Ground BGM (Super Mario World)
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| "Ground BGM" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| "Ground BGM" in Super Mario World | |||
 Image from Nintendo Music | |||
| Composed by: Koji Kondo | |||
| Key | F major | ||
| First appearance | Super Mario World (1990) | ||
| Latest appearance | The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026) | ||
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"Ground BGM",[1] also known as "Ground Theme",[2] "Overworld Theme",[3] or "Main Theme",[4] is a musical theme composed by Koji Kondo for the overworld levels in Super Mario World. The theme is used as a motif throughout the game, and it has been reused and rearranged in numerous games and other works in the Super Mario franchise.
Composition[edit]
"Ground BGM" is played on steel drum, with synthesizer, guitar, brass, and acoustic bass as accompaniment, matching the tropical setting of Dinosaur Land. The melody is similar to that of the 1963 folk song "Green, Green".[5] The melody mostly adheres to the major pentatonic scale in the key of F.
Reuses[edit]
The following list does not include ports or remakes of Super Mario World.
| Game | Description |
|---|---|
| Super Mario Maker / Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS / Super Mario Maker 2 | "Ground BGM" plays during ground-themed levels in the Super Mario World style. |
| Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U | "Ground BGM", now titled "Ground Theme (Super Mario World)", can be played in the Super Mario Maker DLC stage. The second half uses the bongo percussion heard while riding a Yoshi in Super Mario World. |
| Mario Party: Star Rush | "Ground BGM", now titled the "Overworld Theme", is one of the selectable songs in Rhythm Recital. |
| WarioWare Gold | An excerpt of "Ground BGM" plays in the Super Mario World microgame. |
| Super Smash Bros. Ultimate | "Ground BGM", now titled "Ground Theme - Super Mario World", can be played on any Super Smash Bros.-series and Super Mario-series stage. The second half uses the bongo percussion heard while riding a Yoshi in Super Mario World. |
| WarioWare: Get It Together! | "Ground BGM" plays in levels 1 and 2 of the Super Mario World boss microgame. |
| LEGO Super Mario | A shortened loop of "Ground BGM" is heard throughout the animation that plays on the LEGO Mario figure's screen display upon scanning it with the Super Mario World: Mario & Yoshi motion-based LEGO set. |
History[edit]
Super Mario series[edit]
Super Mario World / Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World / Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2[edit]
In Super Mario World and its port, Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World, the "Ground BGM" motif is used in several different themes throughout Super Mario World, often changing the mode of the theme.
- "Athletic BGM"[1] is an upbeat ragtime arrangement of "Ground BGM" in the key of C major.
- "Underwater BGM"[1] is a slow waltz arrangement of "Ground BGM" in the original key of F major. The rhythm of the melody is altered to fit the triple meter time of the piece.
- "Underground BGM"[1] and "Castle BGM"[1] are both slow arrangements of "Ground BGM". They flatten most instances of the mediant and leading tone to put the melody in the Dorian mode. "Castle BGM" is transposed to C minor for the repeating bars.
- "Ghost House BGM"[1] is a foreboding arrangement of "Ground BGM". The motif of the theme is played slowly in several natural minor scales in the arrangement. Additionally, the key center regularly changes throughout the arrangement to produce an unnerving, disorienting effect.
- "Bonus Game BGM"[1] is a playful arrangement of "Ground BGM" in the key of F major.
- "Course Clear"[1] is a brief brass arrangement of "Ground BGM".
- "Game Over"[1] is an arrangement of "Ground BGM" played on a harp.
While Mario is riding a Yoshi, bongo percussion is added to the original theme and all of these arrangements. This does not include "Ghost House BGM" and "Castle BGM", where Yoshi cannot enter, "Bonus Game BGM", which already includes bongo percussion, and jingles such as "Course Clear" and "Game Over".
The Game Boy Advance remake of Super Mario World, Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2, features an arrangement of "Ground BGM". This version is much more compressed than the original version and uses different, lower-quality synthetic instruments.
Like the Super Mario World original, additional percussion is added to the instrumentation when the player rides a Yoshi.
