so, i completely realize that today’s song isn’t what you’d normally expect here. it’s, well – a kid’s song, plus i’m not linking an mp3, but featuring a video instead.

however! it is by THE MUPPETS, and thereby, inherently, awesome.

when i was a kid, i was totally enamored with the muppets. i watched them on tv all the time, saw the movies, and had their albums. my favorite, of course, was the eponymous muppet show album which was a conglomeration of greatest hits. and my sentimental favorite was always halfway down the stairs.

for those of you who don’t readily recognize it, this song, sung by kermit’s nephew robin, is actually an a.a. milne poem. you know, the guy who created winnie the pooh? and it’s a lovely poem, so sweet and so utterly childlike. as a kid, the concept of the halfway point was quite alluring in that it was a safe spot. kids gravitate to those, you know? and as an adult, i can appreciate the simplicity and imagery that the poem lends itself to. i even reference it in one of my books, during a particularly angsty moment.

lots of people – even muppets – have sang this song, but i think the gold standard has to be robin’s version simply because he is a kid, and thereby exudes the innocence necessary to truly impart the poem’s implications.

by the way, a new muppet movie is on its way! i’m so jazzed to see it with my kids, who already love those puppety hijinks. check it out in november.