The Truth Behind the Hokey Pokey
Recently, I've seen a few t-shirts/bumper stickers/ pins that prompt this seemingly innocuous question, and at first I thought, "Who's the smart-ass that came up with this ridiculousness?" But then I thought about it...because I was bored, and it hit me: What if it is? More than likely, the cubicle worm at Smart-Ass Industries who set this statement forth as an idea for a t-shirt slogan didn't honestly think this could be a possibility, because in all seriousness, who could possibly think that the Hokey Pokey is the meaning of everything? Well, naturally, the meaning of life isn't literally to dance around in a circle moving various appendages "in" and "out," but in a symbolic sense, there really is nothing else in life but the Hokey Pokey. To understand this, we have to understand what the Hokey Pokey itself is all about.
The entire point of the practice is to socialize. It was written some time in the 1940s by a man named Roland Lawrence LaPrise, with the music done by a pair of his friends, for a group of skiers in Idaho. Based on this background, it can easily be understood that the Hokey Pokey was written for the sole purpose of entertainment, both for one's self, and for a group of friends: a party song of friends, by friends, for friends. These inspiring beginnings, as well as insouciant lyrics, are the foundation of a totally carefree song about giving yourself up to the whim of music and enjoying your time with friends.
Naturally, such relaxing playfulness should be at least second nature to people in general; unfortunately, in a culture that has become so caught up with itself that it has been reduced to gleaning philosophical wisdom from T-shirts and bumper stickers, everybody either looks too hard for what they can only refer to as “the answers,” or they don’t even give a passing thought to such important questions of their own existence. Ironically, it is these brainless whelps that are closest to fulfillment than those who worry about “meaning” and “the next life,” or even their future. As self-destructive as some of these blithe life-styles might be, it all comes back to the Hokey Pokey. Most of us forget that a life of pain is not a life worth living, and to make life worth living, we have to enjoy the time spent. One must find happiness in whatever form it takes with them, symbolized by the Hokey Pokey. In fact, I urge everyone out there reading this to go out, find some friends, and do the Hokey Pokey for at least a few minutes. I am utterly serious about this; it will probably prove to be a monkey full of barrels. There is absolutely nothing better than a quick bout of the Hokey Pokey every once in a while.
The entire point of the practice is to socialize. It was written some time in the 1940s by a man named Roland Lawrence LaPrise, with the music done by a pair of his friends, for a group of skiers in Idaho. Based on this background, it can easily be understood that the Hokey Pokey was written for the sole purpose of entertainment, both for one's self, and for a group of friends: a party song of friends, by friends, for friends. These inspiring beginnings, as well as insouciant lyrics, are the foundation of a totally carefree song about giving yourself up to the whim of music and enjoying your time with friends.
Naturally, such relaxing playfulness should be at least second nature to people in general; unfortunately, in a culture that has become so caught up with itself that it has been reduced to gleaning philosophical wisdom from T-shirts and bumper stickers, everybody either looks too hard for what they can only refer to as “the answers,” or they don’t even give a passing thought to such important questions of their own existence. Ironically, it is these brainless whelps that are closest to fulfillment than those who worry about “meaning” and “the next life,” or even their future. As self-destructive as some of these blithe life-styles might be, it all comes back to the Hokey Pokey. Most of us forget that a life of pain is not a life worth living, and to make life worth living, we have to enjoy the time spent. One must find happiness in whatever form it takes with them, symbolized by the Hokey Pokey. In fact, I urge everyone out there reading this to go out, find some friends, and do the Hokey Pokey for at least a few minutes. I am utterly serious about this; it will probably prove to be a monkey full of barrels. There is absolutely nothing better than a quick bout of the Hokey Pokey every once in a while.