The Saga Begins (song)

Volcano Records recorded "The Saga Begins" on April 20, 1999, and it was included on the album Running with Scissors, released on June 27, 1999. After securing permission from Don McLean to create a parody of "American Pie" in 1998, Al started writing the song. Due to the lengthy album production process, the song needed to be completed by March 1999—two months before The Phantom Menace premiered. Because Lucasfilm kept the film's script highly confidential, Yankovic was denied access to it. As a result, the musician had to gather "all the leaked info I could about the movie from all the various Star Wars websites (TheForce.net was particularly helpful), and was able to piece together the basic plot of the movie." The final version of the song was not completed until Yankovic had the opportunity to attend an early charity screening of the movie.

Despite being released before the film, the lyrics are surprisingly accurate. Yankovic stated that he obtained all the information from Internet spoilers. After writing the song, Yankovic paid $500 to attend an advance screening. Finding that most of his lyrics were correct, he only made minor adjustments. The main change he had to make after seeing The Phantom Menace was that Anakin did not tell Amidala he was going to marry her, as Yankovic had initially believed.

The primary inaccuracy lies in the fact that Obi-Wan remained on the queen's royal starship after they arrived on Tatooine, instead of accompanying Qui-Gon and Padmé to find a replacement part for the ship. Consequently, he did not personally witness the podrace and did not meet Anakin until he arrived at the starship with the others.

The video opens in a desert setting, presumably on the planet Tatooine. Yankovic, costumed as Ewan McGregor's Kenobi, walks until he encounters Darth Sidious playing the piano. Yankovic uses the Force to levitate a steel guitar, and in the second verse, he reappears performing in a Mos Eisley cantina-like setting, leading a band similarly dressed as Jedi. In the final verse, he returns to the desert, and during the last chorus, a large group of "Obi-Wans" is shown singing, possibly alluding to the Clone Wars that follow. Various Star Wars characters, including Yoda, Amidala, and Mace Windu, are seen dancing in an odd manner, although Yoda remains motionless. The pianist's face is consistently obscured by the hood of his robe, similar to the Sith Lord Darth Sidious. When questioned about this, Al explained that "They didn't want to scare small children," referencing the playful teasing of Al's pianist, Rubén Valtierra, which is common during his live performances.

• " Star Wars Rocks! " — Star Wars Insider 40
• Weird Al: The Saga Begins... on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
• Star Wars Insider 69
• "Weird Al" -- Nerdy Something on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
• 5 Great Star Wars Novelty Songs Plus a Q&A with the Master, "Weird Al" Yankovic on StarWars.com (backup link)
• The Star Wars Show: "Weird Al" Yankovic Interview, New Rogue One Vehicle Revealed, and More | The Star Wars Show on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link)
• How to Throw a Star Wars Birthday Party That Will Be Long-Remembered on StarWars.com (backup link)

• "The Saga Begins" official video on the alyankovic YouTube channel (backup link)
• 'Weird Al' Yankovic at the Internet Movie Database
• The Saga Begins on Wikipedia
• The Weird Al Wiki
• Interview with 'Weird Al' Yankovic - Parody Artist and Star Wars Super-Fan on www.theforce.net ( 2000 ) (archived from the original on June 3, 2023)