Comments on: If I Were a Munster...

Question: If I Were a Munster...

grumblebee — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 10:04:28 -0800

Some guy once impressed me by humming the theme from "The Munsters" and joining it seamlessly with "If I Were a Rich Man" from "Fiddler on the Roof." In idle moments, I try to repeat this amazing feat, but I can't figure out how the songs fit together.

This will be a hard question to answer, even if you know the answer, because how do you express it in words? (I can't read music.) But you can listen to an mp3 of "The Munsters" theme here. And you can find the lyrics of "Rich Man" here.

So I'm hoping someone can say something like end "The Munsters" 37 seconds into the mp3 and then start humming "Rich Man" starting with blah blah blah lyric.

I CAN come up with medleys using these two songs, but my splice always sounds sort of lame and forced. The guy who (years ago ... I lost track of him) originally hummed it to me did it totally seamlessly, as if the two tunes were meant to go together.

I know this is a trivial question, but I can't seem to get it out of my mind and I'm hoping an answer will allow me to move on and free up brain cells that I can use to cure cancer or something.

By: Ethereal Bligh

Ethereal Bligh — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 10:07:53 -0800

I'm thinking: "It's the - were a rich man."

By: grumblebee

grumblebee — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 10:21:12 -0800

"It's the"? Does the Munster song have lyrics? I haven't seen the show in years (thank God), but I remember the theme being just intrumental (as in the mp3).

By: Ethereal Bligh

Ethereal Bligh — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 10:25:07 -0800

I could be inventing them in my memory. I sure seem to remember "It's the Munsters" descending nearly the same scale as "If I Were a Rich Man". Hmm.

By: leotrotsky

leotrotsky — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 10:28:39 -0800

I've done the same thing with the Funeral March & Darth Vader's theme, such that I have difficulty sticking to the former without sliding into the latter

just sharing...

By: Alt F4

Alt F4 — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 10:29:38 -0800

Here's my guess:

18 seconds into The Munsters it cuts to a bridge (or a chorus, I guess). Anyway, it's after 2 runs of the surf-rock-ish "verse." That trumpet line in the "chorus" would transition well with the part of Fiddler where he sings "All day long I'd biddy biddy bum. If I were a wealthy man. (Hey!)"

It'd be a fun mashup.

By: Pollomacho

Pollomacho — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 10:33:05 -0800

I could be inventing them in my memory. I sure seem to remember "It's the Munsters" descending nearly the same scale as "If I Were a Rich Man". Hmm.

The Addams Family, not Munsters. Munsters is instrumental.

By: grumblebee

grumblebee — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 10:36:52 -0800

Alt F4, do you mean those loud DUM-dah-dum, DUM-dah-dums that keep happening in "The Munsters"? That's how I usually mash the two songs together, but I think that's lame. Because you could join on just about any song after that. The DUM-dah-dums sort of seem like the musical equivalent of an interruption...

"Hi, I was wondering if you could tell me the way to--"

DUM-dah-dum!

I'm looking for a slicker, more natural way to join the two songs together. There's a way to do it that sounds totally inevitable, like leotrotsky's Funeral March/Vader example.

By: Pollomacho

Pollomacho — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 10:43:12 -0800

Grumblebee, are you sure you too aren't confusing the Munsters with the Addams Family. The Musnters are the walking, hilarious undead, the Addams family are merely creepy and kooky, mysterious and spooky. The Munsters theme is, as Alt F4 said, a surf rock tune, the Addams Family song is your typical 60's theme with harpsichords.

By: Ethereal Bligh

Ethereal Bligh — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 10:47:18 -0800

Yeah, I always get the songs confused, I know I get the songs confused, but I still get the songs confused.

But in thinking about the Munsters theme came to me. And I think it's the bridge descending to "If I were..." They do seem to be in the same key, don't they? But what do I know? I'm only a percussionist.

