The music and lyrics for the theme song, "The Ballad of Gilligan’s Isle", were written by Sherwood Schwartz and George Wyle. One version was used for the first season and another for the second and third seasons. In the original song, the Professor and Mary Ann, originally considered "second-billed co-stars", were referred to as "the rest", but with the growing popularity of those characters, their names were inserted into the lyrics in the second season. The Gilligan theme song underwent this one major change because star Bob Denver personally asked studio executives to add Johnson and Wells to the song. When the studio at first refused, saying it would be too expensive to reshoot, Denver insisted, even going so far as to state that if Johnson and Wells were not included, he wanted his name out of the song, as well. The studio caved in, and "the Professor and Mary Ann" were added.
The first-season version was recorded by the folk group The Wellingtons. The second-season version, which incorporated more of a sea shanty sound, was uncredited, but according to Russell Johnson in his book Here on Gilligan's Isle, it was performed by a group called the Eligibles.
The show's original pilot episode featured a Calypso theme song by future film composer John Williams, and different lyrics. The original length of the voyage was "a six-hour ride", not "a three-hour tour". John Williams (or Johnny Williams as he was often listed in the show credits) also started out as the composer of the incidental music for the show (from 1964 to 1965), but was replaced by Gerald Fried for the remaining seasons (1965–1967).
lyrics
Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale,
A tale of a fateful trip,
That started from this tropic port,
Aboard this tiny ship.
The mate was a mighty sailing man,
The skipper brave and sure.
Five passengers set sail that day,
For a three hour tour, a three hour tour.
The weather started getting rough,
The tiny ship was tossed,
If not for the courage of the fearless crew,
The minnow would be lost, the minnow would be lost.
The ship set ground on the shore of this uncharted desert isle,
With Gilligan,
The Skipper too,
The millionaire and his wife,
The movie star,
Professors and Mary Ann's
Here on Gilligan's Isle.
So this is the tale of our castaways,
They're here for a long, long time.
They'll have to make the best of things,
It's an uphill climb.
The first mate and his skipper too,
Will do their very best,
To make the others comfortable,
In the tropic island nest.
No phones, no lights, no motor cars,
Not a single luxury.
Like Robinson Crusoe,
It's primitive as can be.
So join us here each week my friend,
You're sure to get a smile.
From seven stranded Castaways,
Here on Gilligan's Isle.
credits
from Television, Season One (2018-19),
released June 13, 2019
Written by Sherwood Schwartz and George Wyle.
Performed by Nick Williams.
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