Whoa . . .

[omorka]

Mmm, mmm, vintage Sesame Street's great, isn't it strange that my kids are never going to have to go scrounging for their childhood? It's been documented on Wikipedia since they were 12, on the 'Net since they were 6. If the Internet had been around when I was six, I wouldn't have this much trouble finding Big Blue Marble, now would I -

- What was that? -

*rewind*

I have sisters one, two, three,
In my family there's just me,
I've got one daddy,
I've got two,
Grandpa helps me cross the street,
My cat walks on furry feet,
I love my parakeet,
My name is you.

*scratches head*

This came out in - 1982, it looks like, from the lyrics copyright. Does anyone remember anyone complaining about it? Did that just fly under everyone's radar?

Sesame Street is the most subversive show ever, man.

*wanders off to listen to "Twee Vaders"*

Comments

[tenthz.livejournal.com]

I loved that song (still do), but I never got the underlying message until very recently.

Do you have the Sesame Street DVDs or are you youtubing? I really want to find the episode(s) with the short that shows making crayons. The song from that is just amazing and when I was little, the girl in the beginning reminded me of me. :-P

[redneckgaijin.livejournal.com]

At the time, I recall books in the elementary school libraries referring to the "two daddies" phenomenon- referring, that is, to divorce and stepfathers, not homosexual pairs.

[starcat-jewel.livejournal.com]

While I can see your interpretation now that you've pointed it out, my first take on that was to file it under "nonsense ditties" along with things like "It Rained All Day That Night". If other people had the same reaction, it may very well have flown under the radar.

[omorka.livejournal.com]

YouTubing, mostly, although there's a site I posted back on the fourteenth that has links to audio-files for a lot of old Sesame Street stuff.

[omorka.livejournal.com]

True, and I seem to vaguely recall that that's how I interpreted the line at the time, as my little brother was still young enough to be watching the Street in '82. Still, it doesn't say that. It leaves it completely up to the hearer; it's any (or, more to the point, every) kid who has two daddies, for whatever reason.

They weren't always successful, especially across the urban/rural divide, but Sesame Street tried its damnedest to be radically inclusive.

[omorka.livejournal.com]

Very little of what Sesame Street did was that sort of nonsense, and they usually (although not always) marked it when they did, usually by giving it to Big Bird or Ernie.

[teegarden.livejournal.com]

Hey! Please send me an email ... mjteegarden at that there yahoo commercial account. :)

(Need to ask you a Cthulhu larp thing ...)

[quantumduck.livejournal.com]

In 82 many people might not have even THOUGHT to interpret it any other way. Visibility for gays was at an all-time low.