themselves singing the ditty on social media . Toronto Mayor John Tory may have fumbled the words , but got the hand gestures mostly right . Ron Sexsmith submitted an appropriately grizzled and minimalist version . Montreal Canadiens ’ star defenceman PK Subban tweeted his version out : “ Loved it as a kid and still love it now .”
The song has taken on an almost mystical quality for the performers who made it famous . “ It ’ s almost become a mantra , that so many people of so many generations by this time know that nonsense phrase and the song that goes with it ,” says Morrison . “ It has become embedded in the minds and memories and hearts , I think too , of at this point now , three generations of people .”
“ Say the word ‘ Skinnamarink ’ and it puts a smile on my face ,” adds Hampson . “ It ’ s a source of great pleasure , and little did we know when we started singing that song , what it would mean to us . I never tire of that song .”
As much as it means to them , it has taken on entirely new meanings for the audiences who sang it every day while watching The Elephant Show . Take , for instance , jazz chanteuse Sophie Milman .
As the mother of a three-year-old and fivemonth-old , she ’ s become very familiar with the tune , not just because it ’ s an easy and fun song for the kids to sing , but because , as a Russianborn , Israeli-raised woman who wasn ’ t familiar with many English-language kids songs , it helped her learn more about her adoptive country and connect with her oldest child .
“ My husband is Canadian and we speak English at home when my husband is around , and not just Russian and Hebrew ,” she says . “ I wanted to be able to sing some great North American children ’ s classics and be able to recite poetry . I relied on those baby classes to teach me and one of the first songs that we were taught was ‘ Skinnamarink .’ He immediately responded to it because it ’ s cute and it ’ s simple and it ’ s just perfect for kids .” While Milman didn ’ t grow up with Sharon ,
Lois & Bram , the legacy of the group is evident on kids programming in both Canada and the United States . ( The Elephant Show and Skinnamarink TV both aired in the U . S . on Nickelodeon and other networks ).
CBC ’ s Mamma Yamma regularly sees artists like Sam Roberts and Dallas Green stopping by to sing covers or versions of their own songs rewritten for a younger audience . Yo Gabba Gabba has seen performances by everyone from Jimmy Eat World to Lil Wayne . Children ’ s music has gone from very few performers before Sharon , Lois & Bram to the patronizing likes of a purple dinosaur to something that everyone with a song and a touch of fame wants to get in on .
That ’ s not the only way things have changed . Kids wanting to watch those shows know how to use not just the television but the iPad , on which they access YouTube clips . But sometimes the old ways are best , and that includes how to relate to children in an ever-more complicated world .
“ Those things are superficial in my thinking ,” says Penner . “ The technology is data , it ’ s brain energy , trying to remember things , trying to understand how that works , but underneath all that is one human being . One person who has basic needs … from an emotional point of view , they still need to feel that they are strong and positive forces in this world .”
“ We have not changed our approach , not at all ,” adds Hampson . “ Kids are more sophisticated in many ways ; they ’ ve been exposed at a much younger age to things I don ’ t always think are terrific . But when we get on the stage and we do what we do , they do it with us . It ’ s the same thing . For us , that hasn ’ t changed , thank goodness .”
As they sang to their audiences back in 1979 , the now-duo will continue walking along , singing their song , side-by-side to new pint-sized audiences that , like their parents before them , will love them in morning and in the afternoon , in the evening and underneath the moon .
Fred Penner
Sophie Milman
Morrison & Hampson onstage
Adam Kovac is a freelance journalist in Montreal and a weekend guitar warrior in his band Adam ’ s Always Late .
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