# Songs You Didn't Know Had Lyrics **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 7, 2013, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-know-had-lyrics/670574 "2013-10-07T08:04:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-know-had-lyrics/670574/1 "2013-10-07T08:04:24Z")
I always thought “Stars and Stripes Forever” by Sousa was just a march until recently: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drba7wWZ5wg](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drba7wWZ5wg) ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-know-had-lyrics/670574/2 "2013-10-07T11:33:42Z")
[_Sleigh Ride._](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xa-hTXE72G0) Even after singing it a few times, I still think of it (and prefer it) as an [instrumental](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OATi34PKNPw) piece . . . but I wish they’d omit the “jazzy” part. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-know-had-lyrics/670574/3 "2013-10-07T12:13:17Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > [_Sleigh Ride._](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xa-hTXE72G0) Even after singing it a few times, I still think of it (and prefer it) as an [instrumental](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OATi34PKNPw) piece . . . but I wish they’d omit the “jazzy” part. Listen to the Johnny Mathis version on YouTube sometime. I’ve always thought it would make the perfect background to the ultimate gay video. :rolleyes: **This** has always been one of my favorite TV themes: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/t99QQIXez4M/hqdefault.jpg "Tv Theme The Persuaders (Full Theme)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t99QQIXez4M) I was quite surprised to find it has English lyrics; to me, it sounds like something you would hear when you enter some dark, smoke-filled French bistro, maybe with Edith Piaf singing on a tiny spotlit stage. Here’s **another** with _two_ sets of lyrics (you have to watch the whole video to hear both): https://www.youtube.com/embed/-_wbuNhn0co?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque I must say, I’m partial to the second version! ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-know-had-lyrics/670574/4 "2013-10-07T12:40:55Z")
Here’s **another** : the theme from _ **The Protectors** _, starring Robert Vaughn and Nyree Dawn Porter: [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jj4UFqKG5YI) Apparently, there are also lyrics to _ **The Avengers** _ TV theme (aka Laurie Johnson’s “The Shake”), but I can’t find them anywhere. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-know-had-lyrics/670574/5 "2013-10-07T12:48:56Z")
The [Star Trek theme music](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theme_from_Star_Trek#Lyrics) (original show). Gene Roddenberry wrote some truly awful lyrics to it so he could get royalties each time it played. ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-know-had-lyrics/670574/6 "2013-10-07T13:06:45Z")
IIRC the opening instrumental theme from Bonanza had words to it the first episode. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-know-had-lyrics/670574/7 "2013-10-07T13:29:41Z")
According to [this oft-revived threat](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=155063), Scott Joplin’s “the Entertainer” may or may not have lyrics. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-know-had-lyrics/670574/8 "2013-10-07T13:57:59Z")
> [@rsat3acr](#): > > IIRC the opening instrumental theme from Bonanza had words to it the first episode. Again, there are at least two different versions, plus a truly awful third version that was vetoed by NBC: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/NqOgsOgEVbY/maxresdefault.jpg "Bonanza Theme Song - Sung by Johnny Cash & Lorne Green in 720-P HD") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqOgsOgEVbY) > **[Bonanza Lyrics and Theme](http://ponderosascenery.homestead.com/lyrics.html)** > > Want to know the lyrics to the theme song, and even the one that didn't make it?! Visit Bonanza:Scenery Of The Ponderosa to learn and listen to it! [http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Bonanza-lyrics-Johnny-Cash/A3A4570E5518F46C48256DEA000A6B82](http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Bonanza-lyrics-Johnny-Cash/A3A4570E5518F46C48256DEA000A6B82) ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-know-had-lyrics/670574/9 "2013-10-07T15:18:28Z")
Strauss’s Blue Danube Waltz. (It even had lyrics originally.) The MASH theme. ---
**Author:** ![Reeses\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reeses_monkey/32/2885_2.png) [@Reeses\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeses_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-know-had-lyrics/670574/10 "2013-10-07T15:26:26Z")
Love is Blue. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-know-had-lyrics/670574/11 "2013-10-07T15:26:50Z")
The TV show theme for [Bewitched](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zyroxZ5mE0) actually had lyrics. ---
**Author:** ![lew\_cody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e274bd/32.png) [@lew\_cody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lew_cody)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-know-had-lyrics/670574/12 "2013-10-07T15:47:04Z")
The theme to “Mama’s Family”, titled “Bless My Happy Home” has lyrics, although it was decided not to use them on the show. Vicki Lawrence often sings them at her live shows. ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-know-had-lyrics/670574/13 "2013-10-07T15:47:32Z")
