# Why does the Star Wars theme make me happy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 15, 2003, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-star-wars-theme-make-me-happy/168922 "2003-04-15T18:48:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Merla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Merla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merla)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2003, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-star-wars-theme-make-me-happy/168922/1 "2003-04-15T18:48:21Z")
I’d put this in MPSIMS, but I guess it is entertainment related, so here it goes. Confession of a geek: I love Star Wars. Not the new ones because they are not good, but the original trilogy. And I am a girl- this is very rare, I’ve heard, that I like it so much. I have almost the whole trilogy memorized. I have two posters in my room. I just love it. Yet this doesn’t quite describe why when I hear any snippet of the song, or even the 20th century fox theme (because it preludes the SW theme) I feel inixplicably and extremely happy. I just sort of feel this surge of happiness. I must be insane. So, that’s that. Merla- who feels stupid for confessing her obsession :smack: :o ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2003, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-star-wars-theme-make-me-happy/168922/2 "2003-04-15T19:22:02Z")
Well, I’m a girl, and I eat, sleep and BREATH SW. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2003, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-star-wars-theme-make-me-happy/168922/3 "2003-04-15T19:36:44Z")
The main theme is cool, but my favorite has always been the Old Republic theme… You know, the music which plays during the award ceremony at the end of the first one. It always makes me feel nostalgic for times gone by, even when I was _in_ the times I’m supposed to get nostalgic for. ---
**Author:** ![BuckleberryFerry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5f9b8f/32.png) [@BuckleberryFerry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BuckleberryFerry)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2003, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-star-wars-theme-make-me-happy/168922/4 "2003-04-15T19:53:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Chronos \* > \*\*The main theme is cool, but my favorite has always been the Old Republic theme… You know, the music which plays during the award ceremony at the end of the first one. It always makes me feel nostalgic for times gone by, even when I was _in_ the times I’m supposed to get nostalgic for. \*\* \>points like a madwoman\< YES!! When asked to ‘sing’ the SW theme, that’s what I usually come up with! :hugs all SW geeks: EMBRACE THE GEEK WITHIN! ---
**Author:** ![Tanaqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@Tanaqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tanaqui)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2003, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-star-wars-theme-make-me-happy/168922/5 "2003-04-15T21:28:16Z")
It makes me feel happy too! Maybe it’s because most of us first watched Star Wars when we were young and it brings back a wave of nostalgia flavored memories. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2003, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-star-wars-theme-make-me-happy/168922/6 "2003-04-15T22:40:19Z")
I still have the original two record album soundtrack purchased in 1977 complete with it’s one page liner notes sheet. My favorite piece is **The Princess Appears** side three track two, this is the music where Luke watches the twin sunset and Princess Leia appears as the hologram message. Haunting. ---
**Author:** ![Monstre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2003, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-star-wars-theme-make-me-happy/168922/7 "2003-04-15T22:54:57Z")
> [@](#): > > from _Merla_ > And I am a girl- this is very rare, I’ve heard Actually, there are lots of girls around, so it’s not so rare to be one… 😃 The Star Wars music is truly good stuff – lots of good themes, from the main theme, to the Darth Vader theme, to the others. In fact, the music from the new movies is pretty good, too. The Duel of the Fates music is good, as is the love theme that plays in Clones whenever Anakin and Padme are having a tender (ack) moment. And if loving the Star Wars trilogy and its music makes you insane, then so be it – join the club! ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2003, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-star-wars-theme-make-me-happy/168922/8 "2003-04-15T23:04:33Z")
Girls… who… like… Star Wars… must… flirt… ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2003, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-star-wars-theme-make-me-happy/168922/9 "2003-04-15T23:28:23Z")
