"Domino" Soundtrack Lyrics

"Domino (Music From the Motion Picture)" Soundtrack Description

Overview

Hyperactive visuals need a backbone. Domino gets it from a collage: Harry Gregson-Williams’ tense, percussive score stitched to bold needle-drops—Groove Armada, BT, Brenda Lee, Tom Waits, Eagles of Death Metal, even Bach’s St. Matthew Passion. The official compilation album (Domino: Music From the Motion Picture) was issued on CD in 2005 by Wagram Music and mixes songs with snippets of dialogue. Trusted library data confirm a 21-track, ~55-minute program with exact timings.

On screen it plays like attitude versus aftermath. Hip-hop and desert-rock sell Domino’s swagger; retro ballads and sacred choral music undercut it with irony. The score threads through chases and comedowns, letting the songs land as sharp character beats. (Primary sources for facts in this article include IMDb, Discogs, and Muziekweb.)

Questions & Answers

Is there an official soundtrack album?

Yes. Domino: Music From the Motion Picture (CD, Wagram Music; 2005). It’s a compilation with songs, brief dialogue, and a few score cues.

Who composed the score?

Harry Gregson-Williams. Additional music contributors on the film include Tom Holkenborg (Junkie XL), Hybrid, and Heitor Pereira.

Is there a separate commercial score album?

No widely distributed commercial score album; promo/bootleg “complete score” circulates among collectors. The CD comp includes one short score cue (“Bounty Squad”).

What song plays during the Afghanistan coda near the end?

Groove Armada’s “Hands of Time” is associated with the film’s reflective closing stretch.

Which Tom Waits song is heard when Tom Waits appears on screen?

“Jesus Gonna Be Here.” The cameo and song pairing are noted in contemporary reviews.

Is classical music really used in this crime film?

Yes. A notable excerpt from J.S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion (Solti/Chicago Symphony) is featured late in the film.

Notes & Trivia

• The album is a France/US co-release on Wagram Music (cat. nos. WAG 361 / 983418-5); UPC appears in label databases.
• Track list includes short dialogue bites (Keira Knightley, Lucy Liu, Mickey Rourke, etc.).
• Two Tom Waits tracks appear in the film (“Jesus Gonna Be Here,” “Cold Cold Ground”); the former underscores Waits’ cameo.
• J.S. Bach’s Matthäuspassion is credited to the Chicago Symphony conducted by Sir Georg Solti.
• Eagles of Death Metal contribute two cuts: “Speaking in Tongues” and “San Berdoo Sunburn.”

Genres & Themes

Electronica / big-room breaks (BT “Paris”) — velocity, surveillance, and Tony Scott’s quick-cut montages; pushes chase tempo without crowding dialogue.

Hip-hop (Xzibit) — bravado and predation; tracks score pool-party and street-level swagger while contrasting Domino’s brittle toughness.

Desert/garage rock (EODM) — sun-baked momentum and gallows humor; ideal for road and gun-for-hire transits.

Retro pop (Brenda Lee; Tom Jones & Stereophonics) — ironic sweetness against violence or chaos.

Sacred/classical (Bach) — moral hangover; slows time before the finale.

Tracks & Scenes

Story points over timestamps; sources confirm song usage even when exact minute:second varies by cut.

“Jesus Gonna Be Here” — Tom Waits
Where it plays: Tom Waits’ cameo; used diegetically to underscore his desert-prophet interlude with Domino.
Why it matters: Disarming calm in a profane world; a pivot from swagger to consequence.

“Hands of Time” — Groove Armada
Where it plays: Reflective closing stretch connected to the Afghanistan coda.
Why it matters: Soulful, spacious; lets the film exhale after the Stratosphere chaos.

“Muthaf*Cka” — Xzibit
Where it plays: Early pool-party sequence (around the 0:36 mark).
Why it matters: Stakes out the film’s coarse, cock-sure tone within minutes.

“San Berdoo Sunburn” — Eagles of Death Metal
Where it plays: Road/desert transit beat during the bounty-hunting grind.
Why it matters: Greasy guitars = forward motion; a sun-bleached travel engine.

“Speaking in Tongues” — Eagles of Death Metal
Where it plays: Club/hedonist montage as the team spirals between jobs.
Why it matters: Flirty menace; the soundtrack’s most unbuttoned grin.

“Paris” — BT
Where it plays: Kinetic investigative/tracking montage.
Why it matters: Long build, glitch sparkle; welds to Scott’s shutter-stutter cutting.

“I’m Sorry” — Brenda Lee
Where it plays: Ironic needle-drop under hard edges late in the film.
Why it matters: Sweetness as acid—one of Scott’s favorite contrasts.

“Matthäuspassion (St. Matthew Passion)” — J.S. Bach; Chicago Symphony/Solti
Where it plays: Solemn late-film sequence near the climax.
Why it matters: Sacred lament reframes the violence with moral weight.

“Nasty Girl” — Nitty
Where it plays: Party-scene source cue.
Why it matters: Pop gloss that keeps the film’s TV-sensational layer loud.

“3 Tha Hard Way” — Bahamadia
Where it plays: Intercut with bounty-run business as usual.
Why it matters: Head-nod propulsion; cool competence before things unravel.

“Bounty Squad” — Harry Gregson-Williams
Where it plays: Short connective score cue around team action beats.
Why it matters: Glue between needle-drops; rhythmic ostinatos hold tension.

Music–Story Links

Xzibit’s early blast (“Muthaf*Cka”) announces Domino’s adopted armor. As the chase narrative fractures, BT’s “Paris” and Gregson-Williams’ percussive textures keep the pulse steady. Then the film punctures its own posture: Waits’ “Jesus Gonna Be Here” and Bach’s Passion sequences slow time to force a reckoning. “Hands of Time” carries the end—less victory than release.

How It Was Made

Score: Harry Gregson-Williams. Additional music: Tom Holkenborg (Junkie XL), Hybrid, Heitor Pereira. Score mixing: Alan Meyerson. Strings recording: credited Seattle session. Music supervisor / soundtrack producer (songs): David Lai. The commercial CD is a cross-label compilation; the film itself licenses from eclectic catalogs (from Chicago Symphony/Solti for Bach to EODM’s Peace, Love, Death Metal).

Reception & Quotes

Reviewers were split on the movie, but several singled out the audacious music choices—especially the Tom Waits cameo and the sacred/classical counterpoint.

“Tom Waits… to the accompaniment of his own ‘Jesus Gonna Be Here’—precisely the role he was born to play.” Eye for Film

“Everyone from Brenda Lee… to Johann Sebastian Bach… and 2 Live Crew sneak in and out of the soundtrack.” Jump Cut

Additional Info

• Official CD: Wagram Music (WAG 361 / 983418-5); running time ~55:14 with 21 tracks.
• Physical CD is common on resale sites; a unified digital album is not widely available—most tracks stream via their original artist releases.
• EODM’s “Speaking in Tongues” and “San Berdoo Sunburn” are later documented by the band and reference sources as being used in Domino.
• Brenda Lee’s “I’m Sorry” and Tom Jones & Stereophonics’ “Mama Told Me Not to Come” supply the knowingly retro edge.
• The soundtrack weaves in brief character dialogue between songs on the CD.

Technical Info

• Title: Domino (Music From the Motion Picture)
• Year: 2005 (film and album)
• Type: Compilation + selected score cues
• Composers (score): Harry Gregson-Williams; additional music by Tom Holkenborg (Junkie XL), Hybrid, Heitor Pereira
• Music Supervision (songs): David Lai
• Label / Catalog: Wagram Music — WAG 361 / 983418-5 (CD)
• Selected notable placements: “Jesus Gonna Be Here” (cameo scene); “Hands of Time” (closing stretch); “Muthaf*Cka” (early pool party); Bach Matthäuspassion (late sequence); EODM cuts in travel/club passages
• Availability: CD on secondary market; constituent tracks available on major streaming services

Canonical Entities & Relations

Sources: IMDb; Muziekweb; Discogs; SoundtrackCollector; Metacritic credits; Eye for Film; Jump Cut; Ringostrack; Wikipedia; Whatsong.

November, 08th 2025