The Saga Begins

"The Saga Begins"
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, Folk rock
Length	5:27
Label	Volcano
Producer	"Weird Al" Yankovic
"Weird Al" Yankovic singles chronology
"The Night Santa Went Crazy" (1996) "The Saga Begins" (1999) "It's All About the Pentiums" (1999)
Running with Scissors track listing "The Saga Begins" "My Baby's in Love with Eddie Vedder" "Pretty Fly for a Rabbi" "The Weird Al Show Theme" "Jerry Springer" "Germs" "Polka Power!" "Your Horoscope for Today" "It's All About the Pentiums" "Truck Drivin' Song" "Grapefruit Diet" "Albuquerque"

"The Saga Begins" is a parody by "Weird Al" Yankovic of "American Pie" by Don McLean, released from the 1999 album Running with Scissors, and later appearing on the compilation album entitled The Saga Begins. The title derives from a tagline that appeared in teaser trailers and the film poster for Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace: "Every saga has a beginning".

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. Although LucasFilm declined a request for an advance screening, Yankovic eventually attended a costly pre-screening for charity. He did such an accurate job that after the pre-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. According to Yankovic's official website, Lucasfilms' official response to the song was, "You should've seen the smile on George Lucas' face." This is the second Star Wars song Weird Al has created, with the first being Yoda.

Track listing

The following tracks are on the single:

1. "The Saga Begins" – 5:27

Music video

Yankovic and Rubén Valtierra in the music video.

The video begins in a desert, presumably on the planet Tatooine. Yankovic, dressed like Obi-Wan Kenobi [Ewan McGregor] as a Padawan, walks until he comes across Darth Sidious playing the piano. Yankovic uses the Force to get a resonator 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 (played by Al's cousin, Tammy), 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, Yankovic stated that, "They didn't want to scare small children," a reference to the playful teasing of Yankovic's pianist, Rubén Valtierra, commonly used in his live shows.
• The music video was shot just after Yankovic had received LASIK surgery, but before he allowed his hair to grow long again.

Yankovic performing the song in Auckland, New Zealand on March 10, 2007.

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 removed it (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.

External links

• "Weird Al's" Official Page
• Al's Official MySpace Page
• Echo Station