I like the song so much that it’s my cellphone ringtone. I am such a geek. ---
**Author:** ![Second\_Star\_to\_the\_Right](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3bc359/32.png) [@Second\_Star\_to\_the\_Right](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Second_Star_to_the_Right)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2003, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-star-wars-theme-make-me-happy/168922/10 "2003-04-15T23:57:27Z")
The main theme makes me happy, too. So I must be insane as well. 🙂 It’s almost…triumphant. And uplifting. Star Wars has a hell of a soundtrack! I think the music is the only good thing to come out of the prequels. I love the Anakin/Padme love theme from Clones(“Across the Stars”)- it’s a wonderful piece of music, and it almost tells the love story better than the movie does. Wow, I AM a dork! ---
**Author:** ![Merla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Merla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merla)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2003, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-star-wars-theme-make-me-happy/168922/11 "2003-04-16T00:01:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mahaloth \* > \*\*I’d just like to point out that I am nominating Merla for my favorite new poster of late. I don’t know why, but I always find her posts fun. > \*\* _Dances around the room_ Yaaaayyyyyyy! And again, YAYYYYY, I’m not crazy! See, I thought I was, since I was born in Feb 1985 I wasn’t even alive when SW first came out. Not even close. I just adore SW! Sigh… I even keep the SW posters right above my bed so I can see them all the time… see? (I apoligize for even OWNING that episode II poster, but I got it as a gift, and it’s not too bad.) [http://www.angelfire.com/film/merla/firstview.jpg](http://www.angelfire.com/film/merla/firstview.jpg) Anyhoo… thanks for the reassurance that I’m not bonkers. Well, not over SW, anyways. Merla ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2003, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-star-wars-theme-make-me-happy/168922/12 "2003-04-16T00:20:18Z")
I don’t remember much from music class in high school. In fact, I know very little about music at all. However, I do recall that my music teacher at the time used the _Star Wars_ theme as an example of an interval. He said it opens with a fifth instead of a fourth, when either choice would have been good. (Whether it’s between notes 2 and 3, or between notes 3 and 4, I can’t recall.) He went on to say that the composer chose a fifth because it’s more open, and gives you the feeling of outer space. I still don’t know if this is a reasonable conclusion, or just something he made up, but it sure seems like the latter. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2003, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-star-wars-theme-make-me-happy/168922/13 "2003-04-16T02:08:21Z")
Mahaloth > [@](#): > > Anyway, I also feel good everytime I hear the 20th century Fox song. I think it is a very good lead in for pulling the audience into a new world, even if it isn’t a fantasy movie. The only thing that has equaled it is the New Line Cinema logo swirling together at the beginning of the Lord of the Rings movies. The music that plays with that moment also pulls me right in. I’ve always been partial to the old-school Tri-Star unicorn running at the screen…unless that sounds gay. In which case it is a far second to the “A Jerry Bruckheimer Production” lightning bolt. As for the Star Wars theme, I think that it is a combination of nostalgia mixed with anticipation what for (until recently) has been a pretty good story that will hold your attention for the next 2 hours. ---
**Author:** ![BuckleberryFerry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5f9b8f/32.png) [@BuckleberryFerry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BuckleberryFerry)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2003, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-star-wars-theme-make-me-happy/168922/14 "2003-04-16T02:16:07Z")
**Merla** , I have that, too! And I, too, got it as a gift! I wish I had that SW:ROTJ poster, though. It is ROTJ, right? I’m going by the Emperor’s appearance and Leia’s hairstyle… \>hug\< You’re not bonkers! _I’m_ bonkers–I know the name of Luke’s son, and I think he’s only made a few brief appearances in the literature. **MaxTheVool** – ^\_~ Hi there! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Second\_Star\_to\_the\_Right](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3bc359/32.png) [@Second\_Star\_to\_the\_Right](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Second_Star_to_the_Right)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2003, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-star-wars-theme-make-me-happy/168922/15 "2003-04-16T02:42:22Z")
Heh. I have that same poster. It’s actually the poster for the special edition of A New Hope. The one for ROTJ has Luke and Vader dueling with lightsabers, IIRC. Luke had a son?? I have fallen behind in my reading… ---
