# Is the Monster Mash song the Monster Mash song? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 23, 2017, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-monster-mash-song-the-monster-mash-song/799629 "2017-10-23T14:25:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-monster-mash-song-the-monster-mash-song/799629/1 "2017-10-23T14:25:38Z")
Monster Mash came on the radio the other day (it’s that time!) and it dawned on me that we are hearing a description of someone witnessing monsters and ghouls performing the Monster Mash (the song and dance, presumably) but we as listeners to his tale never get to hear the actual Monster Mash. . ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-monster-mash-song-the-monster-mash-song/799629/2 "2017-10-23T14:33:17Z")
[Did you, tho?](https://www.buzzfeed.com/ryanschocket2/this-guy-just-noticed-something-about-the-monster-mash-and) ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-monster-mash-song-the-monster-mash-song/799629/3 "2017-10-23T14:35:32Z")
The song the monsters were dancing to was undoubtedly Dee Dee Sharp’s [Mashed Potato Time](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwfQbMyh2i0), which had an associated dance called, not surprisingly, “the Mashed Potato”. According to Wikipedia, “A variation on the Mashed Potato was danced to ‘Monster Mash’, in which the footwork was the same but Frankenstein-style monster gestures were made with the arms and hands.” ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-monster-mash-song-the-monster-mash-song/799629/4 "2017-10-23T14:45:15Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > [Did you, tho?](https://www.buzzfeed.com/ryanschocket2/this-guy-just-noticed-something-about-the-monster-mash-and) Yes I did, great minds think alike I guess. I did not see the article you linked to… pinkey swear. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-monster-mash-song-the-monster-mash-song/799629/5 "2017-10-23T14:57:44Z")
> [@whitetho](#): > > The song the monsters were dancing to was undoubtedly Dee Dee Sharp’s [Mashed Potato Time](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwfQbMyh2i0), which had an associated dance called, not surprisingly, “the Mashed Potato”. According to Wikipedia, “A variation on the Mashed Potato was danced to ‘Monster Mash’, in which the footwork was the same but Frankenstein-style monster gestures were made with the arms and hands.” This does not follow. There were plenty of songs that people would mash to…and I was there to see it. A better answer would be to suggest listening to “Monster Mash Party,” the B-side of the single, which purports to be the “background” sounds of the party itself. Pick out any riffs or sequences you care to. There are some similarities to the “Monster Mash,” but, no, they were not mashing to the original. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-monster-mash-song-the-monster-mash-song/799629/6 "2017-10-23T15:07:46Z")
What’s weird is that according to the song, the dance came before the song: First lyrics: > [@](#): > > I was working in the lab late one night > When my eyes beheld an eerie sight > For my monster from his slab began to rise > And suddenly to my surprise > He did the mash > He did the monster mash Later in the song: > [@](#): > > The scene was rockin’, all were digging the sounds > Igor on chains, backed by his baying hounds > The coffin-bangers were about to arrive > With their vocal group, “The Crypt-Kicker Five” > They played the mash > They played the monster mash So basically, everyone was dancing, and then the band came up with a song to match the dance. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-monster-mash-song-the-monster-mash-song/799629/7 "2017-10-23T15:15:03Z")
After this can we discuss how the song _The Tennessee Waltz_ is about a song called _The Tennessee Waltz_? ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-monster-mash-song-the-monster-mash-song/799629/8 "2017-10-23T15:17:05Z")
> [@sciurophobic](#): > > After this can we discuss how the song _The Tennessee Waltz_ is about a song called _The Tennessee Waltz_? \*Tribute (to the Greatest Song in the world) \* doesn’t sound anything like _The Greatest Song in the World._ ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-monster-mash-song-the-monster-mash-song/799629/9 "2017-10-23T15:42:44Z")
I guess Manilow’s ‘I Write the Songs’ is only about the songs he writes… ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-monster-mash-song-the-monster-mash-song/799629/10 "2017-10-23T15:44:37Z")
Maybe a better thread would have been songs that are about songs that aren’t actually the song. Or something. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-monster-mash-song-the-monster-mash-song/799629/11 "2017-10-23T16:12:32Z")
Not only that, there is absolutely nothing in the song that mentions Halloween. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-monster-mash-song-the-monster-mash-song/799629/12 "2017-10-23T16:15:25Z")
Bobby Pickett wasn’t singing about a song. The monster mash was a dance. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-monster-mash-song-the-monster-mash-song/799629/13 "2017-10-23T16:19:16Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > I guess Manilow’s ‘I Write the Songs’ is only about the songs he writes… No, it’s about the songs Bruce Johnson writes. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-monster-mash-song-the-monster-mash-song/799629/14 "2017-10-23T16:31:35Z")
When Smokey sings, Smokey doesn’t sing _When Smokey Sings_. ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-monster-mash-song-the-monster-mash-song/799629/15 "2017-10-23T16:32:57Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Bobby Pickett wasn’t singing about a song. The monster mash was a dance. How does that fit with: "(They played the Mash…) “They played the Monster Mash.” ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-monster-mash-song-the-monster-mash-song/799629/16 "2017-10-23T16:43:30Z")
As a devout pacifist, I’m a bit afraid to ask about the backstory for " The Bristol Stomp ". :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-monster-mash-song-the-monster-mash-song/799629/17 "2017-10-23T16:45:18Z")
Here is an [article](https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2016/10/beyond-the-mash-bobby-boris-picketts-lesser-known.html) if you’re interested in Pickett’s subsequent career. Let’s just say that he embraced his particular niche in pop history. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-monster-mash-song-the-monster-mash-song/799629/18 "2017-10-23T17:24:37Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > No, it’s about the songs Bruce Johnson writes. Nitpick: It’s Bruce Johns_t_on. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-monster-mash-song-the-monster-mash-song/799629/19 "2017-10-23T17:57:33Z")
I’ve never seen people in real life dancing to this song, just marching as their costumes are being judged. ---
**Author:** ![SpeedwayRyan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@SpeedwayRyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpeedwayRyan)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-monster-mash-song-the-monster-mash-song/799629/20 "2017-10-23T18:06:42Z")
_Silly Love Songs_ is just a song **about** silly love songs, but I guess we’ve heard plenty of those from Paul over the years. Insert the classic joke here. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-monster-mash-song-the-monster-mash-song/799629.md?page=2)