- "Barney is a Dinosaur" redirects here. For the song in A Day At The Beach, see Barney is Our Dinosaur.
"Barney Theme Song" (also known as "Barney is a Dinosaur") is the opening theme of every Barney & Friends episode and live tour, in addition to some albums (and almost all Barney Home Videos). The song was introduced in the Barney & The Backyard Gang first video The Backyard Show. Its tune is based on "Yankee Doodle". Starting with season 7, a synthesized instrumental of the song is used in the end credits; however, season 14 used its instrumental.
Composition[]
Most of the song is sung in G Major, except for the last verse, which is in B-flat Major.
Opening sequence[]
The opening for the Backyard Gang videos always with the show's title. Then, all clips of videos are shown. The children's names and the mother (as she was omitted in the other five videos) pop up.
The opening for the Barney & Friends TV series always begins with a Barney silhouette marching alongside colored children silhouettes on a line with the show's title underneath (seasons 4-6 show the kid is watching on the TV screen animated in stop-motion, but added with confetti; seasons 7-13 indicate the Barney silhouette is marching solo). We then transition to Barney himself coming to life from his doll form and the children featured in the season hugging him. Clips of episodes/videos are then shown. In the first three seasons, the opening ends with a promo shot of the Barney doll sitting in a tire swing with a rainbow appearing on it, followed by the doll's eye twinkling. The episode's title then appears on the same background as the beginning of the opening, followed by a transition to the episode itself. In seasons 10 and 11, the episode's title appears much later, after Barney hugs the kids. In these seasons, between the final stanza and ending bit, a synth-flute solo based on the first 14 notes plays - the entire solo is an octave higher and its final note is a trilled F6. Also for seasons 10 and 11, the same drumbeat from the seasons 7-13 theme - albeit extended - is used for the title card.
In season 14, the opening is changed to accommodate the new hip-hop version of the theme song. Now, it mostly shows Barney dancing to the song with all kids, with Baby Bop and BJ now added. The opening ends with the show's title being revealed. This time, only the final two notes of the drumbeat from seasons 10-11 are used.
Lyrics[]
| English | Español (Barney en Concierto) | Deutsch (Warten auf Weihnachtsmann) |
|---|---|---|
| Barney is a dinosaur
From our imagination, And when he's tall, he's what we call A dinosaur sensation! Barney lives with Michael and With Amy, then you'll soon see Little Tina tags along With her big sister Luci Jason/Derek is in Barney's club And Adam/Jeffrey has a ticket But Mom has never seen him, 'Cause she doesn't know our secret Barney comes to play with us Whenever we may need him. Barney can be your friend too, If you just make-believe him! |
Barney es un dinosaurio Que vive en nuestra mente Y cuando se hace grande Es realmente sorprendente Michael es su amigo También Amy lo acompaña La prequeña Tina esta Con Luci que su hermana Derek esta en el club con Adam Que es muy travieso. Mami nunca ha visto a Barney Porque el es nuestro secreto Barney viene a jugar Cuando lo necesitas Él también te ayudará Si crees en fantasías. |
Barney ist ein Dinomann, mit Phantasie und Power, und wenn er mit uns lernt und spielt Da sind wir alle schlauer Barney wohnt mit Michael und mit Amy (und das tun sie?) spielen mit klein Tina (Sie bringt?) ihre schwester Luci Derek ist in Barneys Club Und Adam der hat (Gerdet?) Bei wir die beste Freunde sind Und immer etwas lernen Barney kommt und spielt mit uns, er hat die Zeit für Kinder, Barney steht uns immer bei, Im Sommer und im winter |
| English (Season 1-13) | Season 14 | Live Shows |
|---|---|---|
| Barney is a dinosaur
