I'm not sure what's been happening here lately, we're an odd family and have plenty of goofy moments but the last few weeks have been especially bizarre.Andrew took the kids down to Girdwood for some berry picking and when they came home even before the garage door had closed upon the car I could hear the six of them downstairs singing their new song. My husband, among his other talents, has the ability to make up strange and unusual songs which accompany all sorts of important life moments: clearing the table, showering, folding laundry, playing with Legos, backing the car out of the driveway. The berry picking excursion, though bringing home no berries, brought home a gem of lyric entertainment: The Mad Grizzly song.
I can't recreate the effect of five children and one adult singing this at full power, can't duplicate the emotions evoked as they broke into three separate parts at the end but I here are the words. Maybe you can make up your own tune.
Mad Grizzly
music and lyrics by assorted Mittons, a cousin and one friend
Mad Grizzly, roams the moun-tain (bum bum)
Mad Grizzly by the drink-ing foun-tain (bum bum)
Mad Grizzly wears a fanny pack, it's chocked full of human snacks oh-oh-oh
Mad Grizzly, roams the moun-tain (bum bum)
Mad Grizzly by the drink-ing foun-tain (bum bum)
He's as big as a mini-van, he eats pickled humans from a can oh-oh-oh
Mad Grizzly, WHY-ARE-YOU-SO-MAD??
then the songs breaks off into three separate parts
the girls sing some vintage doo-wop:
Oooooooooh-Oooooooooh wa Ooooooooooh!
and the boys repeat:
Mada mada mada Mad Grizz-ly Mada mada mada Mad Grizz-ly
The worst part? The tune is darn catchy and since its introduction I've found myself humming "Mad Grizzly" more times than I care to admit. Sigh. At least I know that if this whole career in law thing doesn't pan out for him at least he has a skill to fall back on.
Technorati tags: parenting, family, Alaska, bears, music
36 comments:
Oh, I love this stuff. There's a lot of spontaneous singing (and beat poetry, but that's a long story) going on around here.
You should be glad the lyrics are so tame (sorry about that, couldn't resist.) My kids and their near-age cousins spent most of the summer together, and the songs they came up with range from "fresh" (as in the "Don't be fresh!" sense) to downright "Do not sing that in public!"
The one that's stuck in my head most often? The one with the chorus that has to do with sticking out your butt!
Move over Jackson 5, here comes the Mitchell 6. The Mad Grizzly song sounds as catchy as the ABC song.
What a great post! I can just see the whole family catching themselves from time to time humming or singing this tune.
My son plays the guitar and he came up with a very innocuous tune that I found myself humming for weeks. It was great!
Blueberry picking and bears? Someone's been reading "Blueberries for Sal," hmmm? That's a great song! My husband is the same way... let's get them together... maybe they'll be the next Rogers and Hart.
M
Very funny!
I always did this as a kid and my husband and I do this all the time. I think Baby Diva is doomed to follow suit. Check out this song I made up for her one mealtime:
http://mamasaga.blogspot.com/2007/04/prunes-for-dessert.html
Oh, you must, somehow include a recording. I love it. Definitely an instant classic. Ok, maybe only in places where there are actually grizzlies...but still.
My mom, siblings and I used to make up songs like this. We made up one about my Dad getting back to the car instead of chatting with the gas station attendant. He didn't think it was very funny at all.
My dad just twists the lyrics to existing songs until they fit the situation. This is so much better than that. Although I still hear older songs on the radio and think "OH THOSE are the real lyrics!"
Oh fabulous!
I love singing! Especially when we all sing together!
You have to record and release your grizzy song! ;-)
Two things:
1. Where is the video? I require a video of Mad Grizzly so it can get stuck in my head too. :D
2. Was this song inspired by actual events? As in... a mad grizzly? Or any grizzly? In their vicinity???
I'm permanently scarred by an article I read in Reader's Digest when I was a small child, about a bear attack where the person crawled away holding his scalp on. YOICKS. Inappropriate reading material for a small child! And totally life-changing information!
That is so cute! What a dad!
He might want to consider a career change today. The World of Advertising Jingles needs some fresh blood.
(Which might not be the best metaphor to mix with the "Mad Grizzly" song. But I haven't had much coffee yet today, so that's my excuse.)
