βM*A*S*Hβ: Why the Theme Song Was Supposed to Be βthe ππ₯π¦π‘ππππ€π₯ Song Ever Writtenβ

One of the most famous elements of the MAS*H franchise is its theme music, βππ¦πππππ Is βππππππ€π€.β The song was designed to be βthe ππ₯π¦π‘ππππ€π₯ song ever written.β Hereβs a look at why that was the case β and why the song for a comedy series is so πππ£π.
The point of βππ¦πππππ Is βππππππ€π€β in the film βM*A*S*Hβ
So why is the theme ofΒ MASHΒ called βππ¦πππππ Is βππππππ€π€?β It goes back to the original film. One of the secondary characters is a dentist named Capt. Walter Kosciuszko Waldowski who goes by the nickname The βππππππ€π€ Pole. The βππππππ€π€ Pole is such a π¨π πππππ«ππ£ he πππππππ€ he must actually be compensating for being πππͺ. He decides living as a πππͺ man is too πππππππ¦ππ₯, so he wants to ππππ himself. This sequence is probably the most dated and offensive element ofΒ MASH, as it makes light of ππ¦πππππ among ππΎπΉπ people.
πΈπ€ πππ βππππππ€π€ βπ ππ π‘π£ππ‘ππ£ππ€ π₯π πππ, π ππ π π π₯ππ π€π πππππ£π€ π‘πππͺπ€ π₯ππ π€π ππ βππ¦πππππ ππ€ βππππππ€π€ β π₯π πππ. πππ βππππππ€π€ βπ ππ π₯ππππ€ π¨πππ₯ ππ ππππππ§ππ€ ππ€ π π‘π ππ€π π π‘πππ ππ¦π₯ ππ€ πππ₯π¦ππππͺ π π€ππππ‘πππ π‘πππ. πππ π₯ππ₯ππ π π βππ¦πππππ ππ€ βππππππ€π€β ππ€ π πππππ£ π£ππππ£ππππ π₯π πππ βππππππ€π€ βπ ππ. πππππ π₯ππ ππππΒ ππΈπ*βΒ πππ§π βππ¦πππππ ππ€ βππππππ€π€β π€π ππ ππ π₯π π£πππ₯πͺ, ππ₯ π¨π π¦ππ ππππ ππ π₯π£π¦ππͺ πππ πππ π₯πππππ€ π₯π π₯ππ ππ π§ππβπ€ π€π‘πππ ππ π₯ππππ§ππ€ππ π π€ππ£πππ€, π¨ππππ π¦π€ππ ππ πππ€π₯π£π¦ππππ₯ππ π§ππ£π€ππ π π π π₯ππ π₯π£πππ ππ€ π π₯ππππ π€π ππ.
How a teenager got the chance to write the βM*A*S*Hβ theme
While βππ¦πππππ Is βππππππ€π€ β has πππ£π lyrics, its has a pretty melody. Oddly enough, composer Johnny Mandel toldΒ NPRΒ the song was supposed to be π€π₯π¦π‘ππ. Why? Director Robert Altman wanted it that way.
ββIt should be the π€π₯π¦π‘ππππ€π₯ song ever written,ββ Mandel recalls Altman saying. βI said, βWell, I can do π€π₯π¦π‘ππ.β He says, βThe song should be called βππ¦πππππ Is βππππππ€π€ .ββ
Altman felt his version of the song was insufficient. Mandel recalled β[Altman] said, βAh, but all is not ππ π€π₯. Iβve got a 15-year-old kid whoβs a ππππππ£πππ ππππ π₯. Heβs got a guitar. Heβll run through this thing like a dose of salts.ββ Ultimately, Altmanβs teenage son, Mike Altman, earned $1 million from writing the song. Meanwhile, his father only made $700,000 for directing the film.
How the world reacted to βππ¦πππππ Is βππππππ€π€β
According toΒ MeTV, βππ¦πππππ Is βππππππ€π€ β became a hit, reaching the top of the charts in the United Kingdom. This version of the song was credited to a ππππ band called The Mash, which included a number of singers who worked on television shows likeΒ Wonder WomanΒ andΒ Happy Days.
βππ¦πππππ ππ€ βππππππ€π€β is so famous its had a place in pop culture outside ofΒ the MAS*HΒ universe. For example, Marilyn Manson covered it for the filmΒ Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows. βππ¦πππππ Is βππππππ€π€ β did pretty well for a song that was designed to be π€π₯π¦π‘ππ.