**Author:** ![BuckleberryFerry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5f9b8f/32.png) [@BuckleberryFerry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BuckleberryFerry)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2003, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-star-wars-theme-make-me-happy/168922/16 "2003-04-16T02:52:26Z")
Mmhmm, SSTTR. read ==\> Luke marries Mara Jade and they have a son named Ben, after ObiWan. Leia and Han get married and have twins, Jacen and Jaina, and a son, Anakin. See, I new ROTJ was Vader and Luke \>swoon @ Luke\<, but the Emperor threw me off on that one…hrmmm ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2003, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-star-wars-theme-make-me-happy/168922/17 "2003-04-16T03:00:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Chronos \* > \*\*The main theme is cool, but my favorite has always been the Old Republic theme… You know, the music which plays during the award ceremony at the end of the first one. It always makes me feel nostalgic for times gone by, even when I was _in_ the times I’m supposed to get nostalgic for. \*\* YES!!! I love that one! And then “Across the Stars”, Anakin’s and Padme’s theme. I LOVE that piece. It’s gorgeous. It’s so sad, but so deep and romantic. The SW theme does more than make me happy. It gives me goosebumps and makes me want to run around the room and leap up and scream “YEAH!” It’s just one of those pieces that does that to you. SW music also holds a special place in my heart, because it was one of the few things that made me feel good when I was going through a major depression, back when I was 18 (before I was diagnosed OCD). Just hearing it makes me feel good. I love the Cantina band too. Lucas said he wanted something like futuristic alien meets Benny Goodman. Damn straight. Of course, you know what the name of it is, in the SW universe? Not swing. Jizz wailing. I shit you not. That’s a great poster, but my favorite is the one from TESB. I lovedd Episode II. (Hey, I even love Episode I AND Jar Jar Binks!) The music and the COSTUMES were the best parts, though. I would love to have Padme’s wedding gown recreated if I ever got married. It was very Edwardian influenced. I think John Williams will one day be included among the greatest composers of the 20th/21rst century. Just because he writes film scores rather than symphonies doesn’t matter. The music itself tells a story. The man is a friggin genius. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2003, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-star-wars-theme-make-me-happy/168922/18 "2003-04-16T03:07:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Icerigger \* > \*\*I still have the original two record album soundtrack purchased in 1977 complete with it’s one page liner notes sheet. My favorite piece is **The Princess Appears** side > three track two, this is the music where Luke watches the twin sunset and Princess Leia appears as the hologram message. Haunting. \*\* The twin sunset one is called “Binary Sunset”, I believe. It is a beautiful piece. ---
**Author:** ![Monstre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2003, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-star-wars-theme-make-me-happy/168922/19 "2003-04-16T03:13:39Z")
**Guin** : You’re right – John Williams does some excellent composing. And composing to fit a film is probably just as complex, if not more so – having to fit it to the action, the timing, the themes, etc. Brilliant stuff. **Merla** – I noticed that the picture you linked to your room (for view of the posters) also has a keyboard beside the bed. Do you play? (Just a curious Pianist Monstre who wants to know 🙂 ) ---
**Author:** ![Kallisti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f0a364/32.png) [@Kallisti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kallisti)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2003, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-star-wars-theme-make-me-happy/168922/20 "2003-04-16T04:20:47Z")
When I hear the Star Wars fanfare, I feel like God is in my corner, the Force is with me, we are all fighting on the side of GOOD and we WILL WIN! I love it that a large number of Brits identify themselves as Jedi when asked about religion. I knew I wasn’t the only one. I first saw Star Wars when I was 16. I imprinted spiritually on the idea of being a Jedi, and went about pursuing every art that would allow me to be as close to a Jedi as possible. When I started studying Eastern religions and zen, a lot more of it made sense. I am much in favor of more Jedi women. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-star-wars-theme-make-me-happy/168922.md?page=2)