Lyrics by series creator Gene Roddenberry were never meant to be heard

Sep 10, 2013 02:01 GMT  ·  By

“Star Trek” turned 47 this weekend and, on the occasion of its birthday, I would like to propose a From the Vaults video, for those of you who are new fans to the franchise: the original intro, with lyrics.

No need to worry if you didn’t know the intro had lyrics (it doesn’t make you any less of a Trekkie), because they were never meant to be aired.

The lyrics were written by series creator Gene Roddenberry, who thought he would not make enough money off the TV show and wanted a backup plan to earn a buck, from royalties from the song.

Composer Alexander Courage didn’t appreciate it, but he was talked into it when Roddenberry told him, “I have to get some money somewhere. I'm sure not gonna get it out of the profits of ‘Star Trek’.”

You have to appreciate the irony in how things turned out.