Noach- Who Put the Bomp (In the Bomp, Bomp, Bomp) #Torahsong

There's a great deal of material in Parashat Noach, and a great number of songs for which I could argue a connection (for instance, the Irish Rovers' 1868 recording of Shel Silverstein's "The Unicorn Song").  But it's easy to get caught up in the tale of Noah and the flood, and to forget some of the other stories and lessons that can be found in the text.  

One such passage is the Tower of Babel.  There have been a number of commentaries over the years exploring what exactly went wrong with this construction project.  One compelling explanation argues that the problems began before God confounded the peoples' language-- the participants in the building effort brought calamity upon themselves, because they failed to listen to one another, failed to be gracious to one another, failed to fully communicate with their neighbors.  It's a reminder to all of us not just to listen to those with whom we are in relationship, but to actively make an effort to hear and acknowledge them.

There are many songs with nonsense syllables or gibberish; this is not necessarily the best.  But it readily evokes the salient lesson of the Tower of Babel.  It also represents a sort of interesting place in music history, as the nonsense syllables it references come from actual songs in the Doo-Wop era, and it was itself parodied in later eras.

Please note, I do not own-- nor do I claim to own-- these songs.  Copyrights are held by the various artists.  I include them here for illustrative purposes.

 Who Put the Bomp (In the Bomp, Bomp, Bomp)- (Noach: Genesis 6:9-11:32)
Music and lyrics by Gerry Goffin and Barry Mann, performed by Barry Mann.  Recorded as a 7-inch single for ABC-Paramount, 1961.