When I Was Young
My faith was
so much stronger then
I believed in fellow man
And I was so much older then
When I was young
If you want
to grow old, you first have to grow up.
In 1963, comedian Alan Sherman’s song “Hello Muddah, Hello
Faddah (A Letter From Camp)” reached number 2 on the Billboard charts. It won the 1964 Grammy for best Comedy Performance.
The song is a parody written to the tune of the Dance of the Hours
. Alan Sherman wrote the song because his
son kept coming up with excuses as to why he did not want to be at summer camp. In the song, the son invents fantastical lies
to achieve his goal, leaving Camp Granada.
Those lies involve playing on the fears of his parents. Joe Spivey did NOT have poison ivy, Leonard
Skinner did NOTget Ptomaine poisoning. His
bunkmate did NOT have malaria, etc. He
also makes promises that he can NOT keep.
He of course will make noise and mess the house. He will complain when Aunt Bertha hugs and kisses
him. The song ends when the son sees other campers swimming, sailing and playing
baseball. And the song ends with the line “Muddah, Faddah kindly disregard this letter.”
When you don’t get your own way, telling lies and making false promises are NOT a grown up response. Your
own way may not even be what is best for you.
You may find out that another thing
is actually better for you.
Remember this when you vote. Don’t make up, or believe, lies, or believe false promises. Grow up.