If you’re like me, you grew up watching TV shows in a time where there was not a “Skip Intro” button. We had to watch through a torturous 30 second title sequence, thematic music over some footage from the show itself or footage filmed just for the promotional introductions.
As I got a bit older, I paid more attention to the music playing in the background of each TV show intro I watched. And let me tell you, sometimes the music says things that are so true for the show, and sometimes they give off the vibe of the show right away!
I think that paying attention to theme songs kind of became a game for me because I would try to make connections between the lyrics and the show itself. It was a pivotal moment for me when I realized that for some TV shows, my experience of watching it would only be complete if I did not skip the intro.
Here are a few theme songs that perfectly encapsulate the show and make it even better:
“FRIENDS”
If I started singing just the simple phrase “I’ll be there for you,” you would know that I was singing the theme song from “Friends.”
But what you may not know is that this song was composed specifically for the show. The show’s creators Kevin S. Bright, Marta Kauffman and David Crane were looking for the perfect theme song that would match the melody to R.E.M’s 1987 “It’s the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” because tempo-wise that was the beat they wanted for the show. What helped in the creation of the theme song is the fact that the writers of the song and producers of the show loved the band The Rembrandts and did not want just a jingle writer to write the song, it had to be them.
The trio found the opportunity to join the band The Rembrandts with composer Michael Skloff and lyricist Allee Willis to create the final product we know and love.
“So no one told you life was gonna be this way
Your job’s a joke, you’re broke
Your love life’s DOA
It’s like you’re always stuck in second gear
When it hasn’t been your day, your week, your month
Or even your year, but
I’ll be there for you
(When the rain starts to pour)
I’ll be there for you
(Like I’ve been there before)
I’ll be there for you
(‘Cause you’re there for me too)”
When analyzing the meaning of the lyrics, we see that it is describing a moment in our lives when things start to get a bit hard and serious (a.k.a. our 20s). Your job won’t care much for you, your love life is a mess, and all you have is family and friends.
I can approve of this song and its message because I am going through my 20s now and I see how hard it was for the characters in some situations that are similar to what I am going through. Without family and friends, the 20s are very rough on people.
The song makes a great statement of what our lives look like going into adulthood and fits the theme of “Friends” perfectly.
“PRETTY LITTLE LIARS”
The theme song for “Pretty Little Liars” (PLL) most definitely marked my pre-teen years. It is simply iconic when mixed with the TV show.
Ashley Benson (who portrays Hannah Marin in the show) was the one who brought the song “Secret” by The Pierces to the other cast members’ attention. She showed it to the other girls (Troian Belissario, Lucy Hale, Shay Mitchell, and Sasha Pieterse) over dinner on a night out. Benson was determined to show the song to showrunner I. Marlene King and make it the theme song for PLL.
“Got a secret
Can you keep it?
Swear this one you’ll save
Better lock it, in your pocket
Taking this one to the grave
If I show you then I know you
Won’t tell what I said
‘Cause two can keep a secret
If one of them is dead?”
For all who have not watched the series, these eerie lyrics match perfectly with the vibe of the show, as it talks about a girl that went missing and various stalkers throughout the show going after her four best friends.
“FULL HOUSE”
“Full House,” just like “Friends,” had its theme song made perfectly for it. The 90s comedy TV show’s theme song, “Everywhere You Look,” was sung and co-written by Jesse Frederick (who also participated in other ABC shows’ theme songs, such as “Family Matters,” “Perfect Strangers” and “Step by Step”). The other co-writer for “Everywhere You Look” was musician Bennett Salvay.
“(Ahhh, ahhh, ahhh, ahhh)
Whatever happened to predictability.
The milkman, the paperboy, evening tv?
How did I get to living here?
Somebody tell me please!
This old world’s confusing me.
With clouds as mean as you’ve ever seen
Ain’t a bird who knows your tune.
Then a little voice inside you Whispers,
Kid don’t sell your dreams, so soon
Everywhere you look, everywhere you go
There’s a heart (There’s a heart), a hand to hold onto.
Everywhere you look, everywhere you go
There’s a place, of Somebody who needs you
Everywhere you look.
When you’re lost out there and you’re all alone,
A light is waiting to carry you home.
Everywhere you look.
Everywhere you look.
(Chip-a-dee-ba-ba-dow)”
This song talks about everyday life, the small things we often don’t pay much attention to and the people that surround us. This song perfectly describes that no matter what happens someone will always be there to help you, either family or friends, which are bigger themes within the show.
“GILMORE GIRLS”
Where the show leads, I will totally follow! “Gilmore Girls” could not be left out of this list when we talk about perfect theme songs.
“Where You Lead”, just like PLL’s theme song, was not made specifically for the show. The song by Carole King first came out on her 1971 album “Tapestry,” but it was revamped by King and her own daughter Louise Goffin in 2000 just for the show.
Goffin told BuzzFeed that before embodying the mother-daughter vibes that makes “Gilmore Girls” be “Gilmore Girls,” her mother’s song was first and foremost “about a woman’s love for a man.”
The song was re-recorded when the show was only a pilot still. There was no certainty that the show would be picked up, but King was also feeling that the lyrics were outdated since it was an “all-for-a-man” type of lyrics.
“If you’re out on the road
Feeling lonely, and so cold
All you have to do is call my name
And I’ll be there on the next train
Where you lead, I will follow
Anywhere that you tell me to
If you need, you need me to be with you
I will follow where you lead.”
The whole meaning of this song is that one would be there and follow each other wherever life would take them. That is the true meaning of the TV show as well. Wherever Lorelai goes, Rory follows and wherever Rory goes, Lorelai follows. The perfect mother-daughter bond.
These TV show themes might make you think of others that have perfect theme songs as well. But if you never pay much attention to theme songs, it might be the time to rewatch and experience the full show– including the intro and the theme song!
