Bein' Green
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"It's not easy being green" redirects here. For other uses, see It's not easy being green (disambiguation).
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| "Bein' Green" | ||
|---|---|---|
| Song by Jim Henson | ||
| Published | 1970 | |
| Writer | Joe Raposo | |
| Cover versions | ||
"Bein' Green" is a popular song originally written by Joe Raposo in 1970 for the first season of the children's show, Sesame Street and it was performed by Kermit the Frog (voiced by Jim Henson).
"It's not easy being green" is a phrase that appears in pop culture as an expression of melancholy. The song is associated with problems with identity, and failure of individuality.
In the song, Kermit begins by lamenting his green coloration, expressing that green "blends in with so many ordinary things." By the end of the song, Kermit recalls positive associations with the color green, and concludes by accepting and embracing his greenness ("It's beautiful! And it's what I want to be...") Research by Sesame Workshop in 1989 discovered that "many preschool children failed to recognize that Kermit felt happy about being green by the end of the song."
[edit] Recordings of Bein' Green
- Kermit the Frog, various Muppet productions
- Frank Sinatra, 1970 album Sinatra & Company.
- Buddy Rich, 1972 album Stick It
- Van Morrison, 1973 album Hard Nose the Highway
- Diana Ross, 1974 Album Live at Caesars Palace
- Ray Charles, 1975 album Renaissance; this version gained popularity thanks to an episode of The Cosby Show. Charles then sang a duet with Kermit on Sesame Street.
- Jackie McLean, 1978 album New Wine in Old Bottles.
- Keith Harris and Orville the Duck, 1983 single
- Mandy Patinkin, 1990 album Dress Casual
- Rowlf the Dog, 1993 album Ol' Brown Ears is Back
- Jill O'Hara, 1993 album Jill O'Hara, titled "Green"
- Shirley Horn, 1993 Album Light Out of Darkness (A Tribute To Ray Charles)
- Stan Kenton, 1992 7.5 on the Richter Scale, titled "It's Not Easy Bein' Green"
- Don Henley with Kermit, 1994 album Kermit Unpigged
- Mike Campbell, 1994 Easy Chair Jazz;
- Urbie Green, 1994 Bein' Green
- Vanessa Rubin, 1995 album Vanessa Rubin Sings
- Paul Schmeling, 1995 album One for the Road
- Boston Pops Orchestra, 1996 album Wish Upon a Star/All-Time Children's Favorites
- Fools and Critters,1995 album Flinging Powdered Doughuts
- Daboa, 1997 album From the Gekko
- Johnny Lytle, 1997 album Easy Easy, completely instrumental
- Tony Bennett, 1998 album The Playground
- Bob McGrath, 1998 album Bob's Favorite Street Songs
- Manfred Krug, 2000 album Schlafstörung, titled "Frosches Lied (Bein' Green)" with German lyrics
- Lemuel West, 2000 album In Good Company
- Donna Leonhart, 2001 album Bein' Green
- Maestro Pocero (Josele Santiago), 2002 album, Patitos feos
- 2003 album Drew's Famous Kids St. Patrick's Day Party
- Andy Hallett, 2004 album, Angel - Music from The Original TV Series
- Mark Murphy, 2005 album Once to Every Heart
- Oscar the Grouch, 2005 season of Sesame Street
- Till Brönner, German jazz bugler, 2005 album That Summer
- Audra McDonald, 2006 album Build a Bridge
- Sophie Milman, 2007 album Make Someone Happy
- 2 Different People, 2008 Single EDF Energy TV Advert
[edit] Cultural references
- A 2006 Super Bowl advertisement for Ford automobiles featured Kermit adventuring through the wild, while singing the song. Later Kermit comes across a Ford Escape Hybrid, and comes to the conclusion that "maybe it is easy being green."
- David Brin novel Kiln People: The title of Chapter 6 is "It's Not Easy Being Green".
- Sara Elizabeth Lewis' Waterfront Property: The first line of the song is quoted at the start of Chapter 26.
- Robert Schoen book What I Wish My Christian Friends Knew About Judaism: The Preface begins "Kermit the Frog has said that it's not easy being green."
- World of Warcraft, the Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game, gives every race and gender of that race a set order of jokes, silly phrases, and pop culture references that obviously break the fourth wall. the Orc male has green skin and their race, male and female, are outcasts from several races in Azeroth. appropriately fitting, one of their pop culture phrases is, "It's not easy being green."
- It's Not Easy Being Green is the title of a 2006 BBC TV documentary series about a family's attempts to take on a more self-sufficient lifestyle.
- Apple used the song in an iMac commercial from 2000. [1]
- A Weezer shirt issued in 2002 stated "It's not easy being weez" with a photograph of the band and the Muppets. [1]. The shirt was based on the video for Weezer's song "Keep Fishin'," which features the Muppets.
- In his comedy special No Cure For Cancer, Denis Leary mentions, in passing, Kermit singing the song at Jim Henson's funeral. However, at that event, the song was performed by Big Bird, not Kermit.[2]
- EDF Energy uses the song, re-recorded by boys from Trinity Boys School in Croydon, for its latest advert on British TV.
- It was performed in The House Always Wins, the third episode of the fourth season of Angel by Lorne, a green demon. Andy Hallett, who plays him, recorded a version for the official soundtrack of the series (listed above).
- Musician Andrew Bird performed a half-French cover version of the song at a 2009 Montréal concert [2].
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejRmOsrbGMc
- ^ "Goofs for No Cure for Cancer". Internet Movie Database. http://imdb.com/title/tt0248752/goofs. Retrieved on 2007-11-07.
