“Mah Nà Mah Nà”
Written by Piero Umiliani. Performed by the Muppets
Written by Piero Umiliani and performed in its original incarnation by a band called Marc 4, this song first appeared in the 1968 psuedo-documentary “Sweden: Hell and Heaven,” then was used as silent comedy sketch music on “The Benny Hill Show.” Jim Henson’s Muppets did multiple versions of it over the years, starting in 1969 with covers on “Sesame Street” and “The Ed Sullivan Show.” The spelling of the song gradually evolved into the easier-to-write “Mahna Mahna.” The most beloved version is the one pictured above from the 1976 season of “The Muppet Show.” There’s a shout-out to “Mah Nà Mah Nà” in the Muppets’ 2009 viral video version of “Bohemian Rhapsody,” and it also gets covered in the 2011 movie “The Muppets.” This is the ultimate earworm song. Hear it once and it’ll become your mental theme music for a week.