From our imagination, And when he's tall, he's what we call A dinosaur sensation! Barney's friends are big and small; They come from lots of places. After school they meet to play And sing with happy faces Barney shows us lots of things Like how to play pretend, ABC's and 123's And how to be a friend. Barney comes to play with us Whenever we may need him. Barney can be your friend too, If you just make-believe him! |
Barney is a dinosaur From our imagination, And when he's tall, he's what we call A dinosaur sensation! Barney and friends are here for you To sing and dance and play games too! Barney comes to play with us Whenever we may need him. Barney can be your friend too, If you just make-believe him! |
Barney is a dinosaur From our imagination, And when he's tall, he's what we call A dinosaur sensation. Barney comes to play with us Whenever we may need him. Barney can be your friend too, If you just make-believe him! |
| עִברִית (Hebrew) |
|---|
| ברני הוא דינוזאור מהדמיון שלנו
כשהוא גדול, הוא יכול לגעת בכולנו לברני יש חברים שלעולם לא תשכח ואחרי השיעורים הוא ייפגש איתם בשמחה ברני מראה לנו דברים כמו משחק העמדת פנים הוא אפילו מלמד אותנו אותיות ומספרים ברני הוא חבר שכיף בכל מצב הוא אף פעם לא עייף אם אתה רוצה שהוא יופיע. |
| 한국인 (Korean) |
|---|
| 공룡 친구 바니는 상상 속의 친구
모든 일을 척척 하는 요술쟁이 친구 공룡 친구 바니는 친구들도 많아 바니하고 놀다보면 웃음꽃이 피죠 공룡 친구 바니는 척척박사 친구 바니하고 놀다보면 몸도 맘도 쑥쑥 힘들 때나 심심할 때 언제든지 오세요 우리 친구 바니하고 신나게 놀아요 |
| Español (Temporadas 1-13) | Temporada 14 | Show en Vivo |
|---|---|---|
| Barney es un dinosaurio
Que vive en nuestra mente Y cuando se hace grande Es realmente sorprendente Él le brinda su amistad A grandes y pequeños Después de la escuela Juegan todos muy contentos Barney nos enseñan Muchos juegos divertidos El A-B-C y 1-2-3 Tambien son sus amigos Barney viene a jugar Cuando lo necesitas El tambien te ayudará Si crees en fantasías |
Barney es un dinosaurio Que vive en nuestra mente Y cuando se hace grande Es realmente sorprendente ? Barney para la jugar Cuando lo necesitas ese ambiente ayudará si crece en fantasías |
Barney es un dinosaurio Que vive en nuestra mente Y cuando se hace grande Es realmente sorprendente Barney para la jugar Cuando lo necesitas ese ambiente ayudará si crece en fantasías |
| Deutsch (German) |
|---|
| Barney ist ein Dinomann
mit Phantasie und Power, und wenn er mit uns lernt und spielt Da sind wir alle schlauer Barney's Freunde gross und klein sind überall zu Hause, nach der Schule wollen sie spielen, Und singen ohne Pause Barney ist ein echter Freund, er zeigt uns tolle Sachen, das ABC und 123, da sind wir gern dabei. Barney kommt und spielt mit uns, er hat die Zeit für Kinder, Barney steht uns immer bei, im Sonmer und im Winter |
Variations[]
Barney & The Backyard Gang[]
- Barney & the Backyard Gang (first trilogy of videos): The original arrangement of the Barney Theme Song. Basic synthesized instruments are used.
- Barney & the Backyard Gang (last pentalogy of videos): This arrangement is very much like the first arrangement, but with different instrumentation.
- Waiting for Santa (German): This arrangement doesn't have the beginning and end of the Barney Theme Song, the title of the episode said.
- Waiting for Santa (Spanish): This arrangement is all instrumental, however only the Backyard Gang names are said and the title of the episode at the end (showing in Spanish) of the Barney Theme Song.
- Barney Goes to School (Spanish): This the only arrangement dubbed over the English theme song, has the beginning and end of the Barney Theme Song, and the title of the episode said.
- Barney in Concert (English and Spanish): The arrangement for the Barney Theme Song used in the concert is the same as the rest of the BYG series, but it also uses the instruments that were later used in seasons 1-3 of Barney & Friends.
- Barney in Concert (Spanish): This arrangement has the beginning and end of the Barney Theme Song, the beginning said as, "Barney y la banda del patio" and the title of the episode.
