In the world of TV theme songs, there has to be a certain amount of memorability. In today's terms, we call that "sticky". In other words, is the theme song so catchy it sticks with the audience long after the show has aired. That's a pretty tough task for a songwriter or music producer to achieve, especially when they've only got:30 seconds or so to catch our ear.

Frank Okay via Unsplash.com
Frank Okay via Unsplash.com
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To be fair, some TV themes have become so ingrained in our culture that they become popular hits on their own. The gamut of those ranges from the iconic Theme from the Dukes of Hazzard that scored big on the Country Music charts to the always hummable Theme from Friends, which was actually a huge hit on the Top 40 charts.

The Golden Girls
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Some TV themes are so iconic we can sing along with them. We all know about "moving up on to the East Side", and "Thank you for being a friend", but did you know that some of TV's most iconic instrumental theme songs actually had lyrics?

In some cases, the producers of the TV show had to make a choice as to whether or not they would go with the instrumental version or utilize the version of the song that included lyrics.

I know, speaking on a personal level, a lot of the instrumental TV themes that grew to be a part of the fabric of American culture actually seem out of place when you add the words. In some cases, knowing what the lyrics are or were meant to be really changed my point of view on how I viewed the song and the TV show it represented.

Let's take a look at ten of television's most iconic instrumentals. Did you know these songs had lyrics?

10 Iconic TV Instrumental Themes that Actually Have Lyrics