Every month, our contributors submit lists of ten films fitting certain topics. Each month, we feature an alphabetical list of films along with commentary explaining our selections. There will also be an itemized list at the end of each of our individual selections.

Last month, we took a look at music in the movies. We continue that glimpse with a look at the songs that stuck with us long after the last frame of the film resolved. Original songs are part of the fabric of cinema history. From the advent of sound, musicals and musical revues dominated the cineplex. While the appreciation for music at the movies has waxed and waned over the last 90 years, there are always new and compelling songs being written for film.

Our selections this month focused in on the music written for non-musical films. Each of us took our time to conjure up our favorite moments in movie music and have presented them with commentary below.

Our original score list last month had a wide variety of selections with few overlaps. This month, we have unified a bit more in our selections. While we still have an eclectic and broad range of selections, there were a few songs that stood out to more than one of us. With three mentions each, “Moon River” from Breakfast at Tiffany’s and “When She Loved Me” from Toy Story 2 were the only songs to earn solid agreement. Peter, Tripp and Thomas all selected “Moon River” while Tripp, Thomas and I went for “When She Loved Me.”

Four other songs had double references: “Born Free” from the film of the same name; “Falling Slowly” from Once; “I’m Tired” from Blazing Saddles; and “Save Me” from Magnolia. Two songwriters were mentioned three times, both of them together in each situation: Jay Livingston and Ray Evans. Four other songwriters were mentioned twice each: Fran Walsh and Howard Shore were both mentioned in tandem with each other picking up Annie Lennox on one of the selections. Lennox also merited a second reference. The fourth was Don Black.

On the performance side, only two singers managed to break into the list twice each. Annie Lennox who sang both the songs for which she was mentioned as songwriter and Jennifer Warnes.

No matter whether you love ballads, dance music, campfire melodies, or songs with political messages, we have you covered with this inspiring list.

After the break, dig into our setups and follow that by reading about each film.

The Introductions

Wesley Lovell: As it is every month, the task of selecting entries to appear in each list comes with a great deal of hemming and hawing, swapping and trading. Even when you put together the list you want to submit, there’s always something you forget or think you might have wanted to include once upon a time. That’s how I came into this. With a bountiful array of songs throughout cinema history, there are dozens of songs worth consideration. With our limitation excluding musicals, one of my favorite overlooked songs, “Heaven’s Light/Hellfire” from The Hunchback of Notre Dame is sadly left off. Needless to say, this list could change tomorrow and I wouldn’t be upset, nor would I find any of my selections unworthy of inclusion even if I did change them out.

Peter J. Patrick: For this exercise I looked for songs that were important to the film they were in, but also had a life outside of the film.

Tripp Burton: This was one of the easier lists for me to create: film songs are something that stick with me a lot and a lot of these choices came to my head almost immediately. The hardest part was deciding what non-musical meant. I decided to cut out films with three or more original songs that the characters on screen sang themselves, which meant that I had to leave off some favorites from “musicals” such as Dick Tracy or Nashville. I still had an abundance of great choices, though.

Thomas LaTourrette: These are not what I would say are always the top ten songs, but when you eliminate musicals, it is harder to choose them. I went with songs where I liked how they fit into the films rather than well written songs that did not say much about the action.

“9 to 5” – 9 to 5 (1980)

(written by: Dolly Parton; performed by: Dolly Parton)
Commentary By Wesley Lovell – From the *clack* *clack* *clack* to the typewriter dings, Dolly Parton’s fun ditty for the film in which she co-stars is one of the quintessential songs from the motion pictures. The lyrics speak of being a cog in the workplace, never being able to break beyond the trappings of regular employment. It’s a song that fits perfectly within the framework of the film and is incredibly enjoyable to boot.

“Alfie” – Alfie (1966)

(written by: Burt Bacharach, Hal David; performed by: Cilia Black, Cher)
Commentary By Peter J. Patrick – “What’s it all about, Alfie, is it just for the moment we live?” sang Cilia Black in the opening verse of the title song in the U.K. release version and Cher in the U.S. release version of the film, although it was Dionne Warwick who had the huge No. 1 hit recording of the Burt Bacharach-Hal David song that perfectly captures the shallowness of the film’s title character, expertly played by Michel Caine. The film, which was nominated for five Oscars including Best Picture, Actor, and of course Original Song, was a huge hit, but one that was very much of its time. A 2002 remake with Jude Law landed with a thud at the box office.

“Baby Don’t You Cry” – Waitress (2007)

(written by: Andrew Hollander, Adrienne Shelly; performed by: Quincy Coleman)
Commentary By Tripp Burton – “Baby Don’t You Cry” reoccurs throughout Waitress, mostly as a lullaby that Keri Russell’s Jenna sings to her unborn baby. It is simple, tender and tells the story of the film perfectly: that there is always light around the corner if you can find something to give you love and comfort. Like everything else in the film, it is also tainted with the regret that writer-director Adrienne Shelley (who also co-wrote the song) never got to see her finished product or the success that it had.

“Born Free” – Born Free (1966)

(written by: John Barry, Don Black; performed by: Matt Monro)
Commentary By Peter J. Patrick – “Born free, as free as the wind blows, as free as the grass grows, born free to follow your heart” begins the Oscar-winning song written by composer John Barry and lyricist Don Black that is sung by Matt Monro about Elsa the lion raised out of the wild by George and Joy Adamson, played by husband and wife British actors Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna. Frank Sinatra, Andy Williams, Connie Francis, and Kate Smith were among the many performers who had successful covers of Matt Monro’s original recording. In addition to his Oscar for Best Original Song, John Barry also won an Oscar for the film’s score.

Commentary By Thomas LaTourrette – Anyone of a certain age will have a fondness for this Oscar-winning song. Matt Monro’s baritone with the scenes of Africa and the young lioness made for a stunning moment in the film.

“The Boys in the Back Room” – Destry Rides Again (1939)

(written by: Friedrich Hollaender Frank Loesser; performed by: Marlene Dietrich)
Commentary By Thomas LaTourrette – Marlene Dietrich has a chance to shine as the singer who takes a shine to the new sheriff.

“Don’t You (Forget About Me)” – The Breakfast Club (1985)

(written by: Keith Forsey, Steve Schiff; performed by: Simple Minds)
Commentary By Wesley Lovell – One of the most memorable songs from the 1980s, Simple Minds’ “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” is a staple of the era, one of the songs that best typifies the musical style and passion of the period. Written for a film about a disparate group of High School students who must serve detention together while forming friendships that they each hope will last beyond, the song epitomizes that struggle with simplicity and purpose.

“Falling Slowly” – Once (2007)

(written by: Glen Hansard, Marketa Irglova; performed by: Glen Hansard, Marketa Irglova)
Commentary By Wesley Lovell – Two musicians find love in each other as their paths cross and finally merge with the simple, evocative theme of “Falling Slowly.” Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova give beautiful voice to this pensive love song about falling into love. It was also one of the most joyous and celebratory experiences I’ve had watching the Oscars in many years, not just with the performance, but with the standing ovation that accompanied it.

Commentary By Thomas LaTourrette – This was a rather odd movie, which was turned into a much better stage musical. The movie did have one truly heartfelt moment when the two unnamed characters sat down to write a song together. It was sweet and powerful.

“Fight the Power” – Do the Right Thing (1989)

(written by: Chuck D., Hank Shocklee, Eric Sadler, Keith Shocklee; performed by: Public Enemy)
Commentary By Tripp Burton – Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power” is the opening credits music to Do the Right Thing and captures the mood of the film perfectly. Like Spike Lee’s film, it is an explosive plea to wake up and take control of the world that uses an undercurrent of African-American pop culture and a propulsive beat. How Lee stages the sequence, though, is just as brilliant as the music. While the soundtrack begs the “brothers and sisters” to swing, slap, and revolutionize, we watch Rosie Perez dance explosively across the screen in a saturation of color. The mixture of visuals and music is Lee’s masterpiece in a nutshell: you have to fight back, not only with violence and anger, but with an exuberance of life, passion, sex, and love, too.

