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Mahna Mahna
Introduction
During my 2/2/2012 radio show, I asked about the song I know as "Mahna Mahna." Some spell it "Mah Na Mah Na." I continue to get a lot of email on the topic, so let me tell you what I know. According to Wikipedia, the origin of the song dates back to a 1968 Italian movie about sex in Sweden titled Svezia, inferno e paradiso (Sweden, Heaven and Hell).
However, it gained much wider popularity outside of that movie. Most people who wrote to me mentioned the frequent usage in the Muppet Show. There were evidently a number of skits based on the song during the television run. In the 2012 movie, The Muppets, the closing credits were set to the tune of Mahna Mahna and featured lots of celebrity cameos.
Here is a list of media featuring Mahna Mahna that my loyal readers wrote to me about:
- The Muppets. — This seems to be the most popular Mahna Mahna video on YouTube.
- Sesame Street — 1969 episode featuring "Animal."
- The Muppets in German doing Mahna Mahna.
- The Office (UK version). Even the stoic Tim Canterbury gets in on the fun.
- Patu Fu — Japanese music video.
- Band performance.
With that, I hope I have adequately addressed the answer to the question I posed in my radio show. Perhaps now we can all get on with other business.