/
1x
Advertisement

True North Strong Free. Subscribe today.

Their Habits, I Confess

Add Maclean's(opens in a new tab)

I thought I had heard of most of the instrumental themes that had lyrics awkwardly grafted on afterward for a published and/or recorded version. (I even instinctively think of "Baby Elephant Walk" starting with the words "Make believe you’re in a jungle movie/Watch the baby elephants go by," because I read it in a songbook years ago.) But I didn’t know that The Odd Couple theme had lyrics, by Sammy Cahn. The vocal - by one of those studio guy groups who were ubiquitous on easy-listening recordings by the likes of Hefti, Mancini, and others in this period - starts at 1:19. I think it’s better without the lyrics, but then, so is "Suicide is Painless."

Get the Best of Maclean’s straight to your inbox.

Sign up for news, commentary, analysis and promotions. Join 80,000+ Canadian readers.