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25th Nov 2016

The story behind the Gilmore Girls theme song is very special

Megan Roantree

Any true Gilmore Girls fan cannot just say those first words without singing them.

The song Where you Lead will always have a special space in our hearts.

And now that the revival is finally here, it will be on everyone’s mind even more in the next few days.

But it turns out the song isn’t just any song, and the people behind it have a relationship similar to Lorelai and Rory.

The original Where You Lead was sung by Carole King and featured on the 1971 album Tapestry.

Carole grew unhappy with the song over time however, as she didn’t appreciate the stand by your man theme.

However, years later Carole’s was asked by some friends (creators Amy Sherman Paladino and her husband Dan) to re-record the song with her daughter Louise Goffin for a pilot they were making called Gilmore Girls.

Louise explained to Buzzfeed that they then changed up the song to suit the mother-daughter relationship more appropriately.

The song originally featured lines like “I never thought I could get satisfaction from just one man, but if anyone could keep me happy, you’re the one who can.”

They recorded the new version and when Louise saw the opening sequence she felt it was perfect.

“The footage they have in the opening sequence where [Lorelai and Rory] are on the porch in one scene and Rory lays her head down on Lorelai’s shoulder, that really captures the song,” Louise said. “It’s a very good fit for the show and I think they work together as a whole.”

So it’s not just any old song that sounds nice, the two women who sang it are really mother and daughter and the song was re-written to reflect that special bond.

The creators of the show still see Louise and Carole as a huge part of the show and even invited them to guest star on the show for the revival.

“They said, ‘We want to honor our whole family of people who invested in the original series and who was a part of it,’”

“They told me, ‘You’re a part of the Gilmore Girls family tree.’” Louise said.

Gilmore Girls really is about families and community, and I think that has a lot of importance and resonance today.” Louise said, adding that it was “incredibly special.”

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Gilmore Girls