I can see my husband doing something like that with the kids as they get older. It does sound like it could be a catchy tune. Maybe you can get them to do an anchor, and tape it so we can hear it live :)
I love it! Andrew even got the girls to doo-wop!
Oh my word, I thought I was the only one with a husband who does this. Now my children are carrying on this tradition.
My husband and children also make up silly dances. Most recently, they've come up with "the elevator dance" that they do while in an elevator. I don't participate in an effort to preserve my dignity not to mention that I couldn't dance to save my life.
I enjoy the silliness though. It makes life fun.
Excellent!
You really need to video them performing this, and it could be added to the "Bear Aware" information we have to know here in British Columbia. You could be famous, and everyone would gather around to get your autograph.
I'll have to share this with my husband and one of his alpine climbing buddies. It seems they are always running into a bear or getting stalked by one. They have had to cut more than one trip short thanks to a Grizzly. This way, they could sing to the bear, either scaring him away or entertaining him. Of course, I don't want to have to tag along on those grueling trips just to provide the vintage doowap.
I'll have to figure out how to post an audio stream--it's worth the effort as the song is so catchy.
Just wait, you'll all be singing "Mad Grizzly" within 24 hours!
The funniest songs he does are probably the ones he sings in Spanish. He speaks it fluently and taught Spanish for a couple years so he thinks it's funny to translate songs that we all know into the dramatic Latino versions.
Yes, I've got my money's worth of entertainment from this guy.
great - now i am going to be humming my own version of 'mad grizzly' all day!
Oh Nooooo! And I was counting on the pre-school years being the end of all those silly tunes that echo through my skull in the middle of the night depriving me of sleep! Aaaaahhhhh!!
...Those are some pretty clever and catchy lyrics though : )
What? No podcast? How are you going to truly share this song with the blogosphere if you don't get it up on your blog?
Really, you have an obligation to fully serve your audience. :)
Duckabush Blog
OMG I do the same thing! we were driving one day and the girl I babysit started screeching, "Balloonies! Balloonies!" at some balloons at a car dealership. I started singing, "she goes looney for balloonies in the sky" to the tune of "If you're happy and you know it." The kids loved it and we sang and clapped all the way home.
LOVE the Mad Grizzley song!!
Thanks for sharing your song. My daughter makes up songs too and has had the whole family singing a song with the words "home in the brain" and the term "sycamore brain" in it.
If I haven't said so before, I really enjoy reading your blog. It is informative and interesting and fun.
Brilliant! If only I had such a talent. I especially love the 'eating picked humans' part. classic!
I guess people don't make up songs about that bear who used to steal picnic baskets...do they!
Thanks for your comments on my post- I replied on my blog...
I thought you were going to say that they came running in after being chased by one! lol Cute song.
Audio is one thing I know how to post. Let me know if you need any help. It would be worth it for this song to hit the net. Songs about grizzlies never go out of style. Bum-Bum. Geez, now I'm singing it, too.
michelle:
little bunny foo-foo ...
hopping through the forest ...
AND BOPPIN' EM ON THE HEADS!
ahahahhah
awh, thanks for sharing that. you made me smile some more.
blessings to you and your von trapp family singers, kathleen
ps. word verification reminds me of "party." it must have known what andrew et al were up to :)
I'm going to start singing the mad grizzly song myself and then I'm going to follow it up with your son's joke. I'm going to be a BIG HIT at all the parties this holiday season.
Too cute - I just love the lyrics!
Thanks for making me smile.
Yay! We have a new camp song to sing around the fire. We always make our kids "sing for their supper," for anything from a cookie to a piggy back ride, and it always amazes us what they can come up with. My favorite was Pablo's doughnut song and he was only 3 years old. The best part was, "I really want a doughnut but I don't know what to do, 'cause I don't have any mon-ey"
hehehe that is awesome! How creative of your husband :)
HAHAHA! Hilarious! They really should take the show on the road! There's gotta be big money in something like that...
OMG that is too funny!!
Great song - looking forward to hearing the tune. We are always looking for new songs to sing. My husband can do an amazing rendition of old McDonald that is about a half hour long and very long, and includes things like elephants and giraffes rather than chickens and ducks.
i meant very loud. proofread, proofread, proofread . . .
I love it! And the kids will talk about that many years from now too.
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