The song's title, not mentioned in the lyrics, derives from a tagline that appeared in teaser trailers and the film poster[1] for The Phantom Menace: "Every saga has a beginning".

Set to the tune of Don McLean's "American Pie", "The Saga Begins" recounts the plot of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, from Obi-Wan Kenobi's point of view.

[2] McLean approved of the song and,[2] according to Yankovic, also has said that his children played it so much that "he'd start thinking about Jedis [sic] and Star Wars, and it would mess him up" in concert.

Yankovic uses the Force to get a resonator guitar, and in the second verse he reappears performing in a Mos Eisley cantina leading a band also dressed as Jedi.

An Easter Egg on the DVD is Yankovic's running commentary on the music video, accessible by pressing the "audio" button twice on your remote control.

Yankovic kept the budget down by getting several friends and family members to play various roles, such as his second cousin Tammy as Queen Amidala, and a Tower Records clerk he knew as Mace Windu.

When performing the song live in concert, Al is frequently joined by an honor guard of Stormtroopers that he recruits from the local chapter of the 501st Legion.

Of working with the 501st Legion, Al says, "Every single one of those Stormtroopers acted like I was doing them the biggest favor in the world by letting them perform on stage with me, when in fact the exact opposite was true.

"[6] McLean gave Yankovic permission to release the parody, although he did not make a cameo appearance in its music video, despite popular rumor.