By: grumblebee

grumblebee — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 10:47:22 -0800

Yes, Pollomacho, I'm sure.

By: jozxyqk

jozxyqk — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 10:54:53 -0800

Ethereal - you are not completely crazy.
There was a short-lived show called Munsters Today in the late 80s, and their theme song put words to the original Munsters song.
Sadly, I remember this.

By: Pollomacho

Pollomacho — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 10:56:23 -0800

Then in that case you mean the Dum-dah-dum-das, a four note progression, not three, which may be where your seams aren't matching up.

By: grumblebee

grumblebee — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 11:00:00 -0800

No, I hear it as a three-note progression. It's actually the first thing you hear at the beginning of the mp3, but it comes back every now and again. You could give it the lyrics "BIIIIG fatso / BIIIIG fatso" ("BIIIIG" being the word "big" drawn out).

By: grumblebee

grumblebee — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 11:02:10 -0800

Apparantly there were never-broadcast Munster lyrics. But I can't figure out how they map onto the tune.

By: Pollomacho

Pollomacho — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 11:34:01 -0800

I looked up the sheet music here (downloads required beware). It may help you visualize the two songs.

Munsters Theme is in 4/4 time and the phrase is indeed 4 notes.

Also in 4/4 time:

If I were a rich man, dai-dle dee-dle dai-dle dig-guh dig-guh dee-dle dar-dle dum

By: grumblebee

grumblebee — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 11:36:35 -0800

Thanks, Pollamacho.

By the way, it's possible that "Rich man" comes first and then morphs into "Munsters." I rememember the two songs, but no the order.

By: Pollomacho

Pollomacho — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 11:49:08 -0800

If anybody find/makes the mashup I am sufficiently piqued now!

By: grumblebee

grumblebee — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 11:57:14 -0800

Okay, this is really dumb, but I've made up lyrics. You can sing them along with the mp3. They have nothing to do with "The Munsters," but they fit:

Big pizza. Big pizza.

If you like onions and anchovies,
You will love our de-lic-i-ous pies.

(Simultaneously with "pies") Big pizza. Big pizza.

Just take one look at the size of them,
and you'll trash your burger and fries.

(Simultaneously with "fries") Big pizza. Big pizza.

You won't believe how many we have sold.
Tasty hot and very tasty cold.

If you like sausage and parmesan,
Pepperoni -- and baloney...

We challenge you to finish every bite.
You'll be chewing morning, noon and night.

If you have taste buds and fortitude,
Buy our pizza -- and EAT!

===

And! And! And I may have worked it out. I can join it to the other song as follows:

Big pizza. Big pizza.

If you like onions and anchovies,
You will love our de-lic-i-ous pies.

(Simultaneously with "pies") Big pizza. Big pizza.

Just take one look at the size of them,
and you'll trash your burger and fries.

(Simultaneously with "fries") Big pizza. Big pizza.

You won't believe how many we have sold.
If I were a wealthy man.
I wouldn't have to work hard.
Ya ha deedle deedle, bubba bubba deedle deedle dum.
If I were a biddy biddy rich,
Yidle-diddle-didle-didle man.

Good lord. This is the silliest thing I've done all year!

By: wanderingmind

wanderingmind — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 12:25:15 -0800

This thread was worth reading just for those lyrics.

By: OneOliveShort

OneOliveShort — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 12:43:35 -0800

I brought my bandmates to tears by singing the Green Acres themesong to the tune of "A Day in the Life" and vice versa. I heard it years ago on Dr. Demento and I had pull over the car, it struck me as so funny.

Of course a couple of adult beverages enhances the humor quotient.

By: joseph_elmhurst

joseph_elmhurst — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 13:06:05 -0800

I once saw the Derailers do a similar live mash-up. They performed the music and sang the melody to "Folsom Prison Blues" but used the lyrics to "Pinball Wizard." Brilliant.

By: Specklet

Specklet — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 13:14:12 -0800

I love these help-me-with-music threads.

