♪ Tuba's got an oompah sound, really helps the song get down ♪ ♪ But we can't kiss that brass ring ♪ ♪ We play polkas on the strings ♪ ♪ On guitar, on guitar, we play polkas on guitar ♪ ♪ On guitar, on guitar, we play polkas on guitar ♪ ♪ On guitar, on guitar, we play polkas on guitar ♪ ♪ Hope you like our repertoire, of all polka on guitar ♪ ♪ Hey, ya!

(guitar music) ♪ Where we play polkas on guitar ♪ ♪ We play polkas on the bar ♪ We play polkas on guitar ♪ We play polkas on guitar They said it can't be done!

You need accordion, or a concertino, or a clarinet, or at least a kazoo.

We can't play polka on a guitar.

That's why (guitar music drowns out speaker).

With the devil.

(roars) ♪ It can't be done, can't be done ♪ ♪ It can't be done, it can't be done ♪ ♪ On guitar, on guitar, we play polkas on guitar ♪ ♪ On guitar, on guitar, we play polkas on guitar ♪ ♪ On the bar, on the bar, we play polkas on the bar ♪ ♪ Hope you like our repertoire Do you like our repertoire?

♪ Of our polkas on guitar Yeah, from Chicago, Illinois.

- When I was a kid getting started playing the accordion, I listened to Don and the Polkaholics all the time.

It was so awesome for me to see someone doing something a little bit different with polka music, mixing it up with punk rock.

Oh my goodness.

That spoke to me as a teenager.

And I'm so glad we got Don to be on the program today, representing Chicago, Illinois.

So thank you for joining us on this polkarific summer road trip.

And because summer for us means going out and playing polka music at fairs, festivals, and gazebos, all across this beautiful country, I wanna share another polka for you from the Chardon Polka Band.

And speaking of the band, who better to road trip across the country with than these crazy guys?

(drumsticks banging) (polka band music) ♪ Hiding here, hiding there, I'm hiding everywhere ♪ ♪ I am over here, and now I'm over there ♪ ♪Look out!

♪ ♪ Hiding here, hiding there, I'm hiding everywhere ♪ ♪ Say let's all play hide and seek ♪ ♪ Ready or not ♪ Apples, peaches, pumpkin pie ♪ Who's not ready?

Holler I ♪ Let's all play hide and seek ♪ Apples, peaches, pumpkin pie ♪ Who's not ready?

Holler I ♪ Let's all play hide and seek ♪ Let's go (saxophone solo) (polka band music) Oh, yeah!

(saxophone music) (polka band music) ♪ Now we play a lot of polka songs, we have a lot of fun ♪ ♪ But we play in every place around ♪ ♪ With saxophones, accordion, the banjo, and the drums ♪ ♪ Working together to play you all these tunes ♪ ♪ Apples, peaches, pumpkin pie ♪ Who's not ready?

Holler I ♪ Let's all play hide and seek ♪ Apples, peaches, pumpkin pie ♪ Who's not ready?

Holler I ♪ Let's all play hide and seek (accordion music) (drum) - That's Mr. Magic Mitch Lawrence on the woodwinds.

Mike Franklin strumming the strings, and Bob Young beating the drums, ladies and gentlemen, as well as Jake trying to play the accordion in there.

The Chardon Polka Band, ladies and gentlemen.

The sun is shining and I couldn't be happier to celebrate summer with y'all on this wonderful polka road trip, where we've met some of my very favorite polka-playing pals, and seeing some truly magnificent places that this wonderful country has to offer.

This has been a virtual summer road trip with the Chardon Polka Band.

Thank you for joining us.

(accordion solo) ♪The Star-Spangled Banner♪ And that, my friends and neighbors, is the great American melting pot.

People across this great nation with similarities, with differences, working hard, playing hard, and doing all these things together, because no matter what color you are, or what it is that you believe in, we're all in this together.

One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice, and maybe just a little bit of polka for all.

(accordion solo) ♪The Star-Spangled Banner♪ Hi, it's Jake again.

And I want to thank you for tuning in to this special presentation of polka across America.

We thoroughly enjoyed putting this project together for you.

Just like everyone else in the country, the artists and musicians you heard in this film were deeply affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

None of us were able to travel and tour playing music the way we normally would.

So polka across America became a way we could do just that, to travel around to all these different states and share music from not only our band, but from a lot of friends that we've met along the way.

And we'd like to take this opportunity to share just a few more polkas with you.

This one's an old Slovenian favorite called "Oj Maricka Pegla".

