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 |
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| 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 | "Weird Al" Yankovic | ||||
| "Weird Al" Yankovic singles chronology | |||||
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| Running with Scissors track listing | |||||
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"The Saga Begins" is a parody by "Weird Al" Yankovic of "American Pie" by Don McLean, released from the 1999 album Running With Scissors.
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[edit] History
Set to the tune of "American Pie," "The Saga Begins" recounts the plot of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, from Obi-Wan Kenobi's point of view. Yankovic gathered most of the information he needed to write the song from Internet spoilers. He did such an accurate job that he was able to pronounce Coruscant correctly, and, even after an advance screening, he ended up making only very minor alterations. McLean not only approved the song but also has said since 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] According to Yankovic's official website, George Lucas' reaction to first hearing the song was a "big, big smile."
Fans have pointed out that there is an incongruence between the the song and the events of the movie. In the song, the singer, who is intended to be Obi-Wan Kenobi, reports in detail the events of the initial encounter with Anakin Skywalker and the pod race. In the film, Obi Wan remained on their ship for the extent of these events and did not witness any of them.
[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 Obi-Wan Kenobi as a Padawan, 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-Wan" clones sing as a group.
- Some Star Wars characters can be seen, such as Amidala, Mace Windu, and Yoda.
- 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 Lord Darth Sidious. When asked why, Al stated that, "They didn't want to scare small children," a reference to the playful teasing of Al's pianist, Rubén Valtierra, commonly used in his live shows.
[edit] Radio edit
- 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 physically cut it out (so that the song skipped slightly). 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.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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