Dear Poor Lucky Me,
Help! I’m in big trouble. For the past two weeks, I’ve had the Crash Test Dummies song “Mmm Mmm Mmmm Mmmm” stuck in my head! The song is enigmatic both in its meaning and it’s success, as far as I’m concerned.
Would you please enlighten us with your interpretation of the lyrics and the song’s commercial popularity in it’s hey day. Or is it hay day? Please answer that as well.
Yours Truly,
Anything’s Better Than That Suzanne Vega Song
Dear Anything’s Better,
That song has stood the test of time in it’s amazing ability to get stuck in your heads for months, even years. I don’t even know if its a good song, or just embedded with satanic chants that your brain can pick up on but are not audible to the human ear. When I played it for my dog last night she whimpered and hid under the bed. And she’s Pentecostal so you know she can pick up on devil chants. So that probably explains the song’s commercial success. Satan’s influence explains a lot of curious success stories (examples: Bill O’Reilly, Ryan Seacrest, Ann Coulture, Jim Belushi)
Now, let’s take a moment to read the song’s lyrics together and draw out some meaning:
Once there was this kid who
Got into an accident and couldn’t come to school
But when he finally came back
His hair had turned from black into bright white
He said that it was from when
The cars had smashed so hard
Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm
Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm
Once there was this girl who
Wouldn’t go and change with the girls in the change room
But when they finally made her
They saw birthmarks all over her body
She couldn’t quite explain it
They’d always just been there
Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm
Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm
But both girl and boy were glad
‘Cause one kid had it worse than that
‘Cause then there was this boy whose
Parents made him come directly home right after school
And when they went to their church
They shook and lurched all over the church floor
He couldn’t quite explain it
They’d always just gone there
Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm
Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm
So it’s a song about a few social outcasts. It’s like Radio Head, but doesn’t make you want to bury yourself in a hole in your backyard out of hopelessness and depression. Also, interesting that the kid who’s got it worst is the kid who has to go to the weirdo church. I mean he can eventually just rebel and stop going, those other kids have white hair and birthmarks all over their bodies for life. All three kids make me want to say “boofuckinhoo, at least you don’t live on a garbage dump in Micronesia…mmm mmm mmmm mmmm”.
It’s heyday, and the internet said it’s probably a variation of “heyda”; an exclamation of pleasure. Which, I will now incorporate into my daily speech.
Sincerely,
Poor Lucky Me
