Laura Schulteis-Jungbluth: Hello muddah, hello fadduh

“We’re gonna do it!”
I woke up with the Lavern and Shirley theme song running through my head. Anyone who grew up in the era of 1970s sitcom TV knows how catchy that theme song is. Going down the proverbial rabbit hole, I Googled the lyrics, especially curious as to a line found in the first verse: “shlemiel, schlemazel, hasenpfeffer incorporated.”
Oddly enough, I was more interested in how that particular line came to be incorporated into the song than I was in what it all meant. So naturally, that was my next inquiry. Turns out that the immediate Google response (a Reddit credit) is that the lines were suggested by Tom Miller, an executive producer on Laverne & Shirley, from a camp song he had recalled from his youth.
However, Google’s immediate response was in error. According to a more reliable search via Bing (thetvprofessor.com), I found out that the entire first stanza (including the 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8) came from Penny Marshall’s childhood as a hopscotch diddy. (Her brother, Garry Marshall, was the creator of the show, and Penny had played the role of Laverne.)
I had been considering camp songs as an article, so although I liked the latter answer better, either one fit the purpose. Whatever the childhood jingle – songs from camp, handclap games, jump rope or hopscotch rhythms – they all have a purpose and often a link to a childhood memory.
As developing young humans, we learn rhythm, body movement, and expression; we develop cognitively and socially link with others through these childhood chants and songs.
I was a camp kid for many summers, as were my kids. Gone for a week or more at a time – between church, Scouts, YMCA, and other camping experiences – a lot of us will have campfire songs and silly jingles that we will carry with us for the rest of our lives.
These “earworms” are fun to pass down to the next generation. And yes, these ditties often show up in pop culture.
They are also sometimes created by pop culture, like Alan Sherman’s 1963 hit “Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh” or Bill Murray’s 1979 movie “Meatballs.” I challenge you to watch “Meatballs” and not come away singing, “We are the C-I-Ts so pity us, the kids are brats, the food is hideous…”
The movie is a summer classic, indeed (Note: Had “Meatballs” come out today, it would be PG-13. It came before the PG-13 rating existed).
Dear Reader, what songs or chants come to mind for you when you think back to those carefree days of summer? (If you need a memory boost, many of these jingles can be found on YouTube.) I certainly have my favorites.
From earliest memory, “Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree” and “Great Green Gobs of Greasy, Grimy, Gopher Guts” were among my favorites. As I became a teenager, I recall sitting around the campfire, the group of us swaying back-and-forth, arms linked and singing “It Only Takes a Spark”.
As my children were growing up, we sang “I Caught Myself a Baby Bumble Bee” quite a bit. I still catch myself rattling away, “One Bottle of Pop, Two Bottles of Pop” often when I’m doing some mundane chore.
Ask your kids and grandkids – what are their camp and playground favorites? It’s a great way to connect the past to the present.
Laura Schulteis-Jungbluth, of Verona, is an educator, librarian and guest columnist. She may be reached at WriteLSJ@gmail.com.