Carroll O’Connor and Jean Stapleton sat at a spinet piano, squinted toward the studio audience, and bellowed at the top of their lungs. No orchestra. No slick production. Just a couple of actors in character, screaming about Herbert Hoover and the way the girls were girls. It was raw. Honestly, it was a little bit abrasive if you listen to it today without the nostalgia goggles on. But that’s exactly why the theme song for All in the Family remains the most important opening sequence in sitcom history. It wasn't just a song; it was a manifesto for a show that was about to punch middle America in the mouth.
Most people think "Those Were the Days" is just a sweet trip down memory lane. They’re wrong.
When Norman Lear decided to put Archie and Edith Bunker behind that piano, he wasn't trying to write a catchy jingle. He was setting a trap. The lyrics, written by Lee Adams and Charles Strouse (the duo behind Bye Bye Birdie), sound like a love letter to the 1930s. But coming out of Archie’s mouth? It was a defensive crouch against the 1970s. While the world outside the Bunkers' Queens row house was exploding with civil rights marches, the Vietnam War, and the feminist movement, Archie was literally yelling for the past to come back.
The Sound of a World Moving Too Fast
The recording you hear at the start of every episode wasn't done in a high-end music studio with pitch correction. It was recorded right there on the set at CBS Television City. You can hear the room. You can hear the strain in Jean Stapleton’s voice as she hits those screeching high notes in the character of Edith. Apparently, the network executives were terrified of it. They thought it sounded "unprofessional."
Lear knew better.
If you look at the landscape of 1971, TV themes were mostly instrumental or bright, bubbly pop songs. Think The Brady Bunch or The Partridge Family. Then comes Archie. He’s complaining that "guys like us, we had it made." He’s pining for a time when "everybody pulled his weight." It’s a song about resentment. It's the anthem of the "Silent Majority" that Richard Nixon had campaigned on just a few years earlier. When they sang "Gee, our old LaSalle ran great," they weren't just talking about a car brand that went defunct in 1940. They were talking about a version of the American Dream that felt like it was slipping through their fingers.
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What Nobody Tells You About the Lyrics
The lyrics are actually quite sophisticated, which makes sense given that Strouse and Adams were Broadway royalty. Take the line "And you knew who you were then." That’s the heart of the show. Archie’s entire conflict throughout nine seasons was a crisis of identity. In 1971, he didn't know who he was anymore because the social hierarchy he relied on had been flipped upside down.
Then there’s the LaSalle.
A lot of younger viewers today probably think a LaSalle is a type of cigar or a neighborhood. It was actually a "companion" brand to Cadillac, meant to be slightly more affordable but still prestigious. By the time All in the Family aired, the LaSalle hadn't been manufactured in thirty years. It was a relic. Just like Archie.
The Mystery of the Final Line
For years, fans debated what Edith was actually screaming at the very end of the song. The line is "Gee, our old LaSalle ran great," but Stapleton’s high-pitched delivery made it sound like total gibberish to a lot of folks. It became such a "thing" that for the later seasons, they actually re-recorded the audio to make the lyrics clearer. They also added a bit more "oomph" to the piano track, but the vibe stayed the same: two people clinging to each other in a changing world.
Why They Sat at a Piano Instead of a Montage
Most shows of the era used a montage to introduce the characters. You’d see them running through a park or piling into a car. Lear chose a static shot. Why? Because the show was claustrophobic. The Bunkers' house was their fortress. By starting every episode with them at the piano, the show reinforced that this was their world. The outside reality only entered through the front door in the form of Mike "Meathead" Stivic or the Jeffersons.
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It’s also worth noting that the theme song for All in the Family almost didn't happen this way. There was a pilot—actually three pilots—before the show finally made it to air. In the earlier versions, the tone was slightly different. But the piano stayed. It was the only way to ground the characters. It showed that despite the constant yelling and the bigotry and the generational warfare, Archie and Edith had a shared history. They had a song.
The Counter-Culture Response
While the opening was Archie’s territory, the closing credits gave us something different. The ending theme, "Remembering You," is a melancholy, instrumental piano piece. What’s wild is that the lyrics for that version were written by Carroll O’Connor himself.
Wait. You didn't know the closing theme had lyrics?
Most people don't. O’Connor wrote them as a sort of mournful reflection on lost time. It’s a complete 180 from the boisterous, aggressive energy of the opening. It’s quiet. It’s sad. It suggests that once the shouting is over, all that’s left is a man who is deeply afraid of being forgotten. If the opening song is Archie’s bravado, the closing song is his soul.
Why It Still Matters in 2026
We are living in an era that feels remarkably similar to 1971. The "culture wars" aren't new; they’re just on higher-resolution screens now. When you hear the theme song for All in the Family today, it doesn't feel like a museum piece. It feels like a mirror.
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Every generation has its "Those Were the Days" moment. Every generation thinks the one following it is ruining the world. The song works because it captures that universal human fear: the fear that your best days are behind you and the world doesn't need you anymore.
How to Experience the Song Today
If you’re going back to watch the series, don't skip the intro. Seriously. Pay attention to the way Archie looks at Edith. Look at the set dressing around them. Here is how to get the most out of the experience:
- Listen to the first season vs. the last season. The evolution of Stapleton’s voice is fascinating. As the show progressed, Edith became more than just a "dingbat." She became the moral center, and you can almost hear her voice get a little more confident over the years.
- Look up Carroll O’Connor’s vocal performance of "Remembering You." You can find recordings of him singing his lyrics to the closing theme. It changes how you view Archie Bunker entirely.
- Check out the "Live in Front of a Studio Audience" recreations. A few years back, Woody Harrelson and Marisa Tomei recreated the opening. It’s a testament to the songwriting that even with different actors, the tension and the nostalgia still land perfectly.
The theme song for All in the Family wasn't trying to be a hit record. It was trying to be honest. It’s messy, it’s loud, and it’s a little bit out of tune—just like the family it introduced us to. In a world of over-polished TV openings, there’s something genuinely refreshing about two people sitting at a piano and telling you exactly who they are, whether you like it or not.
If you really want to understand the impact of the song, try watching an episode on mute, then watch it with the music. The music isn't just background noise; it’s the emotional glue that allowed audiences to forgive Archie Bunker for his flaws. It reminded us that he was a human being before he was a caricature. That is the power of a perfect theme song.