You know the sound. That frantic, high-energy drum fill followed by a rush of words that honestly feels like a tongue twister contest. If you’ve spent any time on a couch in the last two decades, "The History of Everything" is burned into your brain. It’s the anthem of Bazinga. But for a song that literally explains the origins of the universe, the words to the big bang theory theme song are surprisingly easy to trip over if you aren't paying close attention.
It starts with a bang. Literally.
The song was written and performed by Barenaked Ladies, the Canadian alt-rock band famous for hits like "One Week." Lead singer Ed Robertson didn't just stumble into the gig, though. He was at a show in Los Angeles, talking to the crowd about Simon Singh’s book Big Bang, and it just so happened that show creators Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady were in the audience. They heard his improvised rap about cosmological history and realized they found their man.
What are the words to the Big Bang Theory theme song actually saying?
Most people mumble through the middle bit. You probably know "Our whole universe was in a hot, dense state," but then it gets blurry. Let’s look at the actual poetry of the opening verse, which is the only part most TV viewers ever hear.
"Our whole universe was in a hot, dense state / Then nearly fourteen billion years ago expansion started, wait / The earth began to cool, the autotrophs began to drool / Neanderthals developed tools / We built a wall (we built the pyramids) / Math, science, history, unraveling the mysteries / That all started with the big bang! (Bang!)"
It’s a lot to process in under thirty seconds. Robertson’s delivery is incredibly rhythmic, mimicking the rapid expansion he’s singing about. He mentions autotrophs. Those are organisms that produce their own food—think plants or algae. The joke about them "drooling" is a bit of creative license, considering algae doesn't have mouths, but it fits the rhyme scheme perfectly.
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The full version you never hear on TV
Here is a fact that catches people off guard: the TV theme is just a tiny snippet. There is a full-length version of the song that spans nearly two minutes and goes into way more detail about the progression of life on Earth.
After the "Big Bang!" shout that ends the TV intro, the full song dives into the transition from a "warm primordial soup" to the rise of religion and philosophy. It mentions the "Pangaea" supercontinent and how it broke apart. It even touches on the eventual heat death of the universe.
One of the best lines in the extended version is: "It's best and brightest figures that you and I can name / Our whole universe was in a hot, dense state." It brings the cosmic scale back down to a human level. It’s a clever songwriting trick. By linking the vastness of space-time to the "best and brightest" (which the show’s characters desperately want to be), the song perfectly mirrors the show’s DNA.
The science behind the rhymes
Is it accurate? Mostly.
The "fourteen billion years ago" line is pretty much spot on. Modern estimates from NASA's WMAP and Planck missions put the age of the universe at roughly 13.8 billion years. Robertson rounded up for the sake of the meter.
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The part about the Earth cooling is also a vital piece of the puzzle. When the Earth formed roughly 4.5 billion years ago, it was a molten ball of chaos. It took millions of years for the crust to solidify enough for liquid water—and eventually those "drooling" autotrophs—to show up.
Why this song almost didn't happen
Ed Robertson was initially hesitant to write the song. He’d written themes before that ended up being rejected, which is a massive waste of time for a touring musician. He told Lorre and Prady he’d only do it if they weren't asking anyone else. He wanted to be the only choice.
Luckily, they agreed. Robertson wrote the demo in his shower (classic songwriter move) and sent it over. The rest is sitcom history. The song became so synonymous with the show that it’s almost impossible to imagine the series without it. It sets the energy. It’s fast, it’s nerdy, and it’s unashamedly smart.
The legal drama (Yes, there was drama)
Even a catchy song about science can end up in a courtroom. In 2015, Steven Page, who had left Barenaked Ladies years earlier, filed a lawsuit regarding the royalties for the theme song. He claimed there was an agreement that the band would share the proceeds from the song equally.
The lawsuit alleged that Robertson was the only one reaping the rewards of the "Big Bang" success. It was a messy moment for a band known for being pretty lighthearted. Eventually, the legal dust settled, but it serves as a reminder that even the most "fun" songs in TV history are still big business.
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How to master the lyrics yourself
If you want to impress people at trivia night or just nail the intro next time you’re binge-watching on Max, you have to focus on the breath work.
The trickiest part is the transition from "Neanderthals developed tools" into "We built a wall." You have to clip the "s" on tools and jump immediately into the "w" of we. There is no room for a breath there.
- The Hot Dense State: Keep your voice steady.
- The Expansion: Speed up slightly on "fourteen billion years."
- The List: This is the "We Didn't Start the Fire" section. Keep it percussive.
- The Finale: Belt out the "Bang!" at the end. It’s mandatory.
Why it still resonates in 2026
Even though the show ended its original run years ago, the theme song lives on in syndication and streaming. It represents a specific era of "nerd culture" going mainstream. Before The Big Bang Theory, a song about autotrophs and expansion wouldn't have been the lead-in for the most-watched comedy on the planet.
It’s a bit of a time capsule. It reminds us of a time when the "Big Bang" theory itself was still the undisputed king of cosmological models in the public consciousness, long before the James Webb Space Telescope started sending back data that challenged our understanding of the early universe's galaxy formation.
To really get the words to the big bang theory theme song down, listen to the 2007 album Hits from Yesterday & the Day Before by Barenaked Ladies. It contains the full version, which gives you much more context than the TV edit.
If you're looking to dive deeper into the science mentioned in the lyrics, your next move should be checking out Simon Singh's Big Bang. It’s the book that inspired Ed Robertson in the first place. Understanding the "hot, dense state" through a scientific lens makes the song even more impressive. You can also look up the "History of Everything" music video, which features some pretty 2000s-era visual effects that explain the lyrics in a more literal way.