# That Instrumental Movie or TV theme has LYRICS? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 31, 2019, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-instrumental-movie-or-tv-theme-has-lyrics/828722 "2019-01-31T14:01:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2019, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-instrumental-movie-or-tv-theme-has-lyrics/828722/41 "2019-02-01T12:54:22Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Another Alexander Courage theme written specifically because he’d been told “it should reflect the title of the show”: > > When I was co-hosting a radio show back in the '90s, I sang the Hawaii Five-O theme long before I knew there were at least two sets of genuine lyrics: > > \*It’s Hawaii Five-O, > It’s Hawaii Five- (It’s Hawaii Five-O)! > It’s Hawaii Five-O, > It’s Hawaii Fiiive-Ohhh! > Five-O, Five-O, Five-O, Five-O, Five-O! > Five-O, Five-O, Five-O, Five-O, Five-O! > Five-O, It’s Hawaii Five-Ohhhhhhh… \* > > I could have gone on a lot longer if the DJ hadn’t threatened to cut off my microphone. :o A friend of mine said that he heard on the air someone turning the Hawaii Five Oh theme into one for the then-running _Dick Cavett Show_. \*It’s little Dickie Cav- ettttt! He’s a lucky guy Little Dickie Cav–ettt! We think he’s High!\* ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2019, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-instrumental-movie-or-tv-theme-has-lyrics/828722/42 "2019-02-01T12:59:57Z")
> [@caligulathegod](#): > > It’s a dick move, but understandable. Imagine pouring all your energies and imagination into a project. You live it day and night and your entire career hinges upon the success of this thing. If it is a success, then you spend the next few years of your life devoted to it. Then you hire a musician who spends half an hour composing a tune and another 2 hours recording it and never even thinks about it again and he makes a fortune and has an income for life. No doubt it was unethical, but considering Hollywood accounting, Roddenberry wanted to make sure he got at least something out of it. An unsympathetic Roddenberry is quoted as saying, “Hey, I have to get some money somewhere. I’m sure not going to get it out of the profits of Star Trek.” “Half an hour composing a tune and another 2 hours recording it”. Got a cite for that? ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2019, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-instrumental-movie-or-tv-theme-has-lyrics/828722/43 "2019-02-01T13:47:31Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > [You’re the one with the error.](https://animesuperhero.com/forums/threads/cartoon-character-catchphrases-sayings.4519481/#post-69525061) 😃 That’s just some guy on a message board who doesn’t seem to know that “That’s all, folks” was established as the sign off catchphrase before Porky was introduced as a character, and was frequently uttered without a stammer in earlier shorts. There were some variations, but here it is straight from the hors - er - pig’s mouth: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/gBzJGckMYO4/hqdefault.jpg "Porky Pig Cartoon Ending "That's All Folks!"") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBzJGckMYO4) ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-instrumental-movie-or-tv-theme-has-lyrics/828722/45 "2019-02-14T15:38:21Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > That’s just some guy on a message board who doesn’t seem to know that “That’s all, folks” was established as the sign off catchphrase before Porky was introduced as a character, and was frequently uttered without a stammer in earlier shorts. As pointed in the link, there’s no reason for Porky to stammer something so unrelated to what he’s trying to say. > [@](#): > I hear “th” sounds, not “ub” sounds. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-instrumental-movie-or-tv-theme-has-lyrics/828722/46 "2019-02-14T16:32:50Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > As pointed in the link, there’s no reason for Porky to stammer something so unrelated to what he’s trying to say.I hear “th” sounds, not “ub” sounds. It’s right in line with his stammer. Porky always, or at least nearly always, peppered his stammers with something like “uh-buh” or “eh-buh” or “ee-muh”, never just a repetition of the initial consonant. Listen to this collage of Porky lines: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/QQ4XWNnzQas/hqdefault.jpg "Porky Pig Collage 1/2") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQ4XWNnzQas) ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-instrumental-movie-or-tv-theme-has-lyrics/828722/47 "2019-02-14T16:45:43Z")
