Philipp Fröhlich's oil on canvas painting Bein' Green from 2025, showing a guitar, Kermit the Frog , a young birch and peas.
  • Bein' Green
  • 2025
  • oil on panel
  • 90 x 60 cm

Bein’ Green

Kermit the Frog is the center of The Muppet Show, though he hardly seems built for it. He introduces acts, soothes tempers, apologizes when things inevitably go wrong. He is forever running behind, caught between disappointment at how things fall apart and an everlasting hope to somehow keep them going. He is gentle, diplomatic, well-meaning, and optimistic even while everything collapses around him.

He is an odd hero for a show and is often outshone by the figures around him: Fozzie, the desperately insecure bear, Gonzo, the eccentric daredevil, Animal, driven by pure instinct, and Miss Piggy, the glamorous and dramatic diva. All of them are extravagant and exuberant in their own way.

There is a beautiful and deeply melancholic song that Kermit first sang on Sesame Street in 1970, written by Joe Raposo. Bein’ Green is remarkably introspective for a song aimed at preschool children. Frank Sinatra and Van Morrison both covered it later, and The Muppet Show brought it back twice.

The song has Kermit talking to himself, complaining about being ordinary, about not being noticed because he blends in when it might be nicer to stand out. But as the song unfolds, he slowly reaches a conclusion:

When green is all there is to be
It could make you wonder why
But why wonder, why wonder
I’m green and it’ll do fine
It’s beautiful, and I think it’s what I want to be

The ingenuity of Kermit lies in his simplicity as a puppet. If you look closely, he is hardly more than the hand that moves his mouth and two eyes set on top. Jim Henson designed him this way to make him especially expressive. A slight movement of the little finger and Kermit shows disappointment or delight.

Ross Gay is one of my favorite poets. In his collection Bringing the Shovel Down, there is a poem called Sorrow Is Not My Name that always reminds me of Kermit’s gentle affirmation of life.

“Sorrow Is Not My Name”
by Ross Gay
—after Gwendolyn Brooks

No matter the pull toward brink. No
matter the florid, deep sleep awaits.
There is a time for everything. Look,
just this morning a vulture
nodded his red, grizzled head at me,
and I looked at him, admiring
the sickle of his beak.
Then the wind kicked up, and,
after arranging that good suit of feathers
he up and took off.
Just like that. And to boot,
there are, on this planet alone, something like two
million naturally occurring sweet things,
some with names so generous as to kick
the steel from my knees: agave, persimmon,
stick ball, the purple okra I bought for two bucks
at the market. Think of that. The long night,
the skeleton in the mirror, the man behind me
on the bus taking notes, yeah, yeah.
But look; my niece is running through a field
calling my name. My neighbor sings like an angel
and at the end of my block is a basketball court.
I remember. My color’s green. I’m spring.

—for Walter Aikens

“Sorrow Is Not My Name” by Ross Gay, from Bringing the Shovel Down (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2011).

Kermit the Frog is the main character in The Muppet Show.
Kermit the Frog is the main character in The Muppet Show.
Created by puppeteer Jim Henson with his wife and collaborator Jane Henson in 1955, Kermit the Frog first appeared on the local Washington, D.C. program Sam and Friends.
Created by puppeteer Jim Henson with his wife and collaborator Jane Henson in 1955, Kermit the Frog first appeared on the local Washington, D.C. program Sam and Friends.
Young Jim Henson with Kermit the Frog.
Young Jim Henson with Kermit the Frog.
The original Kermit the Frog puppet is preserved at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.
The original Kermit the Frog puppet is preserved at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.
In Frank Oz, Jim Henson found his perfect creative partner. Here, Henson with Kermit the Frog and Oz with Miss Piggy.
In Frank Oz, Jim Henson found his perfect creative partner. Here, Henson with Kermit the Frog and Oz with Miss Piggy.
Jim Henson and Frank Oz were an extraordinary duo, giving life not only to Kermit and Miss Piggy but also to Ernie and Bert, among many others.
Jim Henson and Frank Oz were an extraordinary duo, giving life not only to Kermit and Miss Piggy but also to Ernie and Bert, among many others.
The quirky characters around Kermit often outshine him.
The quirky characters around Kermit often outshine him.
Fozzie Bear, also performed by Frank Oz, is Kermit’s best friend.
Fozzie Bear, also performed by Frank Oz, is Kermit’s best friend.
Gonzo the daredevil, performed by Dave Goelz, is one of the most eccentric and endearing figures in The Muppet Show.
Gonzo the daredevil, performed by Dave Goelz, is one of the most eccentric and endearing figures in The Muppet Show.
The simplicity of Kermit as a puppet is his great strength. In this still from a documentary, you can see how closely Kermit resembles Jim Henson’s hand.
The simplicity of Kermit as a puppet is his great strength. In this still from a documentary, you can see how closely Kermit resembles Jim Henson’s hand.
Jim Henson looking into the ping-pong ball eyes of his puppet, Kermit the Frog.
Jim Henson looking into the ping-pong ball eyes of his puppet, Kermit the Frog.
Kermit the Frog first sang Bein’ Green on Sesame Street in 1970.
Kermit the Frog first sang Bein’ Green on Sesame Street in 1970.
Bein’ Green was performed twice more by Kermit the Frog on The Muppet Show.
Bein’ Green was performed twice more by Kermit the Frog on The Muppet Show.
Frank Sinatra released his own version of Bein’ Green as a single in 1971.
Frank Sinatra released his own version of Bein’ Green as a single in 1971.
Van Morrison’s version of Bein’ Green appears on his 1973 album Hard Nose the Highway.
Van Morrison’s version of Bein’ Green appears on his 1973 album Hard Nose the Highway.
Ross Gay is an incredible poet whose work celebrates tenderness, joy, and the beauty of everyday life.
Ross Gay is an incredible poet whose work celebrates tenderness, joy, and the beauty of everyday life.
Sorrow Is Not My Name appears in Ross Gay’s 2011 poetry collection Bringing the Shovel Down.
Sorrow Is Not My Name appears in Ross Gay’s 2011 poetry collection Bringing the Shovel Down.
For anyone wishing to discover Ross Gay’s work, I recommend his luminous collection Catalogue of Unabashed Gratitude (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2015).
For anyone wishing to discover Ross Gay’s work, I recommend his luminous collection Catalogue of Unabashed Gratitude (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2015).
Parts of the mock-up for my painting in the studio.
Parts of the mock-up for my painting in the studio.
The painting in my studio.
The painting in my studio.
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Philipp Fröhlich's oil on canvas painting Bein' Green from 2025, showing a guitar, Kermit the Frog , a young birch and peas.
Bein' Green (379L), 2025, oil on panel, 90 x 60 cm

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