美国国家公共电台 NPR 'Mahna Mahna,' A Beloved Muppet Earworm, Turns 50

 

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

Our apologies for the coming earworm, but we think it's very important to acknowledge¹ this cultural milestone². It is the 50th birthday of "Mahna Mahna."

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MAHNA MAHNA")

JIM HENSON: (As Bip Bippadotta) Mahna mahna.

FRANK OZ AND LORETTA LONG: (As Anything Muppets, singing) Ba-di-pa-di-pi.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: On November 27, 1969, a goofy sketch³ from Jim Henson's Muppets appeared on "Sesame Street." And it turns out there's some interesting history here. Writer and CBC Radio producer Jennifer Van Evra did some deep research into its origins.

JENNIFER VAN EVRA: The characters looked very different from the ones that most people know today. So the female singers were what Jim Henson called Anything Muppets. So they were just kind of these nondescript female characters with long ponytails. And the male singer was this scrawny little guy in a striped shirt. And he had disheveled hair. He was almost like a jazzy beat poet kind of character. As he gained fame, he also won a name. And that name was Bip Bippadotta.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MAHNA MAHNA")

HENSON: (As Bip Bippadotta) Mahna mahna mahna mahna na mah mah mah na mah mah...

VAN EVRA: Three days after that first "Sesame Street" appearance, Jim Henson and his Muppets, as they were known, performed the song on "The Ed Sullivan Show." And that's when it really took off.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MAHNA MAHNA")

HENSON: (As Mahna Mahna) Mahna Mahna.

FRANK OZ: (As the Snowths) Do-do-do-do-do.

VAN EVRA: So what a lot of people don't realize is that the song's history actually dates back even further. So it was originally composed by an Italian composer named Piero Umiliani. He mostly composed music for things like spaghetti westerns. And "Mah Na Mah Na" first appeared in a 1968 film called "Sweden: Heaven And Hell."

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "SWEDEN: HEAVEN AND HELL")

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Non-English language spoken).

VAN EVRA: It's an Italian film about different aspects of Swedish sexuality. And the song comes up in this very funny scene where a big group of Swedish models are crowding into a sauna.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MAH NA MAH NA")

ALESSANDRO ALESSANDRONI: (Singing) Na na na mah na mah na.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: (Singing) Di-di-ba-de-bi.

VAN EVRA: In other words, "Mah Na Mah Na" first appeared in a soft-core sex movie.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "MUPPETS TONIGHT")

KEVIN CLASH⁴: (As Clifford) And now ladies and gentlemen, we'd like to take you to a psychiatrist⁵'s office.

VAN EVRA: There's a hilarious⁶ "Muppets Tonight" sketch. So from 1996, Sandra Bullock plays a psychiatrist who has Kermit the Frog as a patient.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "MUPPETS TONIGHT")

SANDRA BULLOCK: (As Dr. Bullock) So what seems to be the problem?

STEVE WHITMIRE: (As Kermit the Frog) Well, doctor, I see these strange creatures every time I say the word phenomena⁷.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

OZ: (As the Snowths, singing) Do-do-do-do-do.

WHITMIRE: (As Kermit the Frog) Phenomena.

OZ: (As the Snowths, singing) Do-do-do-do.

VAN EVRA: She asks if she can try it out. So she says phenomena. And sure enough, the Snowths appear - fuzzy, pink, monster-like creatures with big mouths. And then she gets really into it. And suddenly, she's the character who's going out of control and starts dancing and scatting away.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "MUPPETS TONIGHT")

BULLOCK: (As Dr. Bullock) Phenomena noma noma na na na na na na na na na na...

VAN EVRA: I think the song's really endured for a few reasons. One is that millions of people know it, either because they grew up with it or they have kids who did. It's also really easy to sing along to and actually kind of demands that people sing along. So if someone says mahna mahna, it's like a kind of call to action. And I bet if you stepped onto a crowded elevator and just said mahna mahna, you'd probably get an answer.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: That CBC broadcaster Jennifer Van Evra leaving us with a song that will never get out of our heads.

1 acknowledge   

vt.承认...的权威，告知，收到，报偿

参考例句：

• With so much evidence against him he had to acknowledge his error.在这么多的证据面前，他不得不承认错误。
• It is ungracious of me not to acknowledge your help.你大力帮助而我尚未表示谢意，十分失礼。

2 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

3 sketch   

n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述

参考例句：

• My sister often goes into the country to sketch. 我姐姐常到乡间去写生。
• I will send you a slight sketch of the house.我将给你寄去房屋的草图。

4 clash   

vi.冲突，不协调，砰地相撞；n.冲突，不协调

参考例句：

• There is a clash between two classes at 2 p.m. on Thursday.星期四下午两点有两堂课是冲突的。
• The pot came down on the stone floor with a clash.锅“当”地一声掉到石地上。

5 psychiatrist   

n.精神病专家；精神病医师

参考例句：

• He went to a psychiatrist about his compulsive gambling.他去看精神科医生治疗不能自拔的赌瘾。
• The psychiatrist corrected him gently.精神病医师彬彬有礼地纠正他。

6 hilarious   

adj.充满笑声的，欢闹的；[反]depressed

参考例句：

• The party got quite hilarious after they brought more wine.在他们又拿来更多的酒之后，派对变得更加热闹起来。
• We stop laughing because the show was so hilarious.我们笑个不停，因为那个节目太搞笑了。

7 phenomena   

n.现象

参考例句：

• Ade couldn't relate the phenomena with any theory he knew.艾德无法用他所知道的任何理论来解释这种现象。
• The object of these experiments was to find the connection,if any,between the two phenomena.这些实验的目的就是探索这两种现象之间的联系，如果存在着任何联系的话。