Squirrel!

I use this word sometimes to interrupt circular arguments or obsessive thoughts. Let me explain….

After I posted Chock Full of Nuts, the delightful Pedometer Geek and I got into a back-and-forth in the comments section regarding ear worms—you know, those tunes you hear once or twice and can’t get out of your head?

The conversation after my post was mostly about jingles—those mini tunes advertisers create to drive the names of products they’ve been hired to sell in our heads. That “heavenly coffee” made by Chock Full of Nuts was one example, but, as I was led to recall, there was the theme from the Mr. Softee Truck, and the Oscar Mayer Wiener song. Those immediately made me think of Meow Mix, and (groan), the Kars-4-Kids ad.

Of course, TV shows also depend upon music to hook viewers. My childhood years were rife with theme show ear worms. I can still sing every note and lyric from Mr. Ed, among others. Frightening, isn’t it? But that’s how ear worms work.

Composers of musical theater are experts at writing ear worms, with many of them, like Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Loewe, and Stephen Sondheim earning legendary status for the way they were able to not only craft beautiful songs, but also enable audiences to leave theaters singing them. The other day, while searching for some Gilbert and Sullivan classics, I came across this clip of Dame Joan Sutherland, Dinah Shore, and Ella Fitzgerald having a blast singing, “Three Little Maids” from The Mikado. For the rest of the night, and days after, I could NOT get that tune out of my head.

So, let’s have some fun, shall we? I invite you to share your “favorite” ear worms in the comments section. If nothing else, it will give us a few laughs, and a break from…

Squirrel!

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