Top 10 TV Theme Songs

By Giselle Melanson
Fancast.com

These days, you’d be hard-pressed to find a TV show theme song that has lyrics, let alone inspirational ones. But long before the new millennium, shows were expected to inspire us and give us hope, not only through their unrealistic portrayal of family life, but also through their theme songs.

10. Welcome Back Kotter. This theme is particularly meaningful to anyone who’s ever returned to their hometown–possibly broke and with their tail between their legs. Even though “Your dreams were your ticket out,” you’re still being welcomed back by at least one person.

9. Step by Step. If you’ve ever wondered, “Will there ever be / a second time around?” then the theme song to TV’s biggest blended family since The Brady Bunch will inspire you. Luckily, they make out OK–“Step by step / day by day.”

8. Family Matters. This theme song might have been a little over-the-top with lines like, “All I see is a tower of dreams / with real love burstin’ out of every seam.” (Is that some kind of metaphor for the Winslow’s house?) Inspirational, nonetheless.

7. The Mary Tyler Moore Show. “Who can turn the world on with her smile?” Mary Tyler Moore, of course! This theme song encouraged women everywhere to climb the corporate ladder and throw their hats up in the air, because “you’re gonna make it after all.”

6. Who’s the Boss? This song is all about the tough love. It inspires us while also placing responsibility for our happiness directly in our own hands, because “There’s a path you take and a path not taken/ the choice is up to you my friend.” Luckily it all works out with a “brand new life around the bend.”

5. Growing Pains. “Don’t waste another minute on your cryin’,” guys. “The best is ready to begin.” And if you think that sounds encouraging, hang in for the end of the song, where everyone winds up “Sharin’ the laughter and love.”

4. The Greatest American Hero. “Believe it or not,” even if you’ve never watched this 80s super hero sitcom, you’ve probably heard its hit single theme song at least once on the radio. The singer is “walking on air,” and “flying away on a wing and a prayer.”

3. Degrassi: The Next Generation. A pearl in today’s ocean of lyric-less TV theme songs, the gospel-style choir of kids reminds us that “Whatever it takes / I know I can make it through.”

2. Perfect Strangers. “Standin’ tall / on the wings of my dreams”? The stakes don’t get much higher than that, my friend. As we watched Balki Bartokomous embark on the adventure of a lifetime to live with his cousin, Larry in Chicago, it became clear that Balki’s dream wasn’t just Balki’s. It was our dream. It was the American dream.

1. The Jeffersons. For anyone who knows what it’s like to experience “a whole lotta tryin’/ just to get up that hill” this is the ultimate theme song of triumph over adversity. Although The Jeffersons moved on up “To the east side” mainly because of George’s success as a laundromat mogul, you can just imagine how many people sing this song after they’ve won the lottery.