It’s amazing what can be learned on Wikipedia, assuming it’s all true.
Apparently, Piero Umiliani’s nonsense song debuted in an Italian softcore-porn film in 1968 before it became a hit single ’round the world.
My first memory of it was a Muppet version on Sesame Street.
For the record, I think I was in third grade by the time our PBS station picked up Sesame Street. I was technically older than the target audience. But the Muppets were fabulous, the writing was sharp and witty, and I was drawn in all the same. This may actually have been my first guilty-pleasure TV show, the one you can’t admit publicly to loving. When the Electric Company showed up, all the better for the double feature. Does anyone remember “Love of Chair”? There were some brilliant comics working these shows.
A year or so ago I got to see Avenue Q on Broadway. This musical is Sesame Street meets Electric Company for adults. It was sublime. Don’t take your kids if you don’t want them to see the puppets-having-oral-sex scene or hear songs like “The Internet Is for Porn” and “It Sucks to Be Me” and “Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist.”
Hmmm, what was I talking about? Oh, yeah. “Mah Nà Mah Nà.” I like that song.
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10 comments:
I would never have known how to spell it properly, but it's a wonderful song, and I'm delighted to learn of its pornographic connection.
I'm older than you, so while I too learned it from the Muppets, it was long before Sesame Street. They made occasional appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, and did the Mah Nà Mah Nà sketch there, though I think I also remember it from a local DC show that Henson did called Sam and Friends. Heck, I remember the Muppets in their original incarnation in the Wilkins Coffee commercials.
Alas, the only video of Mah Nà Mah Nà I could find online was their later (but still similar) version on The Muppet Show. Those round-mouthed muppets, though, were integral to the song from the very beginning.
Friends in high school would torment their French teacher whenever she would talk about pineapples. She'd mention ananas and the class would start singing "Do do, da do do," the second line in Mah Nà Mah Nà, and poor Miss Moreau would have to wait for them to finish the song before she could continue. She learned to talk about strawberries instead.
Wow, the things we learn on the Internet.
I'm the same age as Sewa Yoleme, and I remember the muppets from before Sesame Street too. I'd never heard this song though. Am going to check out the video link now...
As an aside, my across the street neighbor was one of the first ever people to meet Bert and Ernie. She was Jim Henson's wife's college roommate and in later years, she'd visit the Henson home and one day Jim came out of the back room with Bert and Ernie and asked their opinion of the pair.
SW - poor Mme Moreau! That story made me laugh. And the SONG - Indigo, I worried if I'd be able to think of enough songs to finish this, but you've opened it up to Sesame Street songs!
SY: According to Wikipedia, it was on Ed Sullivan and Sesame Street the same year: 1969. Poor Miss Moreau indeed!
CW: Cool Bert and Ernie story!
MM: I'll definitely be interested in what Sesame Street songs you cover. No doubt it will be something Rani Arbo's done.
How is it that, somehow, knowing this has left me with a strange sense of violation.
I use to sing that song all the time. I still do, in English class, as my students write. I tell them it will help build concentration.
Sewa- Thanks for adding that muppet clip. Great stuff.
Indigo and I are the same age and Oh boy do I remember "Love of Chair"! Greg and I did side-splitting skits using the "Love of Chair" style. Man those were the days.
OMG, I can't believe how happy I am that someone remembers "Love of Chair"!
Adamus: If that scenario doesn't help build concentration, nothing will!
I love it: from porn to Sesame Street. It obviously appeals to all age demographics.
You think the porn is up on Youtube yet? (For most of my life, right up to about 38 seconds ago, I thought they were singing "Phenomena" and this was their subversively cool way of teaching that concept to my toddler brain.)
Wilder: Who knows? It may have been a subversive, subliminal way to teach that concept to your toddler brain! Or, subliminally, it could have been trying to teach something else to your toddler brain.
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