Question: I was humming a ...

Question: I was humming a song from an old cartoon from my youth to my 6-year-old and would love to know all the words to it. Dick Dastardly sings it to his dog Smudley: "Wake up, Smudley. You're dreaming again. You're not Daniel Boone and you're not Gunga Din." Can you help? My brothers and I used to love this cartoon with Penelope Pitstop and gang. — Veda, Brooklyn, N.Y.

Televisionary: First things first, Veda. The dog's name was Muttley rather than Smudley. The song you're thinking of is from the "Magnificent Muttley" segment of Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines, which ran on CBS's Saturday-morning schedule for two years, beginning in September 1969. As you probably remember, the second Wacky Races spin-off (The Perils of Penelope Pitstop was the first) revolved around Dastardly, Muttley and Co. flying around in their World War I planes, trying to stop the brave (and annoying) Yankee Doodle pigeon.

The "Magnificent Muttley" segment was a Walter Mitty-like setup, wherein Muttley dreamed of himself in heroic roles (race-car driver, escape artist, etc.). Unrealistic? Perhaps, but remember that in "real life" Muttley flew his own plane.

Anyway, the only lyrics I remember are: