WOW, I feel better NOW....

Believe it or not, "Battlestar Galactica" has taken one of the most covered pop songs of all time, and made it part of its own universe. And it happened thanks to a good idea by executive producer Ronald D. Moore and the genius of BSG's music composer Bear McCreary.

"All Along the Watchtower" is not only the final song featured in the last minutes of the third season finale, "Crossroads, Part 2," but also the song that brings the four of the Final Five together.

"I learned that the idea was not that Bob Dylan necessarily exists in the characters' universe, but that an artist on one of the colonies may have recorded a song with the exact same melody and lyrics," McCreary wrote Monday in his online blog. "Perhaps this unknown performer and Dylan pulled inspiration from a common, ethereal source. Therefore, I was told to make no musical references to any "Earthly" versions, [Jimi] Hendrix, Dylan, or any others. The arrangement needed to sound like a pop song that belonged in the 'Galactica' universe, not our own."

McCreary called his work on the two-part finale one of the most "daring" scores he ever composed, and said that he was a bit shocked when he first heard about the idea of using "Watchtower" just before Christmas.

"I initially learned that we would be using the song back in December, while I was busy scoring 'The Eye of Jupiter,'" McCreary said. "I have to admit that my first thought was that Ron might be going crazy. However, as always, his unexpected ideas evolved into an incredible episode."

That idea was even more incredible as McCreary rarely ever, if ever, has used English lyrics in his songs. Past songs have used Italian, Latin and even Celtic, but never English. Now he had to put together something that would sound familiar to a rock-conscious audience, but still be different enough to be a part of "Battlestar Galactica."

"The track opens with [Steve Bartek's] twangy Middle Eastern guitars, builds with his haunting electric sitar, and breaks into pounding, distorted guitar riffs," McCreary said. "And his powerful guitar solo carries over the closing shot of the third season, whisking us through the stars to a reveal of Earth."

And McCreary didn't need to look far to sing the famous lyrics, either. He kept it right in the family, bringing on Bt4, or known in his clan as his brother, Brendan McCreary.

"As much as I lavished on the instrumental arrangement, it is his vocal performance that holds the whole thing together," McCreary said of his brother. "You guys have all heard him sing before, on the first season's Main Title, and on Season 2's 'The Cylon Prisoner' from [the episode] 'Pegasus.'"

McCreary has a lot going on, apparently. He has a soundtrack album being released this summer for "My Wrong Turn 2," and announced he will now be the lead composer for sister SciFi Channel series "Eureka" in its second season.

In April, McCreary will begin the studio work for the "Battlestar Galactica" Season 3 soundtrack album, which will include "All Along the Watchtower," for release in mid-August, the same time that the "Battlestar Galactica" Season 3 DVD set is expeced to be released.

For a more detailed insight on how McCreary put together the music for the season finale, and to read more about this popular genre composer, check out his blog, or visit his official Web site.