The Saga Begins
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| "The Saga Begins" | ||
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| Single by "Weird Al" Yankovic | ||
| from the album Running With Scissors | ||
| Released | June 24, 1999 | |
| Format | Digital download, CD | |
| Recorded | April 20, 1999 | |
| Genre | Comedy | |
| Length | 5:27 | |
| Label | Volcano | |
| Writer(s) | Don McLean, "Weird Al" Yankovic | |
| Producer(s) | "Weird Al" Yankovic | |
| "Weird Al" Yankovic singles chronology | ||
| The Night Santa Went Crazy (from the album Bad Hair Day) (1996) |
The Saga Begins (1999) |
It's All About The Pentiums (1999) |
"The Saga Begins" is a parody by "Weird Al" Yankovic, released from the 1999 album Running With Scissors. To the tune of "American Pie" by Don McLean, it recounts the plot of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, from Obi-Wan Kenobi's point of view. Yankovic gathered basically all the information he needed to write the song from Internet spoilers. (He did such an accurate job that, even after he attended an advance screening, he wound up making only very minor alterations.) McLean not only approved the song, but he has also since said that his children have played it so much that he has a tendency to accidentally sing Yankovic's lyrics when performing "American Pie" in concert. [1]
Contents |
[edit] Track Listing
The following tracks are on the single:
- "The Saga Begins" – 5:27
[edit] Music video
The video begins in a desert, supposedly Tatooine. Yankovic, dressed like Ewan McGregor's Kenobi, walks until he finds Darth Sidious playing the piano. Yankovic uses the Force to get a steel guitar, and in the second verse he reappears performing in a Mos Eisley cantina. In the last verse, he returns to the desert, and in the last chorus, numerous "Obi-Wans" sing as a group.
- Some Star Wars characters can be seen, like, Amidala and Mace Windu.
- The upper half of the pianist's face is always covered by the hood of the robe that he's wearing much like the Sith master Palpatine. When asked why, Al stated that, "They didn't want to scare small children," a reference to the playful bullying of Al's pianist, Rubén Valtierra, commonly used in his live shows.
[edit] Trivia
- The song was played frequently on Radio Disney and later released on Radio Disney Jams Volume 2. Radio Disney took issue with his line "Do you see him hitting on the queen?" and edited it out. Yankovic, who usually doesn't like to change lyrics to suit other's needs, provided Radio Disney with an updated version, having changed the words to "Do you see him talking to the queen?" He said that the alternate lyrics were preferable to the bad edit.
- According to Yankovic's official website, Lucas' reaction to first hearing the song was a "big, big smile."
- One of the very minor alterations was with the line that currently says "He's prob'ly gonna marry her someday," which originally was "I hear he's gonna marry her someday".
- Yankovic sings the line "...Flew his plane in and saved the day", but in the movie itself, Anakin Skywalker flies an N-1 Starfighter into the Droid Control Ship, which was not a plane, but a spacecraft.
[edit] External links
| “Weird Al” Yankovic |
|---|
| Band members |
| "Weird Al" Yankovic • Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz • Steve Jay • Jim West • Rubén Valtierra |
| Discography |
| Studio albums: "Weird Al" Yankovic (1983) • "Weird Al" Yankovic In 3-D (1984) • Dare To Be Stupid (1985) • Polka Party! (1986) • Even Worse (1988) • UHF (1989) • Off The Deep End (1992) • Alapalooza (1993) • Bad Hair Day (1996) • Running With Scissors (1999) • Poodle Hat (2003) • Straight Outta Lynwood (2006) |
| List of singles by "Weird Al" Yankovic • List of songs by "Weird Al" Yankovic • Complete discography |
| Filmography |
| Music videos • "Al TV" • The Compleat Al • UHF • "The Weird Al Show" • "Weird Al" Yankovic Live! |
| Related articles |
| Dr. Demento • Parody musicians • Comedy musicians |
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