The ‘Munsters’ Theme Song Not Only Had Lyrics, There Were Two Versions

One of the more unfortunate disappearances from pop culture is the tie-in soundtrack. Kids these days just don’t know the joy of watching Will Smith stroll straight from the set of his latest summer blockbuster to a music video studio to perform an in-character rap that was also good enough to be the song of the summer. If you heard a cool song on the CW primetime lineup, you could just go buy Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Album. 

It’s a proud tradition that extends almost as far back as television itself. Owners of the 1964 album At Home With the Munsters might not have been looking for a particular song from the series, but they were seeking a musical connection to their favorite monster family all the same.

Those who did were rewarded with a big surprise. Before such whimsical tracks as “Herman Says ‘Hello’” and “Meet Our Pets,” performed by the real Munsters actors, listeners are let in on a little secret: The Munsters theme song has lyrics. The first track, “At the Munsters,” is a vocal rendition of legendary producer Jack Marshall’s Grammy-nominated theme with lyrics by Munsters producer Bob Mosher that were never aired on TV. It’s too bad, because the children’s choir strikes just the right balance between cute and creepy.

That wasn’t the only version, either. Did you know there was a revival series that premiered in 1988 called The Munsters Today? The premise of the show was an experiment by Grandpa gone bad that resulted in the family falling into an ageless sleep only to awaken in the tubular era. This was unhelpfully unexplained by the retooled theme song, whose lyrics consists of, “We’re the Munsters! We went to sleep 20 years ago, and we woke up with a brand-new show! We’re the Munsters!” 

It seems unnecessary, like everything else about the series, which somehow earned a full three seasons. It was a less cutthroat and more cut-cocaine time.

It might not have been official, but Butch Patrick, who played Eddie Munster on the original series, also released a song called “Whatever Happened to Eddie?” in 1985 that featured music from the theme song. (Apparently, the answer is he got really into Adam Ant.) Of course, by far the song’s most enduring legacy is as a sample in Fall Out Boy’s “Uma Thurman.” 

All along, they were digging with a spade to bury you until you confess.