Editing All in the Family (section)

===Theme song===

The series' opening theme song "Those Were the Days", was written by [[Lee Adams]] ([[lyrics]]) and [[Charles Strouse]] (music).<ref>{{cite web |title=Songfacts.com |url=https://www.songfacts.com/facts/archie-and-edith-bunker/those-were-the-days-theme-to-all-in-the-family |access-date=November 17, 2019 |archive-date=November 17, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191117200605/https://www.songfacts.com/facts/archie-and-edith-bunker/those-were-the-days-theme-to-all-in-the-family |url-status=live }}</ref> It was presented in a way that was unique for a 1970s series: Carroll O'Connor and Jean Stapleton were seated at a console or [[spinet]] piano<!-- the appropriate term is debatable --> (played by Stapleton) and sang the tune together on-camera at the start of every episode, concluding with applause from a studio audience. The song dates back to the first ''Justice For All'' pilot filmed in 1968, although on that occasion O'Connor and Stapleton performed the song off-camera and at a faster tempo than the series version.

Six different performances were recorded over the run of the series, including one version that includes additional lyrics. The song is a simple, [[pentatonic]] melody, that can be played exclusively with black keys on a piano, in which Archie and Edith were nostalgic for the simpler days of the past. A longer version of the song was released as a single on [[Atlantic Records]], reaching number 43 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number 30 on the [[Adult Contemporary (chart)|''Billboard'' Adult Contemporary]] chart in early 1972. The additional lyrics in this longer version lend the song a greater sense of sadness and make poignant reference to social changes taking place in the 1960s and early 1970s.

A few perceptible drifts can be observed when listening to each version chronologically. In the original version, the lyric "Those Were The Days" was sung over the [[Tonic (music)|tonic]] (root chord of the song's key), and the piano strikes a [[Dominant seventh chord|dominant 7th passing chord]] in transition to the next part, which is absent from subsequent versions.

Jean Stapleton originally struck a slightly sour note (deliberately) on the word "were" in the phrase "and you knew who you were then," which prompted laughter from the live audience; as the seasons progressed, she delivered this note as an increasingly exaggerated shriek. Carroll O'Connor's pronunciation of "[[welfare state]]" added more of Archie's trademark whining enunciation, and the closing lyrics (especially "Gee, our old [[LaSalle (automobile)|LaSalle]] ran great") were sung with increasingly deliberate articulation, as viewers had complained that they could not understand the words. Also in the original version, the camera angle was shot slightly from the right side of the talent as opposed to the straight on angle of the next version. Jean Stapleton performed the theme song without glasses beginning in season 6.

In addition to O'Connor and Stapleton singing, footage is also shown beginning with aerial shots of Manhattan, and continuing to Queens, progressively zooming in, culminating with a still shot of a lower-middle-class semidetached home, presumably representing the Bunkers' house in Astoria, suggesting that the visit to the Bunkers' home has begun. The house shown in the opening credits is actually located at 89–70 Cooper Avenue in the Glendale section of Queens, New York.<ref name="fewer"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=89-70+Cooper+avenue+Queens+NY&sll=50.233152,-97.119141&sspn=36.760861,79.013672&ie=UTF8&ll=40.71272,-73.860998&spn=0.009499,0.038581&z=15&iwloc=A&layer=c&cbll=40.712707,-73.860995&panoid=wnxHEX-XUhQD_BahBRULxw&cbp=11,107.93,,0,4.05 |title=Location of the target house: 89-70 Cooper Ave |website=Google Maps |date=January 1, 1970 |access-date=September 17, 2011 |archive-date=September 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210916221040/https://www.google.ca/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode&q=89-70+Cooper+avenue+Queens+NY&sll=50.233152,-97.119141&sspn=36.760861,79.013672&ie=UTF8&ll=40.71272,-73.860998&spn=0.009499,0.038581&z=15&iwloc=A&layer=c&cbll=40.712707,-73.860995&panoid=wnxHEX-XUhQD_BahBRULxw&cbp=11,107.93,,0,4.05 |url-status=live }}</ref>

A notable difference exists, between the Cooper Avenue house and the ''All in the Family'' set: the Cooper Avenue house has no porch, while the Bunkers' home featured a front porch. Since the footage used for the opening had been shot back in 1968 for the series' first pilot, the establishing shot of the Manhattan skyline was completely devoid of the [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|World Trade Center]] towers, which had not yet been built. When the series aired two years later, the Trade Center towers, although under construction, had still not yet risen high enough to become a prominent feature on the Manhattan skyline. This did not happen until the end of 1971.

Despite this change in the Manhattan skyline, the original, somewhat grainy 1968 footage continued to be used for the series opening until the series transitioned into ''Archie Bunker's Place'' in 1979. At that time, a new opening with current shots of the Manhattan skyline were used with the Trade Center towers being seen in the closing credits. This opening format—showing actual footage of the cities and neighborhoods in which the show was set—became the standard for most of Norman Lear's sitcoms, including others in the ''All in the Family'' franchise—''Maude'', ''Good Times'', and ''The Jeffersons''.

At the end of the opening, the camera then returns to a last few seconds of O'Connor and Stapleton, as they finish the song. At the end of the original version, Edith smiles at Archie and Archie smiles off at a slight distance. In the longest running version (from season 2 to season 5), Edith smiles blissfully at Archie, and Archie puts a cigar in his mouth and returns a rather cynical, sheepish look to Edith. From season six through eight, Edith smiles and rests her chin on Archie's shoulder.

In the final season, Edith hugs Archie at the conclusion. In the first three versions of the opening, Archie is seen wearing his classic trademark white shirt. In the final version of the opening for the series' ninth season, Archie is seen wearing a gray sweater-jacket over his white shirt. In all versions of the opening, the song's conclusion is accompanied by applause from the studio audience.

In interviews, Norman Lear explained that the idea for the piano song introduction was a cost-cutting measure. After completion of the pilot episode, the budget would not allow an elaborate scene to serve as the sequence played during the show's opening credits. Lear decided to have a simple scene of Archie and Edith singing at the piano.

The closing theme, an [[instrumental]], was "Remembering You", played by its composer [[Roger Kellaway]], with lyrics later added by Carroll O'Connor. It was played over footage of the same row of houses in Queens as in the opening, but moving in the opposite direction down the street, and eventually moving back to aerial shots of Manhattan, suggesting the visit to the Bunkers' home has concluded. O'Connor recorded a vocal version of "Remembering You" for a record album, but though he performed it several times on TV appearances, the lyrics about the end of a romance were never heard in the actual series. In July 1986, vocalist [[Helen Merrill]]'s contrastingly jazz-flavored rendition, accompanied by a Kellaway-led trio and introduced by O'Connor, was featured on ''[[The Merv Griffin Show]]''.<ref>Feather, Leonard (June 8, 1986). "Merrill's Ship Comes In—From Europe". ''The Los Angeles Times''. Calendar section, pp.&nbsp;58, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88211434/the-los-angeles-times/ 59]. Retrieved November 2, 2021.</ref><ref>Times staff (July 11, 1986). [https://www.newspapers.com/image/?clipping_id=88241619 "Tonight on TV"]. ''The Los Angeles Times''. Pt.&nbsp;VI, p.&nbsp;26. Retrieved November 2, 2021.</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olzdE89f7ZU "Helen Merrill, Roger Kellaway, Remembering You, All in the Family, 1986 TV"]. YouTube. Retrieved November 2, 2021.</ref>

Except for some brief instances in the first season, scenes contained no background or transitional music.