If you close your eyes and think of Only Fools and Horses, you probably hear that upbeat, "Hooky Street" saxophone or the iconic cockney rhyming slang of the opening credits. But for a specific subset of the British public, there's a different melody playing. It involves a very specific, somewhat haunting phrase: around the lake.
Actually, if we're being honest, most people get the Only Fools and Horses lyrics wrong. It's not just about the words; it's about the fact that there are two completely different songs. Most viewers are familiar with John Sullivan singing about being a "long-distance runner" or a "trader." Yet, the "around the lake" mystery stems from the original Series 1 music composed by Ronnie Hazlehurst.
It was a different vibe. No lyrics. Just a moody, instrumental piece that felt more like a 1970s detective drama than a sitcom about two brothers selling faulty suitcases in Peckham.
The Mystery of the Around the Lake Only Fools and Horses Lyrics
Wait. If the original theme was instrumental, where did the around the lake Only Fools and Horses lyrics come from?
This is where the Mandela Effect kicks in for a lot of fans. You’ve likely seen people on forums or Twitter insisting they remember lyrics about a lake during the credits. Let’s clear the air. There are no lyrics about a lake in either the opening or closing themes of the show.
The confusion usually boils down to one of two things.
First, the actual lyrics of the "Hooky Street" theme (the one we all love) are often misheard. When John Sullivan sings "But it's better than working for a living," some people's brains fill in the gaps with phonetic nonsense that sounds like "around the lake." It’s a classic case of a mondegreen—a misheard song lyric.
Second, there is a legendary "lost" verse.
John Sullivan, the creator and writer who also happened to be a decent singer, wrote the lyrics because he was annoyed that Hazlehurst’s original music didn't explain what the show was actually about. He wanted the audience to know these were "fly-pitchers." He recorded the vocals himself. In some early demos and extended versions used for cast recordings or soundtrack LPs, there are extra lines that never made it to the 50-second TV edit.
But even in those rare recordings, you won't find a lake. You’ll find references to "sticking to the pavements" and "playing the game."
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Why the Music Changed Everything
In 1981, the show almost died.
The first series didn't set the world on fire. It was okay. Not great. One of the major notes from the production team was that the theme music was too cold. It didn't match Del Boy’s energy.
Sullivan stepped in for Series 2. He insisted on the "Hooky Street" track. He basically had to beg the BBC to let him record it. He didn't think he was a professional singer, but he knew the rhythm of the cockney dialect better than anyone else.
The lyrics he wrote are a masterclass in economy.
- "God bless Hooky Street."
- "Trevor Baylis" (Wait, no, that’s a different era).
- "VCRs, DVDs" (Later edits).
The genius of the lyrics is that they change. If you watch the very late specials, the lyrics were updated to reflect the times. They moved from "colour TVs" to "DVDs" and "PS2s." It’s a living piece of comedy history.
But back to the "around the lake" thing.
The phrase actually appears in a different context within the BBC archives. There was a popular theory for a while that it was a snippet from a different Sullivan project that got conflated in the minds of viewers who grew up on a steady diet of 80s sitcoms. Shows like Dear John or Just Good Friends (both Sullivan hits) had very distinct, lyrical themes.
Decoding the Real Lyrics
If you’re looking for the actual words to the theme—the ones people think mention a lake—here is the real deal for the closing credits:
"We've got some half-price cracked ice and easter poles."
"Back of a lorry, receptacle."
"No questions asked, bits and pieces, odds and ends, stickers and sticks."
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It’s frantic. It’s messy. It’s exactly like Del’s garage.
The reason around the lake Only Fools and Horses lyrics became a search term is likely due to the phonetic similarity to "around the back" or "at the gate." In the closing theme, Sullivan sings "C'est la vie, c'est la tasse," which is his mangled French-English hybrid. To an untrained ear or someone watching on a grainy CRT television in 1984, "tasse" or "back" could easily morph into "lake."
The Ronnie Hazlehurst Era
We shouldn't dismiss the instrumental era too quickly.
If you watch the DVD releases or the repeats on GOLD, you’ll notice that the first series now has the Sullivan theme "pasted" over the original Hazlehurst music. The BBC did this to keep the branding consistent. However, if you find an original broadcast tape or a very early VHS, that moody, synth-heavy instrumental is there.
It feels lonely. It highlights the "Only" part of Only Fools and Horses.
When the lyrics were added, the show transformed from a gritty look at poverty into a celebration of the "dodgy dealer" lifestyle. The music gave us permission to laugh at the Trotters rather than just feel sorry for them.
Common Misconceptions and Fan Theories
People love a mystery.
Some fans swear there was a deleted scene in the episode "Watching the Girls Go By" where a different song was played. Others think the around the lake Only Fools and Horses lyrics come from a parody version performed by Chas & Dave.
Chas & Dave are a huge part of the show's DNA—they even performed "Margate" for the Jolly Boys' Outing—but they didn't write the theme. Sullivan did.
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Another theory? The "lake" refers to the boating lake in Regent's Park, which appears in several episodes. Fans might be blending visual memories of the Trotters walking "around the lake" with the rhythm of the music. It’s how the human brain works; it stitches together sensory inputs until we remember something that never actually happened.
Actionable Steps for the Super-Fan
If you’re trying to track down the "true" history of these lyrics or just want to win a pub quiz, here is what you need to do.
First, go back and watch the Series 1 pilot, "Big Brother," on an unedited source if possible. Listen to the silence where the lyrics should be. It’s jarring.
Second, listen to the full 12-inch version of "Hooky Street." It was released as a single. You can find it on various "Best of British Comedy" CDs. This is where you’ll hear the extended verses that clarify the "around the lake" confusion. You'll realize the words are actually "round the corner" or "under the counter."
Third, check the credits of the 1982 Christmas special. This was the turning point where the music and the writing finally synced up perfectly.
Lastly, stop looking for the lake.
The Trotters were strictly city boys. They didn't do lakes unless there was a discarded van at the bottom of one or they were trying to sell "pure" spring water (Peckham Spring) that they'd actually siphoned from a tap.
The "around the lake" myth is just that—a myth. But it’s a testament to how much we love the show that we’re still dissecting 40-year-old syllables. The real lyrics are a map of 1980s working-class London, a place of "villas in Portugal" and "money in the bank," even if the bank was usually a hole in the wall and the villa was a pipe dream.
Next time someone tells you they remember the lake lyrics, tell them they’re a "plonker" and point them toward the actual Sullivan tapes.
Expert Insight: The music of Only Fools and Horses is protected by PRS (Performing Right Society) in the UK, and the credits explicitly list John Sullivan as the sole lyricist for the updated theme. Any variation you find online that isn't his specific cockney-rhyming-slang-heavy prose is almost certainly a fan transcription error.