Most people know a lot of famous instrumental TV theme songs but don't know that those songs almost always have lyrics. There are lyrics to the Mission: Impossible theme. No one ever plays them but the composer, or someone working with the composer, wrote lyrics. There are lyrics to the Hawaii Five-O theme, too as we featured back in this link. The theme for M*A*S*H also had lyrics…and I wonder how many people who watched the TV show knew that song was called "Suicide is Painless."
There are even lyrics to the theme from The Odd Couple. As with M*A*S*H, they were written for the movie. Unlike M*A*S*H, they were not sung in the movie. Last year at a party, I got to meet the composer of the Odd Couple theme and many other memorable tunes, the late Neal Hefti. Obviously, I met him before he became the late Neal Hefti. As I mentioned in the earlier item, we talked about the (also obscure) lyrics to the theme he wrote for the movie, How to Murder Your Wife. I didn't mention it then but we also talked about the Odd Couple lyrics and I asked him who had written them. For some odd reason, Mr. Hefti wouldn't tell me. With a smile, he deftly changed the subject.
When I got home, I did some Googling and found the assertion that Sammy Cahn had written them. Hard to believe, thought I. Sammy Cahn was a pretty good lyric writer and these did not sound to me like the work of a pretty good lyric writer. For a time, I figured it was just one of those Internet errors we all know so much about…but later, it dawned on me to check the ASCAP database. Sure enough: Sammy Cahn. Oh, well. Even Rembrandt had a worst painting.
Here's a "video" of the theme from the movie soundtrack album. The lyrics kick in around a minute and 20 seconds in. Remember: These were penned by a man who notched 22 Academy Award nominations, won four and also gave us some of the most memorable pop tunes of the 20th century…