The Muppets' 'Mah Na Mah Na (Doot Doo-Doo Doot Doo)' Came From A Smutty Movie About Sweden

By | January 14, 2020

test article image
The Muppets threesome. Source: independent.co.uk

"Mah Na Mah Na" is one of the best-known gibberish songs in entertainment -- and not because of its original appearance in a smutty Swedish movie. "Mah Na Mah Na" (featuring the female response "doot doo-doo doot doo") found its true home on The Muppet Show. Yes -- it's that "Mah Na Mah Na (Doot Doo-Doo Doot Doo)."

The Ultimate 'Earworm'

test article image
Source: Amazon.com

The call-and-response vocals of "Mah Na Mah Na" bridge the divides of language, geography, education, and probably even species. Everybody and their pets can instantly get the story here. A gruff-voiced male grunts some jazzbo razzmatazz: "Mah Na Mah Na." And then the female chorus comes back at him, all whimsy and melody, "Doot Doo-Doo Doot Doo." Nothing to it.

Really, nothing to it. But much like "Comma comma down dooby doo down down" or "Doo wah diddy diddy dum diddy doo," "Mah Na Mah Na" is aurally sticky. When you hear it, it moves into your ear canal and is damn difficult to evict.