Hello Muddah, hello Fadduh

Hello Muddah, hello Fadduh, by Allan Sherman

Here I am at Camp Grenada
Camp is very entertaining
and they say we'll have some fun if it stops raining.

I went hiking with Joe Spivy

He developed poison ivy
You remember Leonard Skinner
He got ptomaine poisoning last night after dinner.

All the counselors hate the waiters

And the lake has alligators

And the head coach wants no sissies

So he reads to us from something called Ulysses.

Now I don't want this should scare ya

But my bunk - mate has malaria
You remember Jeffrey Hardy
They're about to organize a searching party.

Take me home, oh muddah fadduh, take me home, I hate Grenada

Don't leave me out in the forest where I might get eaten by a bear.
Take me home, I promise I will not make noise or mess the house with
other boys, oh please don't make me stay, I've been here one whole day.

Dearest fadduh, darling muddah,

How's my precious little bruddah?
Let me come home if ya miss me
I will even let Aunt Bertha hug and kiss me.

Wait a minute, it stopped hailing,

Guys are swimming, guys are sailing,

Playing baseball, gee that's better,

Muddah Fadduh kindly disregard this letter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jjiWS__Mp0

This is an exaggerated American pronunciation of mother and father. It also rhymes with Camp Grenada,
which is the name of the camp where the boy is!
 Hello Muddah, hello Fadduh

Pre – Listening Task

You are going to listen to a song by an American boy who goes away to summer camp. First answer the
questions:

1) Are there holiday camps for children in your country?

What can the children do there?

2) Why might the children like these summer camps?

Why might they be unhappy?

3) Look at the pictures and find the following:

- a boy hiking - a bunk – bed - a bear

- poison ivy - a search party - an alligator

- a forest - someone hugging another person - hail

Check the meaning of the verb “to disregard” in your dictionary.

Comprehension Check

1) Let’s say the boy’s name is Chuck.

How does Chuck’s mood change during the song?

How does he feel at the beginning, in the middle and at the end? Why?

2) What happened to his friends…

… Joe Spivey? … Leonard Skinner?

… his bunk – mate? … Jeffrey Hardy?

3) Chuck tries to persuade his parents to take him home in various ways. What are they?

What does he say might happen to him at Camp Grenada?

4) A sissy is an informal word for a boy who isn´t hard and aggressive. What do you know about the

Greek writer, Homer, and his legendary hero, Ulysses? So why does the head coach read to the boys

from Ulysses?

5) Do you think he likes his brother and Aunt Bertha?

6) How long has he been at the camp?

7) Why is everything better at the end?

Language Work

The words in the boxes appear in the song. Write in the other parts of speech.

Adjective Noun Verb

entertaining
fun
develop
poison
trainer
hate
scare
organize
promise
noise
mess
play