The John Williams Star Wars Song That Reveals An Evil Secret
One of the common criticisms of The Phantom Menace is that it really didn’t foreshadow all that much of the Star Wars Original Trilogy. For example, the film doesn’t really illustrate Anakin Skywalker’s angry tendencies or showcase Yoda as a wise mentor to Obi-Wan Kenobi. However, one important character got some very subtle foreshadowing thanks to John Williams: that happy theme at the end of the Star Wars movie while everyone on Naboo celebrates is actually a sped-up version of Emperor Palpatine’s theme in a different key.
Take a listen and hear for yourself.
This is, of course, the genius work of John Williams, the legendary composer who has given Star Wars its signature music from the very beginning. Even the biggest haters of The Phantom Menace have to admit that Williams was in rare form with that film, giving us such bangers as the excellent “Deal of the Fates.” That song gets all the attention because it plays during the climactic lightsaber duel, but when it comes to hidden foreshadowing, nothing beats the final song.
At first glance, the music John Williams cooked up for the end of the first Star Wars prequel seems completely different because it is so happy and upbeat.
Back in 1983, John Williams gave us “The Emperor’s Theme,” a sinister song that helped introduce the Big Bad of the Star Wars universe. The tune is appropriately foreboding and ominous while still being oddly catchy. In short, if the Dark Side had a theme song, this would be it.
At first glance, the music John Williams cooked up for the end of the first Star Wars prequel seems completely different because it is so happy and upbeat. This is appropriate enough considering that The Phantom Menace is the only prequel to have such a happy ending. Later, Attack of the Clones ends with the outbreak of The Clone Wars and Revenge of the Sith ends with the genocide of the Jedi and the rise of Darth Vader.
The new song is obviously sped up, but it is also in a different key, and that makes all the difference.
However, The Phantom Menace was always meant to set up those eventual darker films, and the movie made it clear that no matter how heroic the Jedi and Amidala might have acted, everyone was secretly dancing to Emperor Palpatine’s tune. Because of this, John Williams did something exceedingly clever by creating a new Star Wars song out of Palpatine’s old theme. The new song is obviously sped up, but it is also in a different key, and that makes all the difference.
If you’re not musically minded (hey, we can’t all be John Williams), here’s what made this Star Wars song remix so effective. The original theme for Palpatine was in a minor key, which is generally used to create songs that sound sad, eerie, or angry. Conversely, major keys are used to create happier music, and the combination of switching keys, speeding up the music, and using children’s voices for the vocals makes the final product sound completely different.
John Williams was able to tweak one of the most famous pieces of Star Wars music into a new tune that reminds us that everything was secretly going according to Palpatine’s plan.
Honestly, this is one of the few trivia facts about The Phantom Menace that makes us respect this flawed prequel at least a little bit more. John Williams was able to tweak one of the most famous pieces of Star Wars music into a new tune that reminds us that everything was secretly going according to Palpatine’s plan. As our heroes celebrate at the end of that movie, the music is nothing less than a reminder that we are watching the beginning of the end of everything they hold dear.