“For All We Know” – Lovers and Other Strangers (1970)

(written by: Fred Karlin, Robb Royer, Jimmy Griffin; performed by: Larry Meredith, The Carpenters)
Commentary By Peter J. Patrick – “Love, look at the two of us, strangers in many ways, we’ve got a lifetime to share” sang Karen Carpenter during the wedding scene in this comedy about the relationships between the bride and groom (Bonnie Bedelia, Michael Brandon), the parents of the bride (Cloris Leachman, Gig Young), the parents of the groom (Beatrice Arthur, Richard Castellano), and various other members of their families including Diane Keaton, Harry Guardino, and Anne Meara. The song, one of The Carpenters’ biggest hits, was hugely successful on its own both before and after its Oscar win for composer Fred Karlin and lyricists Robb Royer and Jimmy Griffin.

“Gangsta’s Paradise” – Dangerous Minds (1995)

(written by: Stevie Wonder, Artis Ivey, Doug Rasheed, Lawrence Sanders; performed by: Coolio)
Commentary By Wesley Lovell – The song was such a hit and the film only a minor one that most may not realize the song comes from that film. The lyrics talk about the cruel and vicious life that awaits those living in dangerous areas, education being unhelpful and television creating unrealistic dreams. It ties in nicely to the film’s premise, but it stands on its own quite effectively in terms of musical quality and powerful lyricism.

“Georgy Girl” – Georgy Girl (1966)

(written by: Tom Springfield, Jim Dale; performed by: The Seekers)
Commentary By Peter J. Patrick – “Hey there, Georgy Girl, swinging down the street so fancy free, nobody you meet could ever see the loneliness there inside you” began the song written by Tom Springfield and Jim Dale and sung by The Seekers both on the soundtrack of the film and on the hit recording. Wonderfully acted by Lynn Redgrave, Alan Bates, James Mason, and Charlotte Rampling, this bittersweet British comedy-drama owed at least some of its initial success to the Oscar-nominated song, one of the best of and about the swinging ’60s. The film also earned Oscar nominations for Redgrave and Mason.

“Gollum’s Song” – The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

(written by: Howard Shore, Fran Walsh; performed by: Emiliana Torrini)
Commentary By Wesley Lovell – The only one of the trilogy’s songs not to get an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song, it could be said that “Gollum’s Song” is the best of the three. Sung with gorgeous woeful sorrow by Emiliana Torrini, the song seeps from the mind of its titular incarnation, a figure torn between himself and the voices inside his head. Unable to differentiate between himself alone and his cruel alter ego, the song is one of the simplest, most evoactive written for film in recent memory with lyrics that perfectly capture the duality of the character.

“High Hopes” – A Hole in the Head (1959)

(written by: Sammy Cahn, Jimmy Van Heusen; performed by: Frank Sinatra, Eddie Hodges)
Commentary By Peter J. Patrick – Frank Sinatra and Eddie Hodges, the original Winthrop from The Music Man, played father and son in Frank Capra’s next-to-last film in which they sang the Oscar -winning Sammy Cahn-Jimmy Van Heusen ditty that became the campaign song for John F. Kennedy’s successful run for the Presidency in 1960. “What makes that little old ant think he can move that rubber tree plant. Anyone knows an ant, can’t move a rubber tree plant, but he’s got high hopes, he’s got high hopes, he’s got high apple pie, up in the sky hopes” and so did the whole country, if not the world as they joined in.

“I’m Tired” – Blazing Saddles (1974)

(written by: Mel Brooks; performed by: Madeline Kahn)
Commentary By Tripp Burton – No list of songs from movies can be complete without a shout out to Mel Brooks, whose parody songs are always spot on and are almost too numerous to single out. I could have gone with the classic production number “Springtime for Hitler,” or the clever “High Anxiety,” or any number of others, but I had to go with “I’m Tired” from Brooks’ western send-up Blazing Saddles. It is not only a fantastic parody of a Dietrich-esque cabaret song, but the song is performed so brilliantly by Madeline Kahn that it is a highlight of a film filled with highlights.

Commentary By Thomas LaTourrette – Madeline Kahn did a hysterical send-up of Marlene Dietrich in this one, A great companion piece to Marlene’s work in Destry Rides Again.

