Thursday, December 2, 2010

MMMBop... Yeah, that's Right.

I randomly hear the song MMMBop by Hanson (waaay back then) (usually at Wal-Mart and some idiot that works there inevitably has to make some stupid announcement over the loudspeaker as soon as it comes on....) but every time I do hear it, it makes me happy. Well, happy and sad. Happy because it's fun to sing but sad because the words are just so...true

I thought about the song tonight for some reason even though the last time I heard it was maybe a month ago in the mall. Yes, it sounds silly with the MMMBop, buh dip uh dop chorus but hey, the three Hanson brothers wrote it when they were really little so you have to expect a little silliness in the lyrics, don't you? But after all the MMMBops and buh dip uh dops are sung, the other lyrics truly do have a significant meaning. When it saturated the radio stations in 1996/1997-ish, (I remember I was a big load o'pregnantness with Thirteen at the time), I was hooked on how adorable the brothers were but really, I was in awe of their talent and drive, as well. Who comes up with these kinds of lyrics at the ages 9, 11, and 13?


You have so many relationships in this life
Only one or two will last
You go through all the pain and strife
Then you turn your back and they're gone so fast
Oh yeah
And they're gone so fast, yeah
Oh
So hold on the ones who really care
In the end they'll be the only ones there
And when you get old and start losing your hair
Tell me who will still care
Can you tell me who will still care?


Listen, I'm not saying the lyrics are completely genius, but maybe just a smidge.

It's so true that you have so many friendships and relationships in your lifetime but really...how many of them will last? So you have 6,854 friends on Facebook but of those 6,854 friends, how many really care and will still be there when you need them? When you're old and start losing your hair, (or maybe if you're like me, you start growing some in baaaad places), who will be there to buy you a toupee or to help you pluck your chin? Huh? Who?

When the chips are down, the ones that slink away are the "MMMBoppers": in an MMMBop they're gone, in an MMMBop they're not there as the great Hansons sing. As much as I love to sing the song because it's catchy and and the buh dip uh dops are challenging to sing, it makes ya think: Aren't there people in your life that really are there for the long-haul while others are just gone like that? ::finger-snap:: I have come to the conclusion that I've had, and no longer desire, too many of these sorts of people - these MMMBoppers -in (and apparently) out of my life. I'm so done with that. I want the people who will wipe my nose with their sleeve when I'm crying and have no tissues; I want the people who will feel the lump on my ribs/head/neck/toe/armpit so they can assure me I'm not dying; I want the people who will listen to me (and join me) when I laugh so hard or cry so fiercely that sound no longer actually comes out of my mouth. I want the people who don't care that I went to the deli for coffee in the clothes I slept in the night before, come to their house in said clothes and proceed to sit around for a few hours of gabbing. I want the friend who will sniff my pits in public to assure me I don't smell as bad as I think I do when I break out in some weird nervous sweat. I want the people who can tell me my faults without secretly enjoying it because somehow it makes their faults seem less...um.... faulty.

On the other end of that, I do not want people who laugh with me but behind my back knock me down or or do hurtful things intentionally. I do not want people in my life who begrudge me my successes, (even as few as they might be), but still. I do not want anyone in my life who doesn't add anything positive to it. And yes, I believe the friends that will pop the zit on my forehead or look down my throat with a flashlight are, indeed, adding something positive. They are accepting me for who I am, warts and all, and whether humoring my hypochondria or allowing me to boo-hoo to them about something, this is what friendship is about to me. Being there, no matter what.

Friendships and relationships take so much work but if you want great ones, whether it be with siblings, parents, friends, significant others or spouses, they can be as only as good as you're willing (and they're willing) to give and to make them be.

You have so many relationships in this life
Only one or two will last....
You go through all the pain and strife
Then you turn your back and they're gone so fast...


I never did and still don't give a shit that people laugh at me for liking Hanson (currently) and MMMBop but I have always found the lyrics so profound.

I often do wonder, in the end, who will be the only ones there.... ???

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