Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes features a soundtrack that balances the extravagant horror and the natural beauty of the world created by author Suzanne Collins.
A major player in defining the sound of the latest Hunger Games film is Dave Cobb. He is a Nashville-based producer, whose resume includes albums for Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell and Sturgill Simpson, as well as 2018’s A Star Is Born and 2022’s Elvis. Cobb is the perfect fit for a film that is both gritty and flashy, with the need for a soundtrack that can tackle both sides.
Producer Nina Jacobson commented on Dave Cobb’s role in an interview for Billboard. “Talking to him, he’s an incredible historian of music and has such a passion that rivals Suzanne’s for the origins of what we think of as American music.”
Director Francis Lawrence added, “It was his resume but also just the chat. He’s such a great, smart guy and has such knowledge of the country music genre; he fit the family and is supremely talented.”
Cobb himself also discussed the making of the newest Hunger Games‘ soundtrack:
“One of the things that was so attractive about working on this film [is that] I don’t think I’ve ever talked to a more intelligent person in my life than Suzanne Collins. She’s an absolute genius, by any measure,” said Cobb. “Suzanne telling me the impetus of the story had me captivated. I’m a history buff, and everything in this film — everything she’s written for Hunger Games — is derived from real history.”
Hunger Games Soundtrack Tells A Story
Actress Rachel Zegler recorded her version of “The Hanging Tree” for the new film. Actress Jennifer Lawrence previously recorded a version of the same song for the original films. It is a wonderful continuation of the Hunger Games‘ overarching story through their soundtracks. The song is an in-story folk song passed down through the generations of people living in a divided world.
The full soundtrack is below.
- “Can’t Catch Me Now” by Olivia Rodrigo
- “The Hanging Tree” by Rachel Zegler
- “Wool” by Flatland Cavalry
- “Nothing You Can Take from Me” by Rachel Zegler
- “The Garden” by Sierra Ferrell
- “The Ballad of Lucy Gray Baird” by Rachel Zegler
- “Bury Me Beneath the Willow” by Molly Tuttle
- “The Old Therebefore / Singing at Snakes” by Rachel Zegler & James Newton Howard
- “Burn Me Once” by Bella White
- “District 12 Stomp” by The Covey Band
- “Nothing You Can Take From Me (Boot-Stompin Version)” by Rachel Zegler & The Covey Band
- “Cabin Song” by Billy Strings
- “Lucy Gray (part 1)” by Rachel Zegler
- “Pure As the Driven Snow” by Rachel Zegler & The Covey Band
- “Winter’s Come and Gone” by Charles Wesley Godwin
- “Keep On The Sunny Side” by Josie Hope Hall & The Covey Band
- “Lucy Gray (part 2)” by Rachel Zegler