“Into the West” – The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

(written by: Howard Shore, Fran Walsh, Annie Lennox; performed by: Annie Lennox)
Commentary By Wesley Lovell – A lot of folks who criticized this song wondered what precisely the point was. For those who are fans of the book or who are at least familiar with it, the song tells of the trip into the Undying Lands, a place across the sea where the world weary can find solace in everlasting peace. The song positions itself perfectly over the ending credits as the main characters of the film pass into the west where they can find rest from all their troubles. It’s a poignant, evocative, and beautiful song utterly befitting the film and its conclusion.

“(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” – Dirty Dancing (1987)

(written by: Franke Previte, Donald Markowitz, John DeNicola; performed by: Bill Medley, Jennifer Warnes)
Commentary By Thomas LaTourrette – It’s a sweet song that hit a good point.

“Knockin on Heaven’s Door” – Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973)

(written by: Bob Dylan; performed by: Bob Dylan)
Commentary By Tripp Burton – Following a bloody shootout, surprisingly restrained for a Sam Peckinpah western, Sheriff Baker is shot in the stomach and wanders towards a nearby river. As his shotgun-toting wife watches him move towards death, and James Coburn’s Pat Garrett takes in the bodies from both sides of the shootout, the now-familiar electric strums of Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” start to fade in. We now know the song as one of the great rock songs of the ’70s, but the way Peckinpah uses a segment of the song makes it even more powerful. The poetry of Dylan’s words and guitar are matched by the poetry of Peckinpah’s camera, and the moment (particularly the face of Katy Jurado as the already-grieving wife) might be the most lovely one Peckinpah ever staged. The weight of all of the violence he created for decades comes crashing down on all of us.

“Love Song for a Vampire” – Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)

(written by: Annie Lennox; performed by: Annie Lennox)
Commentary By Wesley Lovell – My strangest memory of this song was watching VH-1 back in 1992. This song and two others were competing on a phone-in poll to determine which the network would play again. “Love Song for a Vampire” lost, but it’s not surprising. The slow-building song isn’t for everyone. It’s a heartfelt ballad that Annie Lennox sings with such simple effectiveness that as the heartbeat pulse of the song begins to blend into a broader melody, each new element added improves the whole until you’re left with a wonderful song of timeless classicism.

“Mona Lisa” – Captain Carey, U.S.A. (1950)

(written by: Jay Livingston, Ray Evans; performed by: Charlie Spivak, Tommy Lynn)
Commentary By Peter J. Patrick – “Mona Lisa, Mona Lisa, men have named you, you’re so like the lady with the mystic smile, is it only ’cause you’re lonely that they have blamed you, for that Mona Lisa strangeness in your smile” sang Nat “King” Cole in his velvety smooth voice on the timeless recording of Jay Livingston and Ray Evans’ Oscar-winning song. This was the first song not from a musical to win an Oscar for Best Original Song. It was also the first song not sung in English to win. It’s sung by an Italian street vendor in Italian to warn partisans of danger in this end-of-World War II thriller starring Alan Ladd.

“Moon River” – Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961)

(written by: Johnny Mercer, Henry Mancini; performed by: Audrey Hepburn)
Commentary By Peter J. Patrick – Audrey Hepburn wistfully sang “Moon River, wider than a mile, I’m crossing you in style some day” and the world fell in love with her all over again. Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer’s song became a huge hit for Andy Williams who adapted it as his theme song and sang it at the 1961 Oscars at which it won in April 1962. The song has been recorded many times over since and has been used in numerous other films including Born on the Fourth of July and Forrest Gump, but Audrey Hepburn’s singing of it and George Peppard’s whistling of it still bring a thrill after all these years.

Commentary By Tripp Burton – This is one of the more conventional choices, and the first one that popped into my mind, but sometimes choices are conventional because they are that good. Not only is “Moon River” a gorgeous song, with Johnny Mercer lyrics that match Henry Mancini’s tune, but it is used brilliantly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. With Audrey Hepburn sitting on a fire escape, with as few frills as possible, it gives immediate depth to her Holly Golightly and tells us more about her than pages of dialogue ever could.

Commentary By Thomas LaTourrette – The song was written for Audrey Hepburn’s limited range, and she brings a lot of emotion to the melancholic moment when she sings it.

