Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm
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| "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" | ||
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| Single by Crash Test Dummies | ||
| from the album God Shuffled His Feet | ||
| Released | 1993 (U.S.) | |
| Format | CD single | |
| Genre | folk-rock | |
| Writer(s) | Brad Roberts | |
| Chart positions | ||
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| Crash Test Dummies singles chronology | ||
| The First Noel (1991) | Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm (1993) | Swimming In Your Ocean (1993) |
"Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" is a single by the Canadian folk-rock group Crash Test Dummies, featured on their 1993 album God Shuffled His Feet.
Each verse described the isolation and suffering of a child who was inexplicably abnormal – a boy whose hair prematurely whitened from shock, a girl covered in birthmarks, and a boy whose family belonged to a peculiar religious sect. Vocalist Brad Roberts sings in an exceptionally deep and resonant baritone voice that makes the song instantly recognizable.
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[edit] Music video
The associated music video sets the song's lyrics as the script for a series of one-act plays performed by school children. Throughout, the scenes of the performance are intercut with scenes of The Crash Test Dummies performing the song at stage side.
In the first act the setting is a city intersection and we are presented with the story of the boy whose hair turned to white due to the trauma he experienced after being in a car crash.
In the second act we are told the story of a girl who never used to "change with the girls in the change room," until one day the other girls (portrayed in the act as three inquisitive detectives) force her to change with them, only to discover her body is covered in birthmarks.
Closing the play, the final act tells of a boy who lives under the strict discipline of his austere parents and how his family attends a church, where as part of a ritual, the mass shakes and lurches during service. The quirky behaviour of the religious sect described in the song most likely resembles that of the Quakers or even the offshoot Shakers. It seems more suitable for it to resemble the Shakers, as the Quakers stopped doing the shaking action before 1800. The Shakers however small their community, still worship in this way. During this last act, it is implied that a male actor wearing a cap is acutally the boy the story is about, as he looks at his parents (who are very grim) and is reluctant to shake. The parents look clearly annoyed that their secret is out.
The peculiarity of the video (including lead vocalist Brad Roberts' facial expressions) made it almost as recognizable as the song in its initial runs on video broadcast stations such as MTV and MuchMusic.
[edit] Miscellaneous
- "Weird Al" Yankovic parodied the song with Headline News, complete with a parody video.
- The song was number 15 on VH1's 50 Most Awesomely Bad Songs Ever [1]
- It was also VH1's 78th best one-hit wonder of all time.
[edit] In media
- Featured in the 1994 movie Dumb and Dumber.
- Featured in an episode of I Love The 90s.
- Featured in an episode of Cold Case.
