In West Philidelphia I was born and raised, on the playground is where I spent most of my days.
Hopefully you: 1. Knew I wasn’t talking about myself but “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air,” 2. Read that line in Will Smith’s raspy voice and 3. Have temporarily been brought back to the innocence of your childhood.
Yes, television shows we grew up with are significant due to their characters, gentle comedy and story lines with a clear moral to take away. But a stand out factor of any successful, nostalgic television show is it’s theme song. And the theme song of a television show is where we harbor a lot of the memories of our past. The best way for me to elaborate on this is to use stand out examples:
“I don’t sweat, I glisten.” Unless you’re a die hard fan, you probably wouldn’t know where this quote comes from. But if I played the first two seconds of this video, you would instantly know it as the theme song from “Boy Meets World.” I won’t deny image of love came from the epic love story that is Cory and Topanga, and that Mr. Feeny taught me the most valuable lessons throughout my youth. But it’s upon hearing each of the “Boy Meets World” theme songs thatinstantly trigger our recollection of the timeless show.
Although the theme song for this show changed multiple times, each one is just as nostalgic. And the transformation in theme song represents the transformation in characters. We watched Cory, Topanga, Eric and Shawn grow up on screen and as we watched them mature year after year, we heard the theme song follow their maturation as well.
The ability to see into the future? Psh, that can’t be possible. At least that’s what I thought until “That’s so Raven” came to Disney Channel in 2003. Every episode, we followed Raven through vision after vision and laughed at her multiple attempts to prevent her visions from coming true. Now, the comedy of this show went a step above most Disney Channel or Nickelodeon shows of the time. But looking back, what I remember most about this show is the theme song. Unlike “Boy Meets World,” the aspect of this theme song that stands out to me is the lyrics and the visuals. The lyrics of “That’s so Raven” accurately described her situation and gave a synopsis of the show all while providing us, the viewers, with a chance for a few laughs with the video clips that accompanied the song.
Raven never got out of an episode without being punished in some sort. And as kids her age or younger than her, we related to her inevitable punishment. The lyrics hit home: “I try to save a situation then I end up misbehaving.” All kids struggle with trying to do the right thing and ultimately getting in trouble for it which is what Raven experienced in every episode. It was easy to relate to her struggles and every time that song is played, you can’t help but develop a soft spot for this teenager who’s just trying to do the right thing.
Whenever I hear the “Boy Meets World” theme song, I can’t help but smile and bob my head; I can still recite every word of “That’s so Raven”s theme song ten years later. There’s a sense of timelessness in every theme song that become an essential part of our childhood. So don’t let go of those memories that you experienced by watching some of your favorite television shows. They’re significant and hold a place in shaping who you are today.
You got it dude 