Hah! I didn’t know the story behind the unsung lyrics for the original Star Trek. Too funny. I hope that meant that Mr. Roddenberry was able to live comfortably.

Oh. Wait. I think he was fairly successful in the long run. Wasn’t he?

OK, Trekkies: Anyone know the lyrics to the theme music for the original Star Trek TV series?

Lyrics? Yes, said Robert Picardo, words accompanied the famous tune composed by the late Alexander (Sandy) Courage.

“And they were appallingly bad – they’re all about searching for a ‘Star Woman,’ ” said the actor who portrayed the Emergency Medical Hologram (aka the Doctor) on Star Trek: Voyager. Picardo even will sing them as part of today’s Colorado Symphony program, “Trek: The Concert.”

But who wrote the lyrics?

“The words were penned by (series creator) Gene Roddenberry,” he said. “And for a simple reason: Gene knew he’d collect royalties each time the theme was played, even though it would remain an instrumental.” (Soprano Loulie Jean Norman sang that famous, wordless tune.)

In addition to crooning – something he’d done in Voyager – Picardo will serve as narrator on Saturday, teaming with actor John de Lancie (Q in Star Trek: The Next Generation). Interspersed with musical excerpts from four TV series and seven films, conducted by Erich Kunzel, the actors will tell the Star Trek story.

De Lancie (named after his father, the famed Philadelphia Orchestra oboist) hooked up with Kunzel to create this tribute at gala concerts given by the Dallas Symphony in June 2007.

I read the above, and more, here. Too bad I can’t make it to the concert. It’s a bit of a drive, and what with gas prices and all ….