What song was the opening theme of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood?

The opening theme of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood was “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”

Fred Rogers wrote the song in 1967, and it became the musical greeting that opened each episode. In the familiar sequence, the camera moves across a model neighborhood and toward Rogers’ television house. Fred Rogers then enters, sings the song, changes from a jacket into a cardigan, and swaps his dress shoes for sneakers before beginning the day’s conversation.

The theme was more than a catchy introduction. Its lyrics invited children into a welcoming, reassuring space and reinforced the program’s central idea that feelings, questions, and personal experiences were worth discussing. The arrangement heard on the show was shaped by musical director Johnny Costa, whose jazz-influenced piano playing gave the program much of its distinctive sound.

The song is sometimes confused with the show’s closing music. “Tomorrow” was used as an early closing theme, “The Weekend Song” was used on some Friday episodes, and “It’s Such a Good Feeling” became the regular closing theme from 1973. Those songs ended episodes; “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” opened them. The title is also commonly written with a question mark, matching the song’s original wording.