“My Rifle, My Pony, and Me” – Rio Bravo (1959)

(written by: Dimitri Tiomkin, Paul Francis Webster; performed by: Dean Martin, Rick Nelson)
Commentary By Tripp Burton – Many serious Westerns used original songs as part of their storytelling, usually underscoring the action, but it was rare that the film would stop and allow its cowboys to sing one themselves. Howard Hawks’ Rio Bravo is not a usual Western, though, and one of the many great moments of the film is when it stops mid-action and gives us time for a collection of musical numbers. Sung by Dean Martin, with Ricky Nelson on guitar and Walter Brennan unexpectedly on harmonica, “My Rifle, My Pony and Me” is Hawks’ way of reminding us of the humanity and tenderness beneath every cowboy, a common thread in each of his westerns (underlined by the way that John Wayne grins as he listens to the song). It is one of the great musical moments in Hollywood history, simple, peaceful, and foreboding the moments of violence we all know are soon to come.

“Save Me” – Magnolia (1999)

(written by: Aimee Mann; performed by: Aimee Mann)
Commentary By Wesley Lovell – When watching Paul Thomas Anderson’s star-studded indie drama, Aimee Mann’s music forms a solid backing for the events in the film. This simple, atypical love song has a musical beauty to it that supplements Mann’s melodic voice. As she asks to be rescued and to be loved, we feel in our hearts that she’s seeking something she might never find. It’s hopeful, but realistic and that gives it a pleasing buoyancy.

Commentary By Tripp Burton – Magnolia is filled with many memorable moments underscored by the music of Aimee Mann, including one where all of the characters lip sync to the same song, but he may save the best for last. In three-plus hours, we have followed scores of characters as they have struggled through life and had a plauge of frogs fall on them, both metaphorically and literally. At the end, though, Anderson focuses his camera on one survivor. It slowly moves in on Melora Walters, lying in a bed. Aimee Mann asks us to save her, naked and far from home, and we hope that there is hope for at least one of these characters.

“Separate Lives” – White Knights (1985)

(written by: Stephen Bishop; performed by: Phil Collins, Marilyn Martin)
Commentary By Thomas LaTourrette – This was nominated for an Oscar but lost to another song from the same film. However, this was the song that for me captured the essence of what the film was about at that moment, once partners they now were living separate lives. It should have won over the insipid “Say You, Say Me.”

“Springtime for Hitler” – The Producers (1967)

(written by: Mel Brooks; performed by: chorus)
Commentary By Thomas LaTourrette – This riotous number created a stir in the audience seeing the play, but was a riot for those in the movie audience.

“Streets of Philadelphia” – Philadelphia (1993)

(written by: Bruce Springsteen; performed by: Bruce Springsteen)
Commentary By Tripp Burton – Philadelphia is a film about how a community reacts, both for good and bad, to a crisis and the way that Jonathan Demme opens the film is the most telling. He takes us through the streets of the City of Brotherly Love, with everyday people waving to us and moving past the camera, going on with their own daily lives. Underscoring it is Bruce Springsteen, the poet of the working man, in one of his most stripped down and simple tunes. The film may take on some big ideas, but Demme reminds us that it is still about people trying to decide who they are, and who they want to be, and struggling to make their lives worth living.

“Suicide is Painless” – M*A*S*H (1970)

(written by: Johnny Mandel, Mike Altman; performed by: chorus)
Commentary By Tripp Burton – In one of the most memorably eccentric moments in Robert Altman’s bizarre war comedy MASH, the entire cast stages a fake Last Supper for the camp’s dentist, nicknamed “Painless,” as he commits a suicide that everyone but he knows will fail. As they say their goodbyes and lay him to rest, one private sings a farewell song to Painless. The tune is now known to all of us as the theme to the long-running sitcom that followed, but the lyrics are sardonic, hilarious and devastating all in one. It is a great moment in a great film. Interesting note: Robert Altman’s 15-year-old son Mike wrote the lyrics, and Altman claimed that due to the song’s reuse in the TV series and popularity, his son ended up making much more off of the film than he did.

