Ask Blender: Porn Music on The Muppet Show?

I heard Jim Henson stole The Muppet Show theme song from an old Italian porno. True?
Tabitha Guzman, Pompano Beach, FL

Almost. The song isn’t the Muppet Show theme, but a catchy number called “Mah Na Mah Na.” The simple four-note melody was originally written by the Italian composer Piero Umiliani for ­Svezia, Inferno e Paradiso (Sweden, Heaven and Hell), a 1968 soft-core porn film purporting to document Swedish babes and their wild, ­lingonberry-loving ways. The movie was reportedly banned in Sweden for its depictions of lesbian sex, wife-swapping and general Scandinavian debauchery. (Hit YouTube for a clip of the song in its original, NSFW context.)

Since Henson’s reworking, the tune has been used in a number of non-X-rated spots,

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