Big Bang Theory Theme – English Lyrics

• By: Barenaked Ladies
• Album: Hits from Yesterday & the Day Before

Lyrics & Translation

Learning English with the 'Big Bang Theory Theme' by Barenaked Ladies offers a unique and fun way to expand your vocabulary with scientific and historical terms. The song's rapid-fire lyrics and clever wordplay provide a special opportunity to practice pronunciation and rhythm in a memorable and entertaining context.

[English]

Our whole universe was in a hot dense state

Then nearly 14 billion years ago, expansion started (wait)

The Earth began to cool

The autotrophs began to drool

Neanderthals developed tools

We built a wall (we built the pyramids)

Math, science, history, unraveling the mystery

That all started with the big bang

(Bang!)

Since the dawn of man is really not that long

As every galaxy was formed in less time than it takes to sing this song

A fraction of a second and the elements were made

The bipeds stood up straight

The dinosaurs all met their fate

They tried to leap, but they were late

And they all died (they froze their asses off)

The oceans and Pangaea

See ya, wouldn't wanna be set in motion by the same big bang

It all started with the big bang

It's expanding ever outward but one day

It will pause and start to go the other way

Collapsing ever inward, we won't be here, it won't be heard

Our best and brightest figure that it'll make an even bigger bang

...

...

Australopithecus would really have been sick of us

Debating how we're here, they're catching deer (we're catching viruses)

Religion or astronomy, Encarta, Deuteronomy

It all started with the big bang

Music and mythology, Einstein and astrology

It all started with the big bang

It all started with the big bang

...

Key Grammar Structures

• Our whole universe was in a hot dense state

  ➔ Past Simple of 'to be'

  ➔ The past simple form "was" is used to describe a state or condition that existed at a specific time in the past and is now finished. Here, it describes the initial state of the universe.

• Then nearly 14 billion years ago, expansion started

  ➔ Past Simple (Active Voice)

  ➔ The past simple verb "started" is used to describe a completed action that happened at a specific point in the past ("nearly 14 billion years ago"). This is a fundamental tense for narrating past events.

• As every galaxy was formed in less time than it takes to sing this song

  ➔ Past Simple Passive Voice

  ➔ The structure "was formed" uses the past simple of 'to be' + past participle, indicating that the galaxies were the *recipients* of the action (forming), and the agent (who/what formed them) is either unknown or less important than the action itself.

• The Earth began to cool

  ➔ Verb + Infinitive (with 'to')

  ➔ The verb "began" is followed by the infinitive "to cool". This common construction indicates the start of an action or a change in state. Other verbs like 'start', 'continue', 'try' can also be followed by 'to' + infinitive.

• It's expanding ever outward but one day

  ➔ Present Continuous (for ongoing action/trend)

  ➔ The present continuous form "expanding" (from "It is expanding") is used here to describe an ongoing process or a continuous trend that is happening currently and is expected to continue.

• It will pause and start to go the other way

  ➔ Future Simple (for prediction)

  ➔ The auxiliary verb "will" followed by the base form of the verb ("pause", "start") is used to make a prediction about a future event or an action that is expected to happen.

• Australopithecus would really have been sick of us

  ➔ Modal Verb + Perfect Infinitive (Hypothetical Past)

  ➔ The structure "would have been" is a modal perfect construction. It expresses a hypothetical or unreal situation in the past, often suggesting what *might* have happened under different circumstances or what *would* have been the case.

• Math, science, history, unraveling the mystery

  ➔ Present Participle (as descriptive phrase/reduced relative clause)

  ➔ The present participle "unraveling" functions as a descriptive phrase modifying "Math, science, history." It is a shortened form of a relative clause (e.g., "which are unraveling"), indicating an ongoing action or characteristic of the subjects.

• Debating how we're here, they're catching deer

  ➔ Gerund (as part of a noun phrase/topic)

  ➔ The word "Debating" is a gerund (verb + -ing form functioning as a noun). Here, it acts as a topic or an activity that Australopithecus would have been sick of, referring to the act of debating itself.