Track of the Day: “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” by Will Smith

“In West Philadelphia/born and raised/on the playground is where I spent most of my days ... ”

Unless you were living in a cave with your eyes closed and your fingers in your ears during the entire 1990s, you are no stranger to these words. Former hit NBC sitcom “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” has the most familiar theme song since all those Brady kids were forced to integrate with one another back in the 70s.

The lyrics are written by the Fresh Prince himself, Will Smith, and the music is orchestrated by Quincy Jones III. The song displays the simple, yet effective genius of Smith’s emceeing skills, as he brings the popular style of comedic, narrative rhyming from the late ‘80s and early ‘90s to the television screen to share with a wide audience.

As universal as this song is, most who know the words are probably unaware that there are an entire four stanzas (an additional 50 seconds of awesome!) in the song that were only included in the first three episodes. Now that your mind has been blown, take a deep breath and relax. You’ve only missed a few scenes. Will begs his mother not to send him away. She does anyway, so he boards a first class flight to Bel-Air. When he gets off the plane he sees a cop and then runs away for some reason ... it’s better if you hear it for yourself.

This theme song resonates with all of us who remember a time when things were very different, and if there was one thing we could all sing in unison, it was the story of a kid who got beat up and sent away to the suburbs by his overprotective mother.

If anyone ever breaks into song and starts rapping the lyrics that every man, woman and child should be required to know to maintain citizenship, it is highly advised that you join in, lest you be shamed for the rest of your days.

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