 Yoshi Ground BGM - The Yoshi version of the original theme heard in Super Mario World | File info 0:30 |
| Athletic BGM - The athletic arrangement heard in Super Mario World | File info 0:30 |
| Yoshi Athletic BGM - The Yoshi version of the athletic arrangement heard in Super Mario World | File info 0:30 |
| Underwater BGM - The underwater arrangement heard in Super Mario World | File info 0:30 |
| Yoshi Underwater BGM - The Yoshi version of the underwater arrangement heard in Super Mario World | File info 0:30 |
| Underground BGM - The underground arrangement heard in Super Mario World | File info 0:30 |
| Yoshi Underground BGM - The Yoshi version of the underground arrangement heard in Super Mario World | File info 0:30 |
| Ghost House BGM - The Ghost House arrangement heard in Super Mario World | File info 0:30 |
| Castle BGM - The castle arrangement heard in Super Mario World | File info 0:30 |
| Bonus Game BGM - The bonus game arrangement heard in Super Mario World | File info 0:30 |
| Course Clear - The course clear arrangement heard in Super Mario World | File info 0:11 |
| Game Over - The Game Over arrangement heard in Super Mario World | File info 0:09 |
| Ground BGM - The arrangement heard in Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2 | File info 0:30 |
Super Mario Bros. Deluxe[edit]
In Super Mario Bros. Deluxe, a message can be entered when viewing banners in the Mystery Room; the default message is a series of notes that, when Start is pressed, causes an 8-bit arrangement of the ending notes of "Ground BGM" to play.
New Super Mario Bros. 2[edit]
In New Super Mario Bros. 2, the chime that can be heard while the game loads sometimes plays a small part of "Ground BGM".
Super Mario Maker[edit]
Super Mario Maker features an original, more ambient arrangement of "Ground BGM" for editing ground-themed courses in the Course Maker, using eight tracks that fade in and out randomly to create a dynamic mix. This arrangement returns for the same purpose in Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS and Super Mario Maker 2.
| Ground Theme (Editing) - The arrangement heard in Super Mario Maker | File info |
Super Mario Run[edit]
In Super Mario Run, an arrangement of "Ground BGM" is incorporated into the theme for Remix 10.
Super Mario Odyssey[edit]
In Super Mario Odyssey, a solo jazz piano arrangement of "Ground BGM", titled "New Donk City: Cafe" in the in-game Music List and "Pausing by the Poolside" in Nintendo Music, plays on a radio in New Donk City's Outdoor Café. This version was arranged by Naoto Kubo.
| Pausing by the Poolside - The arrangement heard in Super Mario Odyssey | File info |
Super Mario Maker 2[edit]
Super Mario Maker 2 introduces several new course themes in the Super Mario World style that use "Ground BGM"'s motif in their music.
The desert theme, composed in the key of A with the Hungarian minor scale, plays the motif on oud, pan flute, and accordion.
The snow theme is an arrangement on strings, horn (sounding like a bassoon), glockenspiel, trumpet, tubular bells, and accordion with acoustic bass and sleigh bell as accompaniment, though some notes removed from the melody. It also replaces "Ground BGM"'s B section with a tubular bell arrangement of a motif taken from "Cool, Cool Mountain" from Super Mario 64.
The forest theme plays the motif on marimba and soprano saxophone, with acoustic bass, hi-hat, and congas as accompaniment. Its arrangement resembles that of "Underground BGM", but in a major key.
A music box version of every piece of background music associated with a course theme plays during nighttime levels. This includes all themes based on "Ground BGM" from Super Mario World.
Like in Super Mario Maker, all of these tracks are paired with bongo percussion when Mario is riding a Yoshi. Additionally, every new theme is also associated with more ambient arrangements with a dynamic mix when editing the course in the Course Maker.
A unique arrangement of "Ground BGM" is also featured in the game's announcement trailer, where it plays after the title reveal, continuing where the original "Ground BGM" that played before left off. This arrangement incorporates a variety of different musical styles, excerpts of the original "Ground BGM", and "Super Bell Hill".[6]
| Desert Theme - The arrangement heard in Super Mario Maker 2 | File info 0:30 |
| Snow Theme - The arrangement heard in Super Mario Maker 2 | File info 0:30 |
| Forest Theme - The arrangement heard in Super Mario Maker 2 | File info 0:30 |
| Desert Theme (Editing) - The arrangement heard in Super Mario Maker 2 | File info 0:30 |
| Snow Theme (Editing) - The arrangement heard in Super Mario Maker 2 | File info 0:30 |
| Forest Theme (Editing) - The arrangement heard in Super Mario Maker 2 | File info 0:30 |
| Ground Theme (Night) - The arrangement heard in Super Mario Maker 2 | File info 0:30 |
| Trailer Theme - The arrangement heard in the announcement trailer for Super Mario Maker 2 | File info 0:28 |
Super Mario World television series[edit]
An arrangement of "Ground BGM" can occasionally be heard in episodes throughout the Super Mario World television series, as the show is based on Super Mario World. This arrangement is noticeably altered during the ending loop's segue, likely due to the show's arrangements being composed with the original game's right audio channel in mind.
