It starts with a single, slightly out-of-tune piano chord. Then comes that iconic, nasal bickering-turned-harmony.
Those Were the Days, the opening theme song from All in the Family, wasn't just a catchy tune to fill space before the sitcom started. It was a cultural lightning rod. You probably remember Archie and Edith Bunker sitting at that spinet piano, shouting-singing about LaSalle ran great and girls were girls. It felt raw. It felt real. Honestly, it felt a little uncomfortable, which was exactly the point Norman Lear wanted to drive home.
The Song That Almost Didn't Stay a Duet
Back in 1971, TV themes were usually polished orchestral numbers or jazzy instrumentals. Think The Brady Bunch or The Mary Tyler Moore Show. They were professional. But the theme song from All in the Family went the opposite direction. It was messy.
Charles Strouse and Lee Adams wrote the track. These weren't amateurs; they were the titans behind Bye Bye Birdie. They wrote a song that was intentionally nostalgic, a yearning for a "simpler" time that—let’s be honest—wasn't actually that simple for everyone. The song serves as a manifesto for Archie Bunker’s worldview.
Here is the thing people forget: The version we hear on the show was recorded live on a soundstage. It wasn't a studio session with pitch correction. Carroll O’Connor and Jean Stapleton just sat down and belted it out. Every season, they’d record a new version because the actors' voices changed, and the "energy" of the show evolved. In the early seasons, Edith is almost screeching. By the end, there's a weird, weary sweetness to it.
What the Lyrics Actually Meant
When Archie sings about "Herbert Hoover, boy he promised us a chicken in every pot," he isn't just singing. He's mourning. To Archie, the 1970s were a terrifying blur of protest, changing gender roles, and "the coloreds" moving in next door.
The line "Girls were girls and men were men" is often cited today as a transphobic or sexist dog whistle, but in the context of 1971, it was Archie’s literal confusion at the sight of long-haired hippies and the burgeoning feminist movement. He wanted the binary. He wanted the LaSalle. He wanted a world where you didn't have to think so hard about your neighbors.
The song is a brilliant piece of characterization. It tells you everything you need to know about the Bunkers before a single line of dialogue is spoken. They are looking backward. They are stuck.
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That Infamous "Welfare State" Line
For years, people argued over what Archie was saying in the final verse. It’s a common trope in TV history—the "misheard lyric."
Because Carroll O'Connor sang with such a thick Queens accent, the line "Gee, our old LaSalle ran great" often sounded like gibberish to viewers in the Midwest or the South. Some thought he said "Gee, our old soul ran great" or even something about the "welfare state."
It got so bad that the producers eventually had to ask the actors to enunciate more clearly in later recordings. They even released a high-quality studio version of the theme song from All in the Family on an LP so fans could finally hear the words.
The LaSalle, by the way, was a real car. It was a "junior" Cadillac produced by General Motors between 1927 and 1940. By the time the show aired, the LaSalle was a relic. It was a ghost of a pre-war American prosperity that Archie felt had been stolen from him.
The Musical Structure of Nostalgia
Musically, the song is a pastiche of Vaudeville.
- The Piano: It’s a ragtime-style accompaniment.
- The Vocals: It uses a call-and-response format.
- The Ending: That big, sustained final note—usually punctuated by Edith’s high-pitched squawk—is a classic "big finish" from the era of George M. Cohan.
It’s ironic. A show that was famously "progressive" for its time—tackling racism, rape, menopause, and the Vietnam War—began every single week with a song that begged for the past to come back.
The Closing Credits: Remembering the "Second" Theme
Most people focus on the opening, but the closing theme, "Remembering You," is arguably more sophisticated.
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It’s the same melody, but it's a slow, melancholic instrumental played on the piano. What most fans don't realize is that Carroll O'Connor actually wrote the lyrics for the closing version. He didn't sing them on air, but he performed them on talk shows later.
While the opening is a loud, communal shout, the closing is a lonely reflection. It plays over still shots of a grainy, gray Queens neighborhood. It’s the "aftermath" of the episode's conflict. It reminds the audience that once the shouting matches between Mike "Meathead" Stivic and Archie are over, these people still have to live in this house, in this town, in this skin.
Why It Still Works (and Why It’s Better Than Your Favorite Theme)
Most modern shows have ditched theme songs entirely. You get a five-second title card and a "whoosh" sound. We’re in a hurry.
But the theme song from All in the Family demanded you sit there for 45 seconds and inhabit Archie’s living room. You weren't a spectator; you were a guest in 704 Hauser Street.
It’s also one of the few themes that actually changed the industry. Because of its success, other shows started experimenting with "character-driven" openings. Without Archie and Edith at the piano, we might never have had the gritty, urban vibe of the Good Times intro or the gospel-infused "Movin' on Up" from The Jeffersons.
Norman Lear understood that the music was a bridge. If he was going to challenge the audience with radical ideas, he had to start with something familiar. The piano. The husband and wife. The memories.
How to Listen Like an Expert
If you go back and watch the episodes in order, pay attention to the transition between season 2 and season 3.
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You can hear the actors getting more comfortable with the "performance" of the song. Stapleton starts leaning into the "Edith" voice harder. O'Connor starts adding more "Archie-isms" into the phrasing. It becomes less of a song and more of a skit.
Also, look at the very end of the sequence. The way Archie looks at Edith—sometimes with annoyance, sometimes with a weirdly genuine bit of affection—tells the whole story of their marriage. That look is the "secret sauce" of the show.
Actionable Insights for TV Historians and Fans
If you're a fan of television history or just someone who loves the nostalgia of the 70s, there are a few ways to experience this song beyond the YouTube clips.
- Check the "Archive of American Television": They have interviews with Charles Strouse where he breaks down the exact chords used to create that "tinny" parlor sound.
- Listen to the Studio Version: Search for the 1971 Atlantic Records single. It features a full band and much clearer vocals, which helps clarify those murky lyrics once and for all.
- Watch the "All in the Family" Pilot: There were actually three pilots shot for the show. The theme song evolved across them. In the first pilot, the energy is completely different; it’s fascinating to see how they tweaked the "bickering" levels to get it just right.
- Analyze the Lyrics as Poetry: If you strip away the music, the lyrics are a stark look at the "silent majority" of the Nixon era. They provide a better history lesson than most textbooks about the anxieties of the American working class in the early 70s.
The song isn't just a piece of music. It’s a time capsule. It’s an argument. It’s a reminder that we’ve been arguing about "the good old days" for a lot longer than we think.
Whether you love Archie or find him reprehensible, you can't deny that when those piano keys hit, you’re exactly where Norman Lear wanted you: right in the middle of the friction of the American dream.
To truly understand the show, you have to understand the song. It’s not just a lead-in; it’s the heartbeat of the entire series. Next time you hear it, don't just hum along. Listen to the desperation in Archie’s voice. Listen to the joy in Edith’s. That’s where the real story lives.