Theme Tune
The theme tune of The Archers' is called "Barwick Green" and is a maypole dance from the suite My Native Heath, written in 1924 by the Yorkshire composer Arthur Wood. An alternative arrangement, played by The Yetties, is used to introduce the Sunday omnibus. In 1992, having used the same recording for many years, the theme was re-recorded in stereo. The original orchestral arrangement was used, but the slightly different mixing and more leisurely tempo led many listeners to consider the new version inferior.
Robert Robinson once compared the tune to "the genteel abandon of a lifelong teetotaller who has suddenly taken to drink". On April Fool's Day 2004 both The Independent and The Today Programme claimed that BBC executives had commissioned composer Brian Eno to record an electronic version of "Barwick Green" as a replacement for the current theme, while the (Scottish) comedian Billy Connolly included in his act the joke that the theme was so typically English that it should be the national anthem
English doctors are taught that the tempo of the tune is the rate at which to apply cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). An alternative tune is "Nellie the Elephant", which has the same tempo.
Read more about this topic: The Archers
Famous quotes containing the words theme and/or tune:
“It seems to me that upbringings have themes. The parents set the theme, either explicitly or implicitly, and the children pick it up, sometimes accurately and sometimes not so accurately.... The theme may be “Our family has a distinguished heritage that you must live up to” or “No matter what happens, we are fortunate to be together in this lovely corner of the earth” or “We have worked hard so that you can have the opportunities we didn’t have.””
—Calvin Trillin (20th century)
“But O, sick children of the world,
Of all the many changing things
In dreary dancing past us whirled,
To the cracked tune that Chronos sings,
Words alone are certain good.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)