[Still not hearing any “ub” sounds.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBzJGckMYO4) Or “buh” or “muh” sounds, for that matter. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-instrumental-movie-or-tv-theme-has-lyrics/828722/48 "2019-02-14T16:53:21Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > never just a repetition of the initial consonant. [“Never”?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EK4j88PvLyg) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-instrumental-movie-or-tv-theme-has-lyrics/828722/49 "2019-02-14T16:57:26Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > [“Never”?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EK4j88PvLyg) That’s still peppered with “ibba-duhs” ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-instrumental-movie-or-tv-theme-has-lyrics/828722/50 "2019-02-14T17:06:56Z")
“Peppered”? I hear “Oh, son of a bi-bi…uh, son of a bi-bi…son of a bibiba - gun.” ---
**Author:** ![Temporary\_Name](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@Temporary\_Name](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Temporary_Name)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-instrumental-movie-or-tv-theme-has-lyrics/828722/51 "2019-02-14T17:39:16Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > I’ll bet there’s a sizable amount of people who didn’t see the movie MASH or play piano who were surprised to find the theme has lyrics I was fairly certain the lyrics were in the movie (but not the TV show - this is Prime Time for mercy’s sake!). I also seem to recall the song was performed on guitar (although most sheet music I see these days is written in a grand staff with guitar chords above and lyrics between bass and treble clefs). In fact, wasn’t the subject of the song a major plot point of the movie? The Painless Pole wanted to die because he couldn’t . . . . achieve his former glories, and saw no point to life after that bitter disappointment. The doctors, knowing the condition was temporary, arranged a send off complete with soothing music (the theme song) … then knocked him out for a medically induced snooze after which he awoke with- well, a renewed sense of well being and . . . functionality. And upon review, I see that is exactly what you were saying. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-instrumental-movie-or-tv-theme-has-lyrics/828722/52 "2019-02-14T18:13:31Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > “Peppered”? I hear “Oh, son of a bi-bi…uh, son of a bi-bi…son of a bibiba - gun.” I hear “Son of a buh-dit dit, son of a buh-dit dit, son of a buh-dit buh-dit buh-dit uh, gun” with brief pauses between the pairs of "dit"s. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-instrumental-movie-or-tv-theme-has-lyrics/828722/53 "2019-02-14T18:34:17Z")
You also hear “Ubadee, ubadah, ubadee, ubada” where there aren’t any. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2019, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-instrumental-movie-or-tv-theme-has-lyrics/828722/54 "2019-02-15T10:53:25Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > …“Ubadee, ubadah, ubadee, ubadah”… > [@Doug\_K](#): > > …“uh-buh” or “eh-buh” or “ee-muh”… > [@Skywatcher](#): > > …“ub” or “buh” or “muh”… > [@Doug\_K](#): > > “ibba-duhs” > [@Skywatcher](#): > > “Oh, son of a bi-bi…uh, son of a bi-bi…son of a bibiba…” > [@Doug\_K](#): > > …"Son of a buh-dit dit, son of a buh-dit dit, son of a buh-dit buh-dit buh-dit uh…"dit"s. > [@Skywatcher](#): > > …“Ubadee, ubadah, ubadee, ubada”… I love the Dope. mmm ---
**Author:** ![tiescore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@tiescore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiescore)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2019, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-instrumental-movie-or-tv-theme-has-lyrics/828722/55 "2019-03-18T21:25:07Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > I’ll bet there’s a sizable amount of people who didn’t see the movie MASH or play piano who were surprised to find the theme has lyrics LOL, I was singing along to it at work and a younger co-worker was shocked to find out, a) the MASH theme had lyrics, b) it was a movie before it was a show and c) it was a book before it was a movie. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-instrumental-movie-or-tv-theme-has-lyrics/828722.md?page=2)