("Oj Maricka Pegla" polka) (polka band music) ♪Oj Maricka Pegla, Pegla Pegla Pegla♪ ♪Oj Maricka Pegla♪ (polka band music) ♪Hey, hey, okie dokie she's okay♪ ♪Hey, hey, okie dokie she is wild♪ ♪Hey, hey, okie dokie she's so fine♪ ♪Hey, hey okie dokie, ya♪ (polka band music) ♪Oj Maricka Shiva, Shiva Shiva Shiva♪ ♪Oj Maricka Shiva♪ (polka band music) ♪Hey, hey, okie dokie she's okay♪ ♪Hey, hey, okie dokie she is wild♪ ♪Hey, hey, okie dokie she's so fine♪ ♪Hey, hey, okie dokie, ya♪ (polka band music) ♪Oj Maricka Pegla, Pegla Pegla Pegla♪ ♪Oj Maricka Pegla♪ "Oj Maricka Pegla", many years ago, that song became quite popular here in the Cleveland, Ohio area.

The tune was brought to this country by Slovenian immigrants and turned into a catchy polka.

And we hope that one of the concepts highlighted in Polka Across America is the wonderful diversity here in the United States of America.

A diversity that we wouldn't have if this wasn't the great American melting pot, and we wouldn't have some of these wonderful songs like, "Oj Maricka Pegla".

Our band has been performing that tune and plenty more, just like it, since 2003, when we started as a high school project.

We evolved from there into a hobby.

And then we decided to turn that hobby into a career.

It's a very strange career, but it's a lot of fun, and we hope you guys are having a lot of fun with us today.

Here's another song for you, and it's called "Polka All Night".

("Polka All Night") (polka band music) ♪ If you're down in the dumps and feeling blue ♪ ♪ I'll tell you what you should do ♪ ♪ Turn up the music, take a chance ♪ ♪ We'll have us a polka dance ♪ We're gonna polka all night ♪ Till the morning comes to take us away ♪ ♪ We're gonna polka all night ♪ When tomorrow comes, we polka all day ♪ ("Polka All Night") ♪ Oh, we're the Chardon Polka Band ♪ ♪ So grab a lady, be gentle now, or grab a man ♪ ♪ And get on the dance floor, bust a move, bust a move ♪ ♪ Bust, bust a move, yeah, real smooth with your girl ♪ ♪ Take her out for a whirl ♪ We're gonna polka all night ♪ That's how we do it, baby ♪ Polka all night ♪ Come on, we're getting crazy ♪ Polka all night, extra grits and gravy ♪ ♪ Polka all night ♪ Polka all night ♪ Polka all night ♪ Polka all night ♪ Polka all night - I want to thank you again for giving us the opportunity to share our music with you.

Putting together Polka Across America meant a tremendous deal to all the musicians involved, as we struggled to continue creating our art during the COVID-19 pandemic.

And dealing directly with that subject, this last song I wanna share with you guys tonight was put together by the Chardon Polka Band, as we were all quarantined at our own homes.

Working with headphones and web cams, we recorded and filmed all of our parts separately.

And then we put them together into the video you're about to watch now.

A video for a song called "You Can't Take My Polka From Me".

♪ You can be hear my feet rock to the floor ♪ ♪ Throw away the key and lock the door ♪ ♪ You won't stop what I came here to do ♪ ♪ You can punch me, kick me, knock me down ♪ ♪ I'll get in the ring for another round ♪ ♪ I won't stop until I get through ♪ ♪ 'Cause you can't take my polka from me ♪ ♪ No matter what you try, I'll kick and scream until I die ♪ ♪ Listen when I say it's gotta be this way ♪ ♪ You can't take my polka from me ♪ ♪ You can't stop the wind from blowing ♪ ♪ You can make a tree stop growing ♪ ♪ Say this is where I come to make my stand ♪ ♪ You know, I've been bruised a time or two ♪ ♪ So what's the worst thing you can do ♪ ♪ I'm laughing, waiting for your blows to land ♪ ♪ 'Cause you can't take my polka from me ♪ ♪ No matter what you try, I'll kick and scream until I die ♪ ♪ Listen when I say it's gotta be this way ♪ ♪ You can't take my polka from me ♪ ("You Can't Take My Polka From Me") ♪ So turn around while you still can just ♪ ♪ You won't stop the Chardon Band ♪ ♪ You're gonna lose that you wanna fight that fight ♪ ♪ And we will still be standing here ♪ ♪ With the case of Old Style Beer ♪ ♪ We will play our polka till we die ♪ ♪ You can't take my polka from me ♪ ♪ No matter what you try, I'll kick and scream until I die ♪ ♪ Listen when I say it's gotta be this way ♪ ♪ You can't take my polka from me ♪ ("You Can't Take My Polka From Me") I'm Jake Kouwe from the Chardon Polka Band.

And we're so glad that you joined us for this special presentation of our film, "Polka Across America".

Maybe we'll catch you out there on the road.

♪ Listen when I say, it's gotta be this way ♪ ♪ You can't take my polka from me ♪ ("You Can't Take My Polka From Me")