Believe in Yourself

Believe in Yourself
Artist	Judy Henderson and Jerry DeVilliers, Jr. (writers) Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers (performers) Arthur, D.W., Mr. Ratburn, and others (brief lines) Backstreet Boys
Runtime	1:51 (full) 1:07 (theme song) 0:45 (end credits)
Played in	The theme song of Arthur
Video

Believe in Yourself is the theme song to the Arthur TV series performed by Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers. An instrumental version also plays over the end credits. The original recording is 1:51, but is shortened to about 1 minute for the opening theme and 30-45 seconds for the credits.

It was first made available on Arthur and Friends: The First Almost Real Not Live CD (or Tape), as the first track. A remix of the theme plays over the credits of Season 6 and was released on the album, Arthur's Really Rockin' Music Mix.

The theme was covered by the Backstreet Boys for the special, Arthur - It's Only Rock 'n' Roll.

Lyrics

Everyday when you're walking down the street,
And everybody that you meet
Has an original point of view

And I say hey! (Hey!)
What a wonderful kind of day
If we could learn to work and play
And get along with each other

You gotta listen to your heart, listen to the beat
Listen to the rhythm, the rhythm of the street
Open up your eyes, open up your ears
Get together and make things better,
By working together!

It's a simple message,
And it comes from the heart
Believe in yourself,
For that's the place to start

And I say hey! (Hey!)
What a wonderful kind of day,
If we could learn to work and play
And get along with each other

Hey! What a wonderful kind of day. Hey!
What a wonderful kind of day

Hey!

(Theme song only)

Arthur: Hey, D.W!

D.W: Hey!

Arthur: Whoooooaaaaaaa....Ooh! (crash)

History

• 1996–present: It is played on every Arthur episode at the beginning.
• 1996-2012: It is played in the credits.
• 1998: The song makes its full appearance on Arthur and Friends: The First Almost Real Not Live CD (or Tape).
• 2001: It was remixed in the Season 6 credits and on Arthur's Really Rockin' Music Mix. Francine's song, from "To Beat or Not to Beat," "You Can Fly If You Try" can be heard in the back round.
• 2002: It was covered by the Backstreet Boys on the closing credits of "Arthur - It's Only Rock 'n' Roll."
• 2002-09: The theme is no longer remixed in the credits, but it starts with the first verse of the song.
• 2008: It was played twice in the intro of "The Frensky Family Fiasco," but was stopped twice by Arthur.
• 2009-12: An instrumental version is played while D.W. narrates the website and Arthur books. However the lines "What a wonderful kind of day (hey)!" is sung 2x when the logos are shown.
• 2012-14: The instrumental version is played while Arthur narrates the website and Arthur books. However "What a wonderful kind of day (hey)!" isn't sung when the logos are shown and Arthur is seen in his flash animated design.
• 2014–present: The instrumental version is played while Buster narrates the website and Arthur books. On PBS reruns only of earlier seasons of the series as of 2014, they use these credits.
• 2018: It was covered and performed by Chance the Rapper, Peter Cottontale, Nate Fox, Donnie Trumpet & Stix for Social Experiment for the closing credits for the episode "Muffy Misses Out/Arthur Takes a Stand."

Variations

• Version 1: Used on some Arthur releases. After Arthur crashes into the title, a boing sound is heard with broken pieces also heard.
• Version 2. Used pretty much on almost all Arthur episodes from the time. After Arthur crashes into the title, the broken pieces sounds are still used, but there is no boing sound in this version.
• Version 3: Used on reruns of the earliest Arthur episodes. The voices are out of sync in the song, and then, after Arthur crashes into the title, a big splash of water is heard.
• Version 4: Also used on reruns of the earliest Arthur episodes. The voices are still out of sync, and then Arthur crashes into the title. As this happens, the sound of garbage cans clanking and clattering are heard.

Cover versions

Backstreet Boys

The song was first covered by Backstreet Boys for the 2002 special, It's Only Rock 'n' Roll.

Sons of Admirals

Sons of Admirals - a band consisting of YouTube musicians, Charlie McDonnell (charlieissocoollike), Alex Day (nerimon), Eddplant and Tom Milsom (hexachordal) - recorded a cover of 'Believe in Yourself' as a b-side to their debut (and only) single, 'Here Comes My Baby' (Cat Stevens cover) which was released on 25 October 2010. Covering the song was McDonnell's idea who was a big fan of Arthur. They also performed the song live at The Sun Biz Session in October, 2010.

Michael Mikey Brennan

Michael Mikey Brennan, a massive fan of Arthur recorded two covers (one acoustic) of 'Believe in Yourself' in 2014 and 2015. They were featured on his 'Covers' compilation album released on 3 August 2016.

Album Releases

• Arthur and Friends: The First Almost Real Not Live CD (or Tape)
• Arthur's Really Rockin' Music Mix (remix version)

Trivia

• In 2017, CBS's The Late Show with Stephen Colbert released a web-exclusive music video featuring an extended version of the theme song by Ziggy Marley himself, with Stephen Colbert, Jon Batiste and Chance The Rapper.
• The only episodes that do not use the song during the end credits include: "My Music Rules/That's a Baby Show" (has since been repackaged with standard credits music on PBS reruns only), "Arthur's Perfect Christmas," and "Arthur - It's Only Rock 'n Roll."
• Near the end of the theme song Arthur is walking on the earth, which is what he actually does in his dream in the intro of "Arthur's Toy Trouble."

Goofs

• D.W. is shown turning the pages of the book with her left hand. When it cuts to a close-up, her right hand is on the book. Although it could've been that she changed hands.
• Dave makes an angry face while sitting on the bench next to Jane.