You know the tune. That twangy, driving Les Claypool bassline hits, the school bus rattles down a snowy mountain road, and the screen explodes into a construction-paper fever dream. For nearly thirty years, the South Park intro words have served as the frantic bridge into Matt Stone and Trey Parker’s chaotic world. But if you actually try to sing along—specifically during the parts where Kenny McCormick mumbles through his parka—you probably realize you have no idea what is actually being said. You're not alone.
The Evolution of the Mumble
The theme song isn't just one static piece of audio. It’s a living document of the show’s aging process. Primus frontman Les Claypool originally recorded the theme at a slower tempo, but it was sped up for the broadcast. This shift in pitch and speed is what gave the vocals that frantic, almost nervous energy that defined the late nineties. While Stan, Kyle, and Cartman have clear, scripted lines about going to South Park to "have ourselves a time" or seeing "ample parking day or night," Kenny is a different story.
Kenny’s lines are the show’s longest-running "if you know, you know" joke. Because his mouth is covered by his bright orange hood, his muffled responses are technically intelligible if you listen to the raw isolated vocal tracks, but they were never meant to be "clean." Over the seasons, those South Park intro words coming from Kenny have changed to reflect the show's shifting boundaries of what they can get away with on basic cable.
What is Kenny actually saying?
In the earliest seasons—specifically the pilot through season two—Kenny’s contribution to the song was relatively tame but still suggestive. He was essentially talking about his preference for "girls with big fat titties." It was juvenile. It was crude. It was exactly what you'd expect from two guys who had just convinced Comedy Central to air a show about foul-mouthed fourth graders.
🔗 Read more: I Got the News Lyrics: The Steely Dan Deep Cut That Still Confuses Everyone
As the show hit its stride in the middle years (Seasons 3 through 5), the lyrics took a turn toward the even more explicit. If you listen closely to the isolated audio from that era, Kenny is actually saying: "I like girls with big vagina, I like girls with big brown eyes." Except, as many fans have pointed out in various forums and DVD commentaries, he doesn't actually say "eyes" the second time. He repeats the first part of the sentence with a more anatomical focus. It’s a classic Trey Parker bait-and-switch.
The Timmy Era and Beyond
Then things got weird. When Timmy joined the cast and became a temporary sensation, the intro was overhauled. For a brief period in Season 4, Kenny’s lines were replaced by Timmy shouting his own name and "Livin' on a Prayer." When Kenny eventually returned to his rightful spot in the theme, the South Park intro words became a meta-commentary on his own mortality. In later seasons, he’s been documented mumbling about how he’s the one who dies all the time and how the audience are "bastards" for watching it happen.
Specifically, from Season 7 to Season 10, the lyrics shifted to: "Someday I'll be old enough to stick my dick in Britney's butt." It's jarring to see it written out, but that's the DNA of the show. It’s meant to be a hidden Easter egg for the fans who bother to look it up.
Why the Intro Sounds Different in Later Seasons
If you watch a rerun from 1998 and then flip to a 4K episode from 2024, the song feels different. It’s not just the animation. The "South Park intro words" have been re-recorded and remixed several times.
- The Original (Seasons 1-2): High energy, very lo-fi, claymation-style visuals.
- The 3D Remix (Season 6-11): A more polished, digital sound that coincided with the show’s transition to faster production cycles.
- The Bluegrass/Country Version (Season 12-present): This version features a much more prominent banjo and a "twangier" feel. The lyrics for the main boys remain the same, but Kenny’s mumbles are refreshed to stay "current" with the show’s escalating raunchiness.
In the current era, Kenny’s lines are often: "I like fing silly bhes and I know my p*s likes it." Again, because the audio is muffled through the "parka" filter (which is usually just Matt Stone talking into his hand or a sleeve), the FCC never stepped in. It’s the ultimate loophole. They are saying things on TV that would get any other show canceled, but because it sounds like "mmp-mmp-fmp-mmp," it passes the censors.
