Imagine watching the car in front of you steer off a bridge and crash into the river. You look at your newlywed partner, who, without a second of hesitation, jumps in the water to save the drivers. Cue “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You” by Led Zeppelin. The producers of "One Tree Hill" couldn't have picked a more perfect song to use for this scene. With the contrast of quiet and delicate acoustics to the heavy outbursts, and the lyrics signaling being left behind by a loved one, viewers can see, hear and feel the pain alongside the main characters involved.
As a chronic movie and TV show connoisseur and music lover, certain songs and scenes that cause me to feel emotionally connected to what I am viewing and are so impactful that I remember them long after watching. In this post, I’m going to share a few of my most memorable scenes and songs from my favorite TV shows and why they work.
Movies and television shows may use songs for purposes such as communicating the tone of the story, shaping the audiences’ moods and in some cases, music acts as another character. I think that it’s important to understand that including these songs in films is not a simple process. Productions need to find the perfect song, obtain licenses to gain legal right and choose the exact time to start playing the music. These choices are intentional and we need to notice them.
Another favorite example of mine that follows the theme of love is the song, “A Drop in the Ocean” by Ron Pope in the TV show, "The Vampire Diaries". In this scene, the main character, Elena, gets a phone call from her boyfriend Stefan who was previously taken away and under control of the villain in the show. Up until this point, Elena has been on a mission to find Stefan and bring him back, but she started to lose hope until she got his phone call. “A Drop in the Ocean” is a slower song played mostly with piano, giving it a soft sound mixed with vulnerable lyrics. The lyrics such as “A drop in the ocean/ A change in the weather/ I was praying that you and me might end up together/ It's like wishing for rain as I stand in the desert/ But I'm holding you closer than most” allow viewers to feel the vulnerability and heartache that Elena and Stefan feel at this time. When the two partners are apart and Stefan is in the hands of a villain, it almost seems impossible that they will ever be reunited, hence the metaphor of rain in the desert. However, the audience tries to hold out hope with Elena when the lyrics “But I'm holding you closer than most” are sung. With these lyrics, the production team of "The Vampire Diaries" sprinkles in the hope that love will prevail over evil. But why is this song so impactful to the viewer? It is a universal experience to have feelings of hope, heartbreak and uncertainty. Viewers are not only able to watch Elena in this scene, but they can also see themselves in a relatively similar situation. For fans, “A Drop in the Ocean” has become associated with Elena and Stefan’s relationship. Therefore, when audiences hear the song, they will feel the emotions and connection they had to the show when they first heard it.
Furthermore, the use of the song “The Night We Met” by Lord Huron showcases the themes of friendship, love, and loss in "13 Reasons Why". In one of the episodes, the characters are at a high school dance when the song begins to play. Clay, the main character, leaves a group picture to fully immerse himself into the song. Clay remembers when he first met his friend Hannah, who recently passed away, and the first time they danced to this song together. The rhythm and lyrics of the song are both slow, solemn and haunt Clay of his past with his dear friend. As for the viewers, this song is specifically impactful because losing a grieving a loved one is part of the human experience. Rather than bottling up emotions, the song allows viewers to sit in the grief alongside Clay. That is very important because as humans, we need to experience our grief as opposed to bottling it up, and this song lets us do just that. Even after finishing the episode, the song creates space for that emotional processing, allowing viewers to not only understand Clay’s pain, but to reflect on their own.
Lastly, “Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush in "Stranger Things" demonstrates themes of survival and resilience, as well as plays its own character in the show. During season four, the main characters believed that someone’s favorite song would save them, in Max’s case, that song was “Running Up That Hill.” Here, the song played a hero, who intended to bring Max back to comfort and safety when she was slipping away into the hands of evil. But why was this song specifically “Max’s song”? The producers chose this song because its message about overcoming challenges, symbolized by the “hill”, and searching for understanding, mirrors what Max is going through. At this point in the story, she is struggling with grief and wants to feel understood and supported by her friends, which makes the song a perfect fit for her character. Because of this, “Running Up That Hill” will be remembered long after the show ends, as it is no longer just a song, but a symbol of survival and emotional strength tied to Max’s story.
To conclude, songs in TV shows do more than just fill silence, they shape how we feel, what we remember and how we connect to a story. Whether it’s love, grief or survival, these moments show that music has the power to turn scenes into lasting emotional experiences.