Song: Monster Mash
Year: 1962
Artist: Bobby “Borris” Pickett and the Crypt Keepers
Album: The Original Monster Mash
Language Focus: Vowel sounds [e] and [æ]
Episode Description
Halloween is celebrated on October 31st in the United States. People dress up in costumes, attend parties, and carve pumpkins into jack-o-lanterns. On Halloween night, children go door-to-door to ask for candy from their neighbors saying, “Trick or Treat!” In this eerie episode, we’re using a funny novelty song from the 1960s to practice the [æ] vowel sound vs. the [e] vowel sound in the pronunciation of the letter A. We also discuss some of the interesting vocabulary words associated with Halloween. Join us for a spooky, silly, holiday episode.
Episode Transcript
<intro>
E: Hi! I’m Ece!
H: And I’m Heather! We’re the cohosts of the spoooooky….
E: …terrifying….
H: …frightful podcast, “English as a Scary Language!”
E: Actually, this is a special Halloween edition of our podcast, “English as a Singing Language.”
H: That’s right! We’ve got a special, Halloween-themed, pronunciation-focused song from the 1960s for this episode.
E: Well, I love Halloween, and I love pronunciation and I love the 1960s!
H: Me too! I can’t wait to talk about this song!
E: I know! I’m so excited about it.
H: Let’s get started!
<end intro>
E: (humming “Monster Mash”) Oh! Hi Heather! Happy Halloween!
H: Happy Halloween, Ece! I love your costume! Did you make it yourself?
E: Yes! I decided to be a jellyfish this year!
H: You look great. I’m a witch every year. I wear a pointed black hat and this dress, and suddenly I’m a scary witch.
E: You don’t look scary! And, you’re handing out chocolate, so nobody could be scared of you!
H: Giving out candy does help. I really enjoy Halloween!
E: Me too. You know, the origins of Halloween go back to the Celtic celebrations to protect people from death.
H: Over the years, the celebrations changed a lot.
E: The Irish immigrants who came to the United States in the 1800s brought the holiday here.
H: Now, Halloween is celebrated by children and adults.
E: People dress up in costumes and carve faces on pumpkins to make jack-o-lanterns.
H: And on Halloween night, children go out and ask for candy from their neighbors by saying, “Trick-or-Treat!”
E: Halloween is so much fun, and we have a silly Halloween novelty song from the 1960s for this episode.
H: A novelty song? What does that mean?
E: In this case, it means a song that is built on some special piece of American culture.
H: Ok, that sounds interesting.
E: It is. In the early 1960s, there were a lot of crazy dances that people did. There was the Locomotion.
H: And there was the Hitchhiker and the Pony!
E: Uh-huh! And there were two dances that are mentioned in this song, The Twist and the Mashed Potato.
H: Those sound so funny now! But, I think I see where you’re going with this.
E: Yep. We’re talking about the 1962 hit song by Bobby “Boris” Pickett, and his bandmate Leonard Capizzi, “The Monster Mash.”
H: I get it. So, the dance is like the Mashed Potato, but with monsters, “The Monster Mash.”
E: Deedee Sharp, one of the backup singers you’ll hear in the song said this about the Monster Mash, <quote> “They did the mash like they were monsters. They just did the mash, like the Mashed Potato. Only, they did it with their arms flinging, and making all kinds of crazy moves. I think that's the only way you can say that that was the Monster Mash.”
H: Wow! So, we can sing AND dance to this one!
E: Not only that, there are also a lot of examples of the pronunciation of the “a” vowel sound in English.
H: English vowel sounds can get a little confusing.
E: That’s true. For example, sometimes, the A sound says its name.
H: The A says its name? What do you mean?
E: For example, in the word, “late” the letter A is pronounced [a].
H: Okay, I get it now. What is another way that the vowel A is pronounced?
E: In this song, there are many examples of the [æ] pronunciation of A.
H: I usually think of that as a sound you might hear more in American English than British English.
E: I agree. You and I would say, “æpple.”
H: But you might say “ahpple” in British English.
E: Let’s take - there’s a good example already! - Let’s take a look at the lyrics of the song!
H: Ok. So, the song is telling the story of Dr. Frankenstein and the monster he created.
E: Except that this monster likes to dance.
H: Right. The lyrics start, “I was working in the lab late one night when my eyes beheld an eerie sight.”
E: There’s the [æ] pronunciation in lab, and the [e] pronunciation in “late.”
H: And there’s also a good Halloween vocabulary word, “eerie.”
E: “Eerie” means “strange or frightening.”
H: Like, “I heard an eerie sound late at night, and I felt scared.”
E: Yes! In the next lines we have, “For my monster, from his slab, began to rise and suddenly, to my surprise he did the Monster Mash.”
H: “Slab,” “began,” and “Mash,” all have the low, wide [æ] sound.
E: And a “slab” is a thick, rectangular piece of stone or concrete.
H: The monster comes alive, and starts to do the Monster Mash dance.
E: Right, and then, in the chorus, they sing, “It was a graveyard smash, it caught on in a flash.”
H: If something is a “smash,” it’s a great success.
E: Like, we hope the podcast will be a smash.
H: Yes! And “in a flash” means very quickly.
E: I could say, “I got all my work done in a flash.”
H: I wish that were true for me!
E: Me too! There are some good examples of the [æ] vowels in the next lines, too. “From my laboratory in the Castle east to the master bedroom, where the vampires feast.”
H: I heard, “laboratory,” “castle,” and “master.” They all have the [æ] sound.
E: Those are great examples, and, what is a “vampire,” Heather?
H: You might see a few of those if you are out trick-or-treating tonight! A “vampire” is a special kind of monster. A vampire is an undead human that drinks blood!