The Les Claypool Connection
We can't talk about these words without talking about the man who wrote the melody. Les Claypool has stated in multiple interviews that the band Primus didn't really think the show would go anywhere. They recorded the theme as a favor. When the show became a global phenomenon, the song became one of the most recognizable pieces of music in television history.
Claypool’s own vocals in the intro—the "Going down to South Park" refrain—set the tonal stage. It’s a mix of Colorado bluegrass and 90s alternative funk. It sounds like a carnival gone wrong. That’s the point. The contrast between the cheery "friendly faces everywhere" and the muffled obscenities coming from the kid in the orange coat is the entire ethos of the show in a thirty-second clip.
The "Ample Parking" Myth
There is a weirdly persistent theory online that the line "Ample parking day or night" is a jab at the town of Fairplay, Colorado, which the show is loosely based on. People think it’s sarcastic because the town is small. Honestly, it’s probably not that deep. Trey Parker has mentioned that they just needed a rhyme for "have ourselves a time." Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, and sometimes a lyric about parking is just a filler line to get to the next joke.
💡 You might also like: Finding Andrea Bocelli New York Tickets Without Getting Ripped Off
The phrase "humble folks without temptation" is the one that really sticks, though. It’s the most ironic part of the South Park intro words. In over 300 episodes, we have yet to see a single character who is actually humble or without temptation. From Randy Marsh's various mid-life crises to Cartman’s literal crimes against humanity, the intro sets up a "small town" ideal that the show spends every following minute dismantling.
How to Hear the Lyrics Yourself
If you're skeptical about what Kenny is saying, you don't have to take a random internet article's word for it. There are several ways to verify the South Park intro words if you have some basic audio tools:
- Isolate the Center Channel: If you have a 5.1 surround sound mix of the show, the vocals are often isolated in the center channel. Turning down the side speakers makes Kenny much clearer.
- Pitch Shifting: Take a recording of the early seasons and drop the pitch by about two semitones. This "un-does" the speeding up process that Comedy Central requested, making the voices sound like actual humans (Matt and Trey) rather than chipmunks.
- Check the Scripts: Early production scripts that have leaked or been sold at auction occasionally have Kenny’s lines written in parentheses. They were never meant to be "hidden" from the production crew, just from the casual viewer.
The Cultural Weight of a Thirty-Second Song
Why do we care so much about thirty seconds of music from 1997? It's because South Park is one of the last remaining cultural touchstones from the pre-internet-saturation era that is still relevant. The intro is a ritual. For fans, hearing those words is a signal that for the next twenty-two minutes, nothing is sacred.
The South Park intro words represent a time when television was a bit more "wild west." The fact that Kenny has been talking about incredibly graphic topics for decades right under the noses of parents and censors is a testament to the show's cleverness. It’s not just about being gross; it’s about the prank.
🔗 Read more: Why Lil Tjay True 2 Myself Still Hits Different Years Later
Moving Forward with Your South Park Knowledge
The next time you’re sitting on the couch and that bassline starts, don't just hum along. Now you know that while Stan and Kyle are singing about "friendly faces," Kenny is likely mumbling something that would get him banned from every social media platform on the planet.
If you want to dive deeper into the technical side of how the show is made, look into the "South Park: Six Days to Air" documentary. It doesn't focus specifically on the intro, but it shows the frantic, high-pressure environment where decisions like "what should Kenny mumble this year?" are made. You can also find high-quality isolated tracks of the Primus sessions on various fan archives which reveal just how much work went into that "simple" little song. Stop wondering and start listening—the clues are all there, buried under a layer of orange fleece and 90s distortion.
Actionable Insights for Fans:
- Audio Testing: Use a simple pitch-shift app on your phone to slow down the Season 1 intro by 10-15%. You will hear Trey Parker’s natural voice perfectly.
- Visual Cues: Watch the background characters during the intro; they often change based on who died or was written out of the previous season.
- Lyrical Accuracy: Remember that Kenny’s lines change at Season 3, Season 6, and Season 10. Don't assume the "big fat titties" line applies to the newer HD episodes.