Barney & Friends[]
- Barney & Friends (Seasons 1-3): The song is sped up and uses a different set of instruments. This is the most famous version of the Barney Theme Song. A version without the cartoony sound effects is featured on the album Barney's Favorites Vol. 2 and various Barney stage shows from 1992-1996 (like Barney Live! in New York City).
- Barney & Friends (Seasons 4-6): A more synthesized remix of the song, modernizing it. Starting with season 5, the vocals are now toned down. Select prints of seasons 4 and 6 episodes use only the first and final stanzas.
- Barney & Friends (Seasons 7-13): A modernized version of the seasons 4-6 version, this time with added sound effects like a car horn. An instrumental arrangement is used for the end credits. Starting with season 12, the sounds are removed for the first interlude.
- Barney & Friends (Season 14): The song becomes more contemporary with a new hip-hop remix, this time with a rapped verse in between the first and final stanzas from the shortened version of the seasons 4-6 version. An instrumental version is used for the end credits (once the seasons 7-13 end credits use the above arrangement instead of this one).
Barney Live Shows[]
- A Day in the Park with Barney: Another synthesized version of the song, based on the seasons 1-3 version.
- Barney's Big Surprise: This version uses the instrumental of the version used in A Day in the Park with Barney with the vocals of the season 4 version of seasons 4-6. This version is also used in 1996-1999 Barney stage shows.
- Barney's Musical Castle: Another modern synthesized version of the song. This version is also used in a lot of other Barney stage shows like Barney's Open House, Barney's Theatre, Barney's Colorful World!, and a few others from 1999-2006.
- Barney Live! - The Let's Go Tour: This version combines the variants used for Musical Castle and Seasons 7 to 13 and makes them grander with new vocals. Along with adding magical sounds to expand on Barney's transformation. This version would also be used for Barney's Let's Imagine and Barney's Space Adventures.
- Barney Live in Concert - Birthday Bash!: Another hip-hop variation, this time with aspects of the original song. This version is also used in post-2010 Barney stage shows.
Song Omissions[]
This is a list of releases omitting the Barney Theme Song that, despite being used in many episodes, has also been omitted numerous times.
- Imagination Island
- Barney Safety
- Barney's Great Adventure
- Barney's First Adventures
- My Party with Barney
- Come on Over to Barney's House
- Let's Go to the Zoo
- The Land of Make Believe
- Can You Sing That Song?
- Let's Make Music
- Let's Go to the Fire House
- Dino-Mite Birthday
- Celebrating Around The World
- Barney's Animal ABC's
- Hi! I'm Riff!
- The Best of Barney
- Once Upon a Dino-Tale
- Let's Go on Vacation
- Barney's Jungle Friends
- I Can Do It!
- A Very Merry Christmas
- I Love My Friends
- Barney's Sleepytime Songs
- Run, Jump, Skip and Sing
- Happy Holidays Love, Barney
- Barney's Great Adventure: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
- I Love to Sing with Barney
- Barney's A Great Day for Learning
- Barney For Baby: Love and Lullabies
- Barney Rocks!
- Start Singing With Barney
- The Barney Boogie
- The Land of Make Believe
- Perfectly Platinum: 30 Dino-Mite Songs
Gallery[]
Opening Titles[]
Barney & The Backyard Gang[]
Barney & Friends[]
Barney Home Videos[]
.jpg "BarneyHomeVideoLogo3(Version1).jpg (179 KB)")
.jpg "BarneyHomeVideoLogo3(Version2).jpg (177 KB)")
Co-Productions[]
International[]
Arabic[]
Albanian[]
Brazil[]
.png "BarneyESeusAmigos(S4-6).png (2.27 MB)")
Latin America[]
Trivia[]
- In the live tours, the theme is shortened to only the first and last stanzas.
- For Barney's 20th Anniversary, the song was remixed in a hip-hop style and was put into a music video with modern clips of the TV show and several home videos.
- The last few notes of the theme song are heard at the end of "The Backyard Gang Rap".
- In Season 7 of the theme song, a promo video of Gianna and Sarah riding on the bench was shown.
- In the Italian-language dub of the show, an entirely new theme song was composed.