- "I always try to have the lead-off single from my albums be a parody of some major pop culture event, and since I had a sneaking suspicion that people just MIGHT be interested in a new Star Wars movie, I decided to plan the release of my album around the release of The Phantom Menace... and cross my fingers."
- ―"Weird Al" Yankovic
"The Saga Begins" is a parody of the Don McLean song "American Pie" that tells the story of The Phantom Menace from Obi-Wan Kenobi's point of view. The song is sung by "Weird Al" Yankovic and appears among the bonus features on the 2011 Blu-ray release of the complete saga, and on the Radio Disney Jams, Vol. 2 CD.
Among Star Wars fans, Yankovic is also known for his Star Wars–themed song parody "Yoda," as well as a scene in the video of his hit single "White & Nerdy" that shows him making a back-alley purchase of a bootlegged VHS of The Star Wars Holiday Special.
Conception and development[]
"The Saga Begins" was recorded on April 20, 1999 by Volcano Records and was released on the album Running with Scissors on June 27, 1999. After getting Don McLean's permission to parody "American Pie" in 1998, Al began composing the song, given the lead time involving in creating albums forced the song to be ready by March 1999—two months before The Phantom Menace's release. Lucasfilm declined Yankovic a look at the script due to the high secrecy of the film, so the musician had to search "all the leaked info I could about the movie from all the various Star Wars websites (TheForce.net was particularly helpful), and was able to piece together the basic plot of the movie."[1] The final mix of the song was held until after Yankovic had seen an advance charity screening of the film.
Lyrics[]
A long, long time ago
In a galaxy far away
Naboo was under an attack
And I thought me and Qui-Gon Jinn
Could talk the Federation into
Maybe cutting them a little slack
But their response, it didn't thrill us
They locked the doors and tried to kill us
We escaped from that gas
And met Jar Jar and Boss Nass
We took a bongo from the scene
And we went to Theed to see the Queen
We all wound up on Tatooine
That's where we found this boy
Oh my, my, this here Anakin guy
May be Vader someday later, now he's just a small fry
And he left his home and kissed his mommy goodbye
Sayin', "Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi"
"Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi"
Did you know this junkyard slave
Isn't even old enough to shave?
But he can use the Force, they say
Ah, do you see him hitting on the queen
Though he's just nine and she's fourteen?
Yeah, he's probably gonna marry her someday
Well, I know he built C-3PO
And I've heard how fast his pod can go
And we were broke, it's true
So we made a wager or two
Ooh, he was a prepubescent flyin' ace
And the minute Jabba started off that race
Well, I knew who would win first place
Oh yes, it was our boy
We started singin'
My, my, this here Anakin guy
May be Vader someday later, now he's just a small fry
And he left his home and kissed his mommy goodbye
Sayin', "Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi"
"Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi"
Now we finally got to Coruscant
The Jedi Council we knew would want
To see how good the boy could be
So we took him there and we told the tale
How his midi-chlorians were off the scale
And he might fulfill that prophecy
Oh, the Council was impressed, of course
Could he bring balance to the Force?
They interviewed the kid
Oh, training they forbid
Because Yoda sensed in him much fear
And Qui-Gon said, "Now, listen here
Just stick it in your pointy ear
I still will teach this boy"
He was singin'
My, my, this here Anakin guy
May be Vader someday later, now he's just a small fry
And he left his home and kissed his mommy goodbye
Sayin', "Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi"
"Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi"
We caught a ride back to Naboo
Cause Queen Amidala wanted to
I frankly would've liked to stay
We all fought in that epic war
And it wasn't long at all before
Little hotshot flew his plane and saved the day
And in the end, some Gungans died
Some ships blew up and some pilots fried
A lot of folks were croakin'
The battle droids were broken
And the Jedi I admire most
Met up with Darth Maul and now he's toast
But I'm still here and he's a ghost
I guess I'll train this boy
And I was singin'
My, my, this here Anakin guy
May be Vader someday later, now he's just a small fry
And he left his home and kissed his mommy goodbye
Sayin', "Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi"
"Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi"
We were singin'
My, my, this here Anakin guy
May be Vader someday later, now he's just a small fry
And he left his home and kissed his mommy goodbye
Sayin', "Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi"
Accuracy[]
The lyrics are surprisingly accurate even though the song was released before the movie. According to Yankovic, everything was gleaned through Internet spoilers. Yankovic paid $500 to view an advance screening after writing the song, but most of his lyrics were correct, so he made minor changes; the only major change he had to make after the screening of The Phantom Menace was that Anakin did not tell Amidala that he was going to marry her, like Yankovic originally thought.
The main inaccuracy is that Obi-Wan stayed at the queen's royal starship after their arrival on Tatooine, rather than going with Qui-Gon and Padmé to search for a new part for the ship. Thus, he didn't witness the podrace firsthand, and didn't meet Anakin until he arrived at the starship with the rest of the group.
Music video[]
A group of Als at the end of the video
The video begins in a desert, supposedly on the planet Tatooine. Yankovic, dressed like Ewan McGregor's Kenobi, walks until he finds Darth Sidious playing the piano. Yankovic uses the Force to pick up a steel guitar, and in the second verse he reappears performing in a Mos Eisley cantina look-alike where he leads a band likewise dressed as Jedi. In the last verse, he returns to the desert, and in the last chorus, an entire crowd of "Obi-Wans" is shown singing, a possible reference to the Clone Wars that follow. Various Star Wars characters can be seen, such as Yoda, Amidala and Mace Windu, dancing strangely, although Yoda does not move. The upper half of the pianist's face is always covered by the hood of the robe that he is wearing much like the Sith Lord Darth Sidious. 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.
Sources[]
"Star Wars Rocks!" — Star Wars Insider 40
Weird Al: The Saga Begins... on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)- Star Wars Insider 69
- "Weird Al" -- Nerdy Something on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
- 5 Great Star Wars Novelty Songs Plus a Q&A with the Master, "Weird Al" Yankovic on StarWars.com (backup link)
- The Star Wars Show: "Weird Al" Yankovic Interview, New Rogue One Vehicle Revealed, and More | The Star Wars Show on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link)
- How to Throw a Star Wars Birthday Party That Will Be Long-Remembered on StarWars.com (backup link)
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Interview with 'Weird Al' Yankovic - Parody Artist and Star Wars Super-Fan on www.theforce.net (2000) (archived from the original on June 3, 2023)
External links[]
The 44th issue of Star Wars: The Official Magazine referenced his song title "I Think I'm a Clone Now," though the song itself is not about Star Wars.
- "The Saga Begins" official video on the alyankovic YouTube channel (backup link)
- 'Weird Al' Yankovic at the Internet Movie Database
- The Saga Begins on Wikipedia
- The Weird Al Wiki
- Interview with 'Weird Al' Yankovic - Parody Artist and Star Wars Super-Fan on www.theforce.net (2000) (archived from the original on June 3, 2023)
