# 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:** 2
**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, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-monster-mash-song-the-monster-mash-song/799629/21 "2017-10-23T18:06:57Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > I’ve never seen people in real life dancing to this song, just marching as their costumes are being judged. I have. The mash (dance) was actually fairly easy for males/guys/boys/dudes. Doing the jerk was a bit awkward. A lot of pop songs were mashable. ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-monster-mash-song-the-monster-mash-song/799629/22 "2017-10-23T18:09:30Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > As a devout pacifist, I’m a bit afraid to ask about the backstory for " The Bristol Stomp ". :eek: Funny, I was just thinking about that song the other day and the line “The kids in Bristol are as sharp as a pistol when they do the Bristol Stomp.” _ **Sharp as a pistol** _? WTF? ---
**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, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-monster-mash-song-the-monster-mash-song/799629/23 "2017-10-23T18:15:29Z")
> [@Peanuthead](#): > > Funny, I was just thinking about that song the other day and the line “The kids in Bristol are as sharp as a pistol when they do the Bristol Stomp.” _ **Sharp as a pistol** _? WTF? I’m confident that it was originally “…sharp as a bristle…” We, as 8-year-olds, had no idea what a pistol was. “Fanner 50” would not have rhymed. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-monster-mash-song-the-monster-mash-song/799629/24 "2017-10-23T18:55:05Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > Maybe a better thread would have been songs that are about songs that aren’t actually the song. Or something. > > 🙂 [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=813683](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=813683) ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-monster-mash-song-the-monster-mash-song/799629/25 "2017-10-23T19:02:22Z")
> [@ZonexandScout](#): > > I’m confident that it was originally “…sharp as a bristle…” We, as 8-year-olds, had no idea what a pistol was. “Fanner 50” would not have rhymed. I’d be sharp as a thistle I would build a guided missile If I only had a brain ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-monster-mash-song-the-monster-mash-song/799629/26 "2017-10-23T19:17:09Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > What’s weird is that according to the song, the dance came before the song: > > First lyrics: > Later in the song: > So basically, everyone was dancing, and then the band came up with a song to match the dance. Yes, in the few seconds I ever spent considering the question I came to the conclusion the monsters were dancing some kind of mash and it’s referring to the event not some particular song. I can imitate the Karloff imitation used, one of the few things I can sing without people sticking their fingers in their ears, clocks breaking, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-monster-mash-song-the-monster-mash-song/799629/27 "2017-10-23T23:11:45Z")
And “The Bonnie Lass of Fyvie-O” includes the line “The band played ‘The Bonnie Lass of Fyvie-O’”. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-monster-mash-song-the-monster-mash-song/799629/28 "2017-10-23T23:32:08Z")
So it’s just a tribute to the scariest song in the world? ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-monster-mash-song-the-monster-mash-song/799629/29 "2017-10-23T23:43:34Z")
> [@SpeedwayRyan](#): > > _Silly Love Songs_ is just a song **about** silly love songs… And what’s wrong with that? I’d like to know… ---
**Author:** ![minlokwat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minlokwat/32/2844_2.png) [@minlokwat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minlokwat)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2017, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-monster-mash-song-the-monster-mash-song/799629/30 "2017-10-24T00:19:40Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > So basically, everyone was dancing, and then the band came up with a song to match the dance. Which they had evidently lifted from some other source material. > [@](#): > > Out from his coffin, Drac’s voice did ring > Seems he was troubled by just one thing > Opened the lid and shook his fist and said > "Whatever happened to my Transylvania Twist? " > > It’s now the mash, it’s now the monster mash The song doesn’t mention the ensuing copyright infringement lawsuit. IANAL but it sounds like Drac would have been due some royalties similar to the Chiffons who prevailed in court against George Harrison’s **My Sweet Lord.** [cite](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Sweet_Lord#Copyright_infringement_suit) ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2017, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-monster-mash-song-the-monster-mash-song/799629/31 "2017-10-24T00:35:54Z")
What I really want to know is: whatever happened to the Transylvania Twist? ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2017, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-monster-mash-song-the-monster-mash-song/799629/32 "2017-10-24T00:41:47Z")
What I want to know is, do monsters ever do the twist, the stomp, the mashed potato, too? ---
**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 24, 2017, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-monster-mash-song-the-monster-mash-song/799629/33 "2017-10-24T01:54:40Z")
> [@ZonexandScout](#): > > How does that fit with: > > "(They played the Mash…) > > “They played the Monster Mash.” That’s one chorus. The five choruses were these: _He did the Mash They did the Mash They played the Mash It’s now the Mash Then you can Mash_ At no point, did anyone sing the Mash. It’s something that people do. As for playing it, a musical group can play a Waltz or play a Tango. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2017, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-monster-mash-song-the-monster-mash-song/799629/34 "2017-10-24T02:36:50Z")
Those of us alive (or undead, at least) when the song came out know that the airwaves were full of songs about dances - the Twist, the Watusi, the Locomotion, etc., etc., ad nauseum until the Beatles rescued us. Monster Mash fit nicely into this niche, but with much more clever lyrics. Since you could dance to the record (not that I did, being a tad young and having Two Left Feet) I always thought they were playing the Monster Mash the song while describing the Monster Mash, the dance, like the rest. How monster meta. ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2017, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-monster-mash-song-the-monster-mash-song/799629/35 "2017-10-24T03:11:47Z")
**Voyager** : You would have been a big hit doing the monster mash with 2 left feet. ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2017, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-monster-mash-song-the-monster-mash-song/799629/36 "2017-10-24T03:19:59Z")
> [@ZonexandScout](#): > > I’m confident that it was originally “…sharp as a bristle…” We, as 8-year-olds, had no idea what a pistol was. “Fanner 50” would not have rhymed. Nope. [Wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Stomp)says Pistol. External link to lyrics say the same. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2017, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-monster-mash-song-the-monster-mash-song/799629/37 "2017-10-24T12:00:41Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > So it’s just a tribute to the scariest song in the world? I thought that was Hotel California. ---
**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 24, 2017, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-monster-mash-song-the-monster-mash-song/799629/38 "2017-10-24T12:25:35Z")
> [@Peanuthead](#): > > Nope. [Wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Stomp)says Pistol. External link to lyrics say the same. (Whoosh) As a kid, I always thought that the phrase “sharp as a pistol” referred to the crack of its being fired. As in, “that’s sharp as a pistol’s crack.” Therefore, this lyric didn’t even get my notice. Whether or not it’s appropriate for these times… ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2017, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-monster-mash-song-the-monster-mash-song/799629/39 "2017-10-24T13:05:09Z")
**Voyager** doesn’t mention that he also had three right feet. ---
**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 24, 2017, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-monster-mash-song-the-monster-mash-song/799629/40 "2017-10-24T17:59:42Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > What I really want to know is: whatever happened to the Transylvania Twist? I believe the lyrics answer that one: “It’s now the Mash! (It’s now the Monster Mash!”) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-monster-mash-song-the-monster-mash-song/799629.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-monster-mash-song-the-monster-mash-song/799629.md?page=3)