If I were a rich man, dai-dle dee-dle dai-dle dig-guh dig-guh dee-dle dar-dle dum

Love it.

By: plinth

plinth — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 13:35:16 -0800

And once you master that, you will find that you can successfully swap phrases from Dave Brubeck's Take 5 and the theme from the original Mission Impossible (Take Impossible). At that point, you have a party trick.

By: tomble

tomble — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 14:44:29 -0800

I keep sliding the wedding march tune

`daa da da-daah, daa da da-daah'

(or as someone once put it to words `here comes the bride, big fat and wide' - hours of amusement for the under 10s)

Into darth vader's theme.

`daa daa daa da da daah, da da daah'

I think of it as Vader's wedding march.

By: rossination

rossination — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 16:14:45 -0800

Bah -- Mission Impossible and Take Five are an easy swap, as they're both in 5/4. The lyrics are good, though.

By: crabintheocean

crabintheocean — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 16:16:42 -0800

You can sing any Emily Dickinson poem to the tune of Gilligan's Island.

By: joseph_elmhurst

joseph_elmhurst — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 18:05:07 -0800

Oh man, I just tried that with A Bird Came Down. Double brilliant!

By: Alt F4

Alt F4 — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 18:09:38 -0800

It looks like you have it(?). I was trying to convey (now using your words):

You won't believe how many we have sold.
All day LONG I'd biddy biddy bum. (BUT SUNG TO THE "VERY TASTY COLD" TUNE; "long" IS THE HIGH NOTE)
If I were a wealthy man. (Hey!)"

Or something in that vein.

By: kindall

kindall — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 19:19:38 -0800

In the same vein, Michael Nesmith's short-lived TV series "Television Parts" included a 60-second concert of "There's No Business Like Star Wars" in which "There's No Business Like Show Business" segued seamlessly into the main Star Wars theme.

Y'know, it's been years since that show was on an I still remember stuff from it...

By: WCityMike

WCityMike — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 20:41:11 -0800

You can sing the lyrics to "Gilligan's Island" to the tune of "Amazing Grace."

By: mewithoutyou

mewithoutyou — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 22:03:52 -0800

I'm so late, but you can also sing Amazing Grace to the tune of the Gilligan's Island theme (which I suppose stands to reason, given WCityMike's reply).

And like tomble, I splice The Wedding March with The Imperial March. It works disturbingly well, and I've always considered using the combination at my wedding (not really).

By: SuperNova

SuperNova — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 22:28:03 -0800

Now try Emily Dickinson to "The Yellow Rose of Texas". Oooh...

*eagerly awaiting the answer to the original question*

By: plinth

plinth — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 03:59:44 -0800

or Emily Dickinson to "Battle Hymn of the Republic".

Take 5 and Mission Impossible aren't just both in 5/4 - they both have nearly identical/compatible chord progression. s so you can interleave them by phrase or even 1 or 2 bar patterns.

By: Alt F4

Alt F4 — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 07:21:17 -0800

Grumblebee, I've now traveled for five hours on I-95, singing "Big Pizza" pretty much the whole way.

Yargh.

By: grumblebee

grumblebee — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 17:08:41 -0800

Sorry, Alt F4. I hope we can settle this out of court.

If it makes you feel any better, now that I've figured out how to join the songs, I'm singing them all the time. I've figured out how to start with Munsters, go into Rich Man, back into Munsters and then back into Rich Man for ever and ever.

And I'm haunted by the possibility that there might be a BETTER -- even more natural -- way to join them, and that my constant singing of MY way is burning my version into my brain, making it more and more unlikely that I'll ever discover the better version. But I can't stop.

I should never have given up therapy.

By: Alt F4

Alt F4 — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 18:33:11 -0800

No harm. No foul.

By: Alt F4

Alt F4 — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 18:37:49 -0800

Oh. And if you ever record an mp3 of it, post it here or send it my way.