Mah Nà Mah Nà

History & Origin

"Mah Nà Mah Nà" was composed by Italian musician Piero Umiliani and first appeared in the 1968 Italian film Svezia, inferno e paradiso (Sweden: Heaven and Hell). Umiliani composed it as a jazzy, playful piece to accompany footage of Swedish nightlife, and its nonsense title and wordless melody gave it an immediately catchy, universal quality.

The song became internationally famous in 1969 when it was used on Sesame Street, sung by a shaggy monster later named Mahna Mahna. It appeared again on The Muppet Show in 1976, in what became the definitive version: Mahna Mahna sings the nonsense syllables while two pink Snowths provide the "do doo be-doo-doo" response, endlessly frustrated by his improvised diversions. The Muppet version has been called one of the most perfectly realised pieces of musical comedy ever created for children's television.

The song works entirely through performance. The "lyrics" — if the syllables can be called that — are pure sound, carrying no meaning but a great deal of rhythm and energy. The comedy in the Muppet version comes from the tension between the structured response ("do doo-doo doo") and Mahna Mahna's refusal to stay within that structure.

Our version captures the song's essential irresistibility: once heard, it cannot be unheard.