E: That sounds extremely scary.
H: Don’t worry! They’re not real vampires, they’re just people in vampire costumes!
E: I hope so!! The line continues, “The ghouls all came from their humble abodes to get a jolt from my electrodes.”
H: Ok, there’s an [e] in “came,” but what is a “humble abode.”
E: An “abode” is another word for a house. So, my not very fancy, not very big, very humble house.
H: And a “jolt from an electrode”? What’s that?
E: A “jolt” is a zap of electricity. And the electrode is what catches, or conducts, the electricity.
H: Oh! Like the metal things sticking out of the neck of Frankenstein’s monster. “Electrodes.”
E: Exactly.
H: The song continues, “The zombies were having fun, the party had just begun.”
E: I heard [æ] in “had.”
H: Yes! And “zombies” are another popular Halloween monster.
E: Zombies are pretty scary. A zombie is a dead person brought back to life.
H: Yes. Pretty scary. But not if they’re dancing, right?
E: RIght. It sounds like there were even more monsters at this party. The next line is, “The guests included Wolf-Man, Dracula, and his son. The scene was rocking, all were digging the sounds.”
H: More [æ] practice with, “Wolf-Man,” and “Dracula.”
E: Wolf-Man turns from a human into a wolf at the full moon, right?
H: Yes. And Dracula is a very famous vampire. By the way, what does it mean to be “digging” something? We don’t say that now, do we?
E: No, remember this song is from the 1960s. Back then, if you said, “I really dig this song,” it meant that you really liked it, that you were into it.
H: Cool. I dig it.
E: And in the next line we have, “Igor on chains, backed by his baying hounds.”
H: Who is Igor?
E: Igor was Dr. Frankenstein’s assistant. He helped to create Frankenstein’s monster.
H: Ok. And “baying” has the [e] sound. A baying hound is a dog that is making the eerie, “Oooh! Oooh! Oooooooooooh!” sound.
E: The last lines where we can see examples of [æ] are, “Now everything's cool, Drac's a part of the band, and my Monster Mash is the hit of the land.”
H: Yes! I heard “Drac’s,” “band,” and “land.”
E: And this song was the hit of the land, you know.
H: Really?
E: Yes. It was a smash hit. It was number one on the Billboard charts for two weeks in October of 1962.
H: Wow! That’s great. Well, there’s just one more line, “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?"
E: The Twist is one of the popular dances from the 60s that we talked about earlier.
H: Right! It’s a dance that is just what it sounds like. You twist your arms and your waist and your hips in time with the music.
E: But while Dracula was in his coffin, the Twist dance fad had been replaced by the Mash. The Monster Mash.
H: Well, that’s what happens over time, fads fade.
E: But the Monster Mash lives on.
H: You’re right. The Monster Mash gets played every year at Halloween. If you go to a Halloween party, you will hear it for sure.
E: And you’ll be able to sing along with the lyrics.
H: Which I think we’re ready to do now!
E: I think so too!
H: Ok listeners. We’ve put a link to the official lyrics video in the episode notes.
E: Don’t worry! It’s a cute cartoon video. You won’t see any scary monsters!
H: That’s good! Don’t forget to sing out loud as you listen!
E: And while you sing you can also,
H + E: “Do the mash! Do the Monster Mash! It’s a graveyard smash!”
<outtro>
E: Well, I am definitely ready for Halloween after hearing that song.
H: Even after 60 years, Monster Mash is still a great Halloween song.
E: It sure is. Are you ready for the children to trick-or-treat at your house?
H: I am! I have lots of candy, and I’m in my scary witch costume.
E: I’m ready, too. Halloween is the one day every year where you can have fun dressing up as somebody else.
H: And this year, we can sing and dance, too!
E: Exactly! Let’s also invite our listeners to check out the resources on our website.
H: And like and subscribe to the podcast.
E: That way, you’ll know as soon as we release a new episode.
H: You can follow us on Instagram @singinglanguages.
E: Until next time, have fun and …
H + E (spooky voices): …just keep singing!
Deedee Sharp (backup singer)
Official YouTube Video
Complete 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 Monster Mash
(The Monster Mash) it was a graveyard smash
(He did the Mash) it caught on in a flash
(He did the Mash) he did the Monster Mash
From my laboratory in the Castle east
To the master bedroom, where the vampires feast
The ghouls all came from their humble abodes
To get a jolt from my electrodes
they did the Monster Mash
(The Monster Mash) it was a graveyard smash
(They did the Mash) it caught on in a flash
(They did the Mash) they did the Monster Mash
The zombies were having fun
The party had just begun
The guests included Wolf-Man, Dracula, and his son
The scene was rocking, 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 Monster Mash
(The Monster Mash) it was a graveyard smash
(They played the Mash) it caught on in a flash
(They played the Mash) they played the Monster Mash
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 Monster Mash
(The Monster Mash) and it's a graveyard smash
(It's now the Mash) it's caught on in a flash
(It's now the Mash) it's now the Monster Mash
Now everything's cool, Drac's a part of the band
And my Monster Mash is the hit of the land
For you, the living, this Mash was meant too
When you get to my door, tell them Boris sent you
then you can Monster Mash
(The Monster Mash) and do my graveyard smash
(Then you can Mash) you'll catch on in a flash
(Then you can Mash) then you can Monster Mash
Songwriters: Leonard Bernard Rosenman
Monster Mash lyrics © Unichappell Music Inc., Reservoir 416, Gary S Paxton Publications, Capizzi Music, Bmg Rights Management (ireland) Ltd, Acoustic Music Inc, Opc Music Publishing Inc.
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