Don Black Previews DOWNTON ABBEY Theme Song

Legendary lyricist Don Black discusses penning lyrics to the iconic theme song of international period-set hit series DOWNTON ABBEY and previews the atmospheric and moody new song in a new interview.

"Did I make the most of loving you? / So many things we didn't do / Did I give you all my heart good healing?" sings an ethereal operatic soprano (Mary-Jess) in the preview clip, giving voice to a the recent plight of Lady Mary with the passing of her husband while in young motherhood - a plot point upon which the premiere episode of Season Four of the series will purportedly center, though this song was actually penned prior to the events of last season.

Black discusses how he came to write the lyrics to the theme song for DOWNTON ABBEY, titled "Did I Make The Most Of Loving You", revealing, "I got a call from John Lunn, the man who wrote the wonderful music."

Black shares, "I'd never seen the program, so I looked at an episode and the line just came out to me, 'Did I make the Most Of Loving You'.

"It was a universal thought that seemed to apply to a lot of things," Black says of the theme.

Additionally, Black comments that the job of a lyricist is to always work with the music - never against it. He opines, "Experience has taught me that if you hug the contours of the melody, you will never upset the composer. The thing is not to change the melody, just make the words sit on the notes so that they're easy to sing. Make it seem effortless and spontaneous - that's what a lyric-writer's job is."

DOWNTON ABBEY returns with Season Four in the UK this Fall and returns in the US this January. The song is available on the official soundtrack for the series, though it is unclear how it will be utilized and in what context in Season Four.

Also, check out my recent InDepth InterView with S4 DOWNTON ABBEY addition Julian Ovenden, available here, as well as my InDepth InterView with THE CHRONICLES OF DOWNTON ABBEY author Jessica Fellowes, available here.

Listen to a preview of the new DOWNTON ABBEY theme in this interview with Don Black below (1:10 in).