| Ground BGM - The arrangement heard in the Super Mario World television series | File info 0:05 |
Mario Paint[edit]
In the music composing mode for Mario Paint, the song represented by Soundfrog's head, titled "Precomposed Melody 1" in the Nintendo Music app, includes a recreation of the main melody of "Ground BGM".
| Precomposed Melody 1 - The arrangement heard in Mario Paint | File info 0:16 |
Mario Teaches Typing series[edit]
Various orchestral rearrangements of "Ground BGM", along with "Title BGM" from Super Mario World and the primary world map theme, play in the various cutscenes of Mario Teaches Typing and Mario Teaches Typing 2.
Mario Discovery Series[edit]
Mario is Missing![edit]
In all but the NES version of Mario is Missing!, a swing arrangement of "Ground BGM" in the key of E♭ major plays for most of the game, specifically when Luigi investigates cities. Additionally, an F major arrangement of the theme with hastened staccato notes in the melody plays during the credits in the MS-DOS version.
Mario's Early Years! Fun with Letters[edit]
Mario's Early Years! Fun with Letters features an F major arrangement of "Ground BGM" similar to the Mario is Missing! MS-DOS credits theme arrangement. It plays during the game's various activities outside of Sing Song World.
The arrangement returns in the other two games in the Mario's Early Years! series, Mario's Early Years! Fun with Numbers and Mario's Early Years! Preschool Fun, outside of their respective Sing Song Worlds.
Mario's Time Machine[edit]
In the PC and SNES versions of Mario's Time Machine, an andante arrangement of "Ground BGM" in the key of D major plays whenever Mario activates the Timulator.
In the SNES version of the game, an E minor countermelody arrangement of "Ground BGM" plays on the title screen.
| Title - The arrangement heard in the SNES version of Mario's Time Machine | File info |
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars[edit]
In Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, an A-flat major arrangement of "Ground BGM", titled "Play "Save the World" with Me!", plays while Mario plays with Gaz. During the Lulla-Bye attack, an arrangement of "Ground BGM" plays. This arrangement is reused for the Nintendo Switch remake of the game.
| Play "Save the World" with Me! - The arrangement heard in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars | File info 0:30 |
| Lulla-Bye - The arrangement heard in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars | File info 0:05 |
Paper Mario series[edit]
Paper Mario[edit]
The "Main Title" theme from Paper Mario's title screen includes an arrangement of the first seven notes of "Ground BGM"'s melody after the Super Mario World theme's intro.
The theme heard in the Goomba Village, specifically the second section of the theme, incorporates a C major iteration of "Ground BGM" being played in a simple, slow-paced fashion.
The Dorian variation on the motif from the underground theme and "Castle BGM" is also quoted on sine synthesizer in the theme heard in Toad Town Tunnels, which is included in the track "Toad Town Variations" in the game's official soundtrack.
| Main Title - The arrangement heard in Paper Mario | File info |
Super Paper Mario[edit]
In Super Paper Mario, the Lineland Road theme incorporates "Ground BGM"'s motif in some later bars. It is played in the key of E♭ major for three bars, then plays the opening half of the motif in E♭ melodic minor and again in D♭ melodic minor for an entire bar.
| Lineland Road - The arrangement heard in Super Paper Mario | File info 0:20 |
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga[edit]
In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, an arrangement of "Ground BGM", titled "To Challenge!", is used during the Barrel and Chuckola Bounce minigames, as well as during the tutorial for Splart.
This arrangement is not included in the game's Nintendo 3DS remake, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions. It is instead replaced by an arrangement of "Challenging Actions!" from Mario & Luigi: Dream Team.
Additionally, an animated commercial for the original game features an orchestral arrangement of "Ground BGM".[7]
| To Challenge! - The arrangement heard in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga | File info |
Mario Party series[edit]
Mario Party Advance[edit]
In Mario Party Advance, the music heard on the results screen after the player runs out of Mushrooms in Shroom City is an arrangement of "Ground BGM", with a chiptune lead and glockenspiel and keyboard accompaniment. The harmony consists of seventh chords.
| Shroom City - Results - The arrangement heard in Mario Party Advance | File info 0:30 |
Mario Party 9[edit]
In Mario Party 9, the music heard on the results screen includes a brief arrangement of "Ground BGM"'s intro bar.
This arrangement returns in Mario Party: Island Tour, where it is also used as the results screen theme.
| Results Screen - The arrangement heard in Mario Party 9 | File info |