“Tammy” – Tammy and the Bachelor (1957)

(written by: Jay Livingston, Ray Evans; performed by: The Ames Brothers, Debbie Reynolds)
Commentary By Peter J. Patrick – “I hear the cottonwoods whisper my name, Tammy, Tammy, Tammy’s in love. The old hooty owl hooty-hoo’s to the dove, Tammy, Tammy, Tammy’s in love. Does my lover feel what I feel when he comes near” sang Debbie Reynolds as the backwoods country girl in words much more sophisticated than she was given to speak in this little charmer of a film that spawned two equally popular sequels starring Sandra Dee. Reynolds catapulted off of the film and song’s unexpected success to a bigger and stronger career than she had before. Nominated for an Oscar, it lost to “All the Way” from The Joker Is Wild.

“To Sir with Love” – To Sir with Love (1967)

(written by: Mark London, Don Black; performed by: Lulu)
Commentary By Thomas LaTourrette – Lulu did a lovely job singing this to Sidney Poitier.

“Up Where We Belong” – An Officer and a Gentleman (1982)

(written by: Jack Nitzsche, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Will Jennings; performed by: Joe Cocker, Jennifer Warnes)
Commentary By Peter J. Patrick – Has there ever been a more uplifting song to end a movie as the hero literally sweeps the heroine off her feet and carries her off to a brighter future? “Love lift us up where we belong, where the eagles cry on a mountain high. Love lift us up where we belong, far from the world below, up where the clear winds blow” warbled Joe Cocker and Jenifer Warnes on the soundtrack as Richard Gere and Debra Winger wring out tears of joy in the emotion-filled ending of this summer box-office smash hit. The Oscar winning song was composed by Jack Nitzche, Buffy Saint-Marie, and Will Jennings.

“We Don’t Need Another Hero” – Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome (1985)

(written by: Terry Britten, Graham Lyle; performed by: Tina Turner)
Commentary By Wesley Lovell – I was familiar with this song long before I ever saw the film. Tina Turner’s rousing plea to find a way to live beyond the darkness and the pain and the sorrows of life reaches beyond the themes of the film. It is a metaphor for the crumbling lives of children living in poverty or in slums or in various areas where hope is but a fleeting thought. Turner’s distinctive voice adds gravitas and passion to the song, giving it a depth of character few artists could have given it.

“Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Sera Sera)” – The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)

(written by: Jay Livingston, Ray Evans; performed by: Doris Day)
Commentary By Peter J. Patrick – Alfred Hitchcock’s films do not typically feature a top-selling actress/singer singing what would become one of her signature songs, but Hitch’s remake of his own 1934 film twenty-two years later was an exception. Starring James Stewart and Doris Day, Day sings the Oscar-winning song by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans twice, and her kidnapped son whistles it! “When I was just a little girl, I asked my mother, what will I be, will I be pretty, will I be rich? Here’s what she said to me: Que sera, sera. Whatever will be, will be; the future’s not ours to see. Que sera, sera. What will be, will be.”

“When She Loved Me” – Toy Story 2 (1999)

(written by: Randy Newman; performed by: Sarah McLachlan)
Commentary By Wesley Lovell – One of the things Pixar has been most successful at is wringing intense emotion out of their audiences. Toy Story 2, which expanded the universe of the first film, adds a new character who’s been abandoned by her former owner. That sorrow is evoked beautifully in “When She Loved Me,” the single best song ever written for a Pixar film and one that should have won the Oscar. If you can listen to this song within the framework of the film and not weep for the forlorn Jessie, you might just be dead inside.

Commentary By Tripp Burton – Randy Newman may be the most underappreciated contributor to the great Pixar renaissance of the last two decades (although he has won two Oscars for his Pixar work). Pixar has brought out of Newman a warmth that isn’t usually found in his solo work. This is nowhere near as evident as “When She Loved Me” from Toy Story 2. The song, which Newman smartly gave to Sarah McLachlan to sing, may be the most emotionally devastating moment in a long line of sob-inducing Pixar sequences: Jessie recalls how she was slowly forgotten, replaced, and donated, and we understand the heartbreak that has caused her coldness. Newman orchestrates the music simply and elegantly, and like the best Pixar moments, finds a universal truth that digs much deeper than you expect it to.

Commentary By Thomas LaTourrette – If you did not tear up while hearing this number, your humanity is lacking.