With talk of “tossed salad and scrambled eggs,” the meaning behind the Frasier theme song still baffles many viewers despite how iconic it is. After debuting on Cheers as a recurring character who gradually became part of the beloved ensemble, Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) made for one of the rare sitcom characters to headline a successful spinoff, with Frasier building its own legacy outside of Cheers. Yet after over a decade on the air and a new reboot, the Frasier theme song’s meaning remains elusive.
While the Frasier reboot is missing key characters like Niles and Marty, it keeps the same theme song. The original Frasier‘s distinctive theme “Tossed Salads and Scrambled Eggs” is sung by Kelsey Grammer himself, and ranks alongside the likes of Friends’ “I’ll Be There For You” as one of the most recognizable sitcom themes of the era. Its popularity is all the more impressive given the fact that the strange phrase “Tossed Salads and Scrambled Eggs” still holds no real meaning for a lot of fans.
Frasier’s Tossed Salads & Scrambled Eggs Are His Radio Callers
The Song’s Composer Detailed The Subtle Connection To The Show
Frasier theme song’s meaning is elusive thanks to its lyrics but it has been addressed. The mystery was solved on former Frasier and Simpsons‘ writer Ken Levine’s blog, where he spoke with composer Bruce Miller to decode the meaning of “Tossed Salads And Scrambled Eggs.” Miller’s direction for the theme was to create something jazzy whilst avoiding direct references to the subject matter, including Frasier Crane’s name and psychiatrist job. He contacted musician friend Darryl Phinnesse, who suggested using “Tossed Salads and Scrambled Eggs,” since they’re both things that are mixed up, like Frasier’s patients.
More directly, the lyrics mean:
Lyric | Meaning |
|---|---|
Hey baby, I hear the blues a-callin“ | Refers to the people calling Frasier’s radio show to air their problems. |
“And maybe I seem a bit confused / Yeah maybe, but I got you pegged!“ | Admission that Frasier himself is also a little mixed up, but he does his best to understand their problems. |
“But I don’t know what to do with those Tossed Salads and Scrambled Eggs“ | The tossed salads and scrambled eggs are a metaphor for Frasier’s phone-in listeners, and the last line explains he’s not sure what to do with the constant flood of callers. |
Frasier’s Tossed Salads & Scrambled Eggs Are His Family & Friends
The Theme Of A Psychiatrist With His Own Personal Issues Is Key To The Series
The “Tossed Salads and Scrambled Eggs” meaning could also refer to Frasier’s friends and family. While there’s no doubt that Frasier’s callers are a bit mixed up, the same can be said for Frasier‘s other quirky characters like Niles, Martin, and Daphne. If the lyrics “And maybe I seem a bit confused / Yeah maybe, but I got you pegged!” mean that Frasier understands his callers fairly well, then it makes sense that the line “But I don’t know what to do with those Tossed Salads and Scrambled Eggs” would refer to the more confounding issues of his personal life.
How The Frasier Reboot Uses The Theme Song
The Theme Song Works In A New Way With A Very Different Frasier
Given how recognizable “Tossed Salad and Scrambled Eggs” is, it is not surprising that it was re-recorded as the theme song for the 2023 Frasier reboot series. However, the theme song takes on a different context in the new show but still works as an interpretation of it being about Fraiser’s professional and personal lives.
The reboot finds Frasier in a very different place professionally. Following the death of Frasier’s father Marty and the end of his relationship with Charlotte, Frasier is now a retired psychiatrist, a published author, and lectures on psychology at Harvard after returning to Boston. In some ways, it could be interpreted as Frasier having succeeded at his professional goals which gives new meaning to the boastful line in the theme song “I’ve got you pegged.”
However, the reboot also shows that the “tossed salad and scrambled eggs” of his personal life are still very much an issue that he deals with. Along with coping with the death of his father and another serious relationship coming to an end, the reboot deals with Frasier working on his fractured relationship with his son, Freddy. Therefore, the theme song takes on a new meaning of being about Frasier conquering his professional life but still having plenty of personal issues to resolve.
Fraiser Almost Didn’t Have Tossed Salad & Scrambled Eggs
The Frasier Theme Song’s Ambiguity Added To Its Legacy
Part of what makes the Frasier theme song so memorable is its bizarre lyrics, but it is not surprising that the network were apprehensive about such a puzzling theme song. Vanity Fair did a piece celebrating Frasier‘s 25th anniversary a while back and in the article, it was revealed that studios originally planned to use Joni Mitchell’s 1974 song “Twisted.” Though Joni Mitchell’s rendition of the jazzy ballad is the most well-known, it was a cover of a jazz tune written by Annie Ross and composed by Wardell Gray.
Forgoing Mitchell’s “Twisted” allowed Grammer to add his own personal touch and made an impact by having the main character sing the show’s theme song.
However, licensing the song to become Frasier‘s theme tune turned out to be too involved of a process for studios. As it were, Frasier‘s original plan for a theme tune wouldn’t have worked to its benefit. Forgoing Mitchell’s “Twisted” allowed Grammer to add his own personal touch and made an impact by having the main character sing the show’s theme song. In addition, the “Tossed Salads and Scrambled Eggs” meaning mystery did add a unique element to the series, whereas Mitchell’s lyrics in “Twisted” are a little too on the nose for what Frasier was ultimately going for.
Other TV Show Intros With Meanings To Discover
Succession And The Wire Also Feature Famous TV Intros That Can Be Explored More Deeply
The ambiguous meaning of Frasier‘s theme song may have helped to make it so memorable over the years, and there are several similar TV intros that have caught the viewers’ attention thanks to some mystery aspects. Similar to Frasier‘s tune about “tossed salad and scrambled eggs,” the true meaning behind the theme song of Suits has also baffled people, with the show’s creator even admitting he doesn’t know the lyrics. However, “Greenback Boogie” by Ima Robot actually fits nicely with the show’s story.
“Greenback Boogie” refers to the pursuit of money, which relates to the lawyer characters’ tenacious quest for success. Another TV theme song that hides deeper aspects of its meaning is The Wire. The acclaimed crime series features the song “Way Down in the Hole” by Tom Waits, but each new season features a different cover of the song. This is a subtle connection to the theme of the series of the fight against drugs on the streets of Baltimore, where nothing really changes despite new approaches being taken.
Sometimes it is not the theme song that holds the mystery but rather the opening credits themselves. One of the most memorable in recent years has been the credit sequence for Succession. The eerie and foreboding music is certainly gripping, but there have been a lot of questions about the images seen. None of the main characters appear in the credit sequence, but the images are meant to show a past vacation for the Roy family when the siblings were kids, with each season subtly changing the images to reflect where the story is now.