thanks terentii ---
**Author:** ![Hermione](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/cdc98d/32.png) [@Hermione](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermione)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-know-had-lyrics/670574/14 "2013-10-07T16:30:42Z")
Neal Hefti’s theme to The Odd Couple (introduced in the movie, carried over to the TV series) had lyrics… _No matter where they go, they are known as the couple, They’re never seen alone, so they’re known as the couple, As I’ve indicated, They are never quite separated, They are peas in a pod, Don’t you think that it’s odd…_ [The Star Trek theme has lyrics,](http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/trek.asp) but that’s an interesting story in itself. Apparently Gene Roddenberry wanted a cut of the royalties for the music, so he slapped lyrics on it even though they were never once sung on the show. ---
**Author:** ![Indyellen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/indyellen/32/4176_2.png) [@Indyellen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indyellen)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-know-had-lyrics/670574/15 "2013-10-07T16:35:19Z")
I can’t find my link to it, but Dick Van Dyke sang the lyrics to the theme of the _Dick Van Dyke Show_ on _Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me_. ---
**Author:** ![Hermione](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/cdc98d/32.png) [@Hermione](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermione)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-know-had-lyrics/670574/16 "2013-10-07T16:38:31Z")
Oops, sorry…I overlooked that someone mentioned the Star Trek theme upthread. My bad. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-know-had-lyrics/670574/17 "2013-10-07T16:48:21Z")
> [@Indyellen](#): > > I can’t find my link to it, but Dick Van Dyke sang the lyrics to the theme of the _Dick Van Dyke Show_ on _Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me_. https://www.youtube.com/embed/o4JQk1yMw_0?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/7DW9BZnhhAs/hqdefault.jpg "The Dick Van Dyke Show Theme [With The Rare Unused Lyrics]") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DW9BZnhhAs) ---
**Author:** ![Cayuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-know-had-lyrics/670574/18 "2013-10-07T16:55:18Z")
As **RealityChuck** hinted at, just about every instrumental TV theme song out there has lyrics that were never intended to be heard. The lyricist gets a royalty payment every time the song is played (i.e., every week) even if an instrumental version is used. The first time I encountered this was “Remembering You,” the closing theme to _All in the Family_. Roger Kellaway wrote the music, and Carol O’Connor wrote the lyrics. I guess O’Connor asked for more money and Norman Lear decided to take it out of a different budget. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-know-had-lyrics/670574/19 "2013-10-07T17:05:10Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > The TV show theme for [Bewitched](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zyroxZ5mE0) actually had lyrics. There was actually a version of it on the charts for a while back in the '60s. Don’t remember who sang it, though. **EDIT:** Steve Lawrence, of course! :smack: As for Roddenberry and the _ **ST** _ theme … well, he was the show’s creator and producer, and fancied himself something of a poet; plus, he claimed to have strong feelings about the music. Basically, there was no reason for him NOT to pen a lyric if he chose to do so. While Courage later claimed to have been screwed out of half the royalties, he had been in the business long enough to know that you should _read_ a contract before you sign it. Roddenberry later sent him a long letter (reproduced in _ **Star Trek: The Real Story** _ by Bob Justman and Herb Solow) recalling a conversation they had had on the topic long before the show debuted, in an attempt to jog Courage’s memory. It irks me that such allegations surfaced only after Roddenberry died and was no longer able to defend himself. As for the sequence of events leading up to the “dismissal” of the vocalist … well, my memories from watching _ **TOS** _ before it was remastered are somewhat different. I remember every version of the theme, and am pretty sure she was heard only in the third season, after the titles were reshot (in blue instead of yellow), though I can no longer find the original version of the second year’s theme on-line. Until I can come up with it, I’ll admit to the possibility that I _might_ be wrong. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-know-had-lyrics/670574/20 "2013-10-07T17:23:11Z")
Another one of my favorite TV themes with, uhm, lyrics: :rolleyes: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/qTQ0YdUbeDw/hqdefault.jpg "Combat TV entire themes") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTQ0YdUbeDw) > **[Combat Theme Song](http://www.jodavidsmeyer.com/combat/episodes/combat_theme_song.htm)** > > COMBAT! Theme song [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-know-had-lyrics/670574.md?page=2)