"Kong: Skull Island" Soundtrack Lyrics

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"Kong: Skull Island (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)" – Album Guide to Tracks and Key Scenes

Overview

What does a 1973-set monster movie sound like? Here: a split personality—Henry Jackman’s thunderous orchestral score laced with psychedelic guitars, and a crate of in-film ’60s/’70s rock and soul that pins the story to Saigon bars, troop transports, and river drift.

The commercial release is Kong: Skull Island (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (WaterTower Music, 24 tracks), while the movie itself leans on period songs from Jefferson Airplane, The Stooges, Black Sabbath, CCR, Bowie, The Chambers Brothers, and more. Interviews around release stressed the intent: symphonic weight for Kong and the island; era-authentic needles for the human POV.

Questions & Answers

Who composed the score?

Henry Jackman. The album features 24 cues released March 3, 2017 by WaterTower Music.

Is there a separate “songs” album?

No. The classic-rock cuts are licensed in-film; only the score received a standalone album.

Which period songs are actually in the movie?

Among others: “Time Has Come Today,” “White Rabbit,” “Long Cool Woman (In a Black Dress),” “Down on the Street,” “Paranoid,” “Brother,” “Bad Moon Rising,” “Ziggy Stardust,” “Run Through the Jungle,” and “We’ll Meet Again.”

Does the score use guitars?

Yes—Jackman folds ’70s-psychedelic guitar color into a full symphonic palette to match the setting.

Was there a vinyl edition?

Yes; a deluxe double-LP followed, with expanded packaging and composer notes.

Trailer ID for images?

YouTube: 44LdLqgOpjo (final trailer).

Notes & Trivia

• Score album label: WaterTower Music; digital release March 3, 2017; 24 tracks (~57 minutes).
• Waxwork Records issued a 2×LP “lava” color variant with gatefold art the following year.
• The film’s song list is diegetic-heavy early (Saigon club, transport), then leans to river-travel montages mid-film.
• Reservoir later acquired rights to a catalog including Jackman’s Skull Island score.

Genres & Themes

Symphonic monster writing → Mythic scale. Low brass, contrabass clusters, and pounding percussion sell Kong as terrain, not just character.

Psychedelic/acid-rock flavor → Fog-of-war headspace. Fuzz guitar and phaser lines nod to 1973 without turning the score into pastiche.

Classic rock & soul → Human time-stamp. The Chambers Brothers, Jefferson Airplane, CCR, Bowie—needles that place soldiers, journalists, and spooks in a very specific world.

Tracks & Scenes

“Time Has Come Today” — The Chambers Brothers
Scene: Early stateside barracks/banter: Mills gets ribbed about a letter as the unit’s vibe snaps into place (≈9'). Source on radio/room.
Why it matters: Sets the platoon’s gallows humor before the mission.

“White Rabbit” — Jefferson Airplane
Scene: Randa and Brooks push into a smoky Saigon club to recruit Conrad (≈12'). Diegetic in-bar.
Why it matters: Psychedelic swirl telegraphs that this “survey” won’t be sober work.

“Long Cool Woman (In a Black Dress)” — The Hollies
Scene: Brief continuation of the Saigon meet—motif for cloak-and-dagger charm (≈13'). Source.

“Down on the Street” — The Stooges
Scene: Shipboard downtime; Weaver photographs the soldiers during transit (≈20'). Source-like.
Why it matters: Proto-punk swagger before the drop.

“Paranoid” — Black Sabbath
Scene: Helicopters pound inland, dropping charges to map the island (≈27'). Non-diegetic blast.
Why it matters: A sledgehammer cue that turns survey science into provocation.

“Brother” — Jorge Ben Jor
Scene: Marlow bonds with the newcomers; boat-work and quiet smiles (≈58'). Source on the beach camp.
Why it matters: Sunlit groove hints at community beyond survival.

“Bad Moon Rising” — Creedence Clearwater Revival
Scene: Marlow catches up on the world as the patched-up skiff takes shape (≈1:02). Source.
Why it matters: Irony dialed to 10—ominous cheer for a doomed river run.

“Ziggy Stardust” — David Bowie
Scene: Marlow trims his beard, grousing about the “new music” (≈1:04). Source gag.
Why it matters: A perfect character beat: a man out of time reacting to mid-’70s glam.

“Run Through the Jungle” — Creedence Clearwater Revival
Scene: The crew pushes downriver; Packard hunts Chapman; Brooks loses a fight with a can opener (≈1:10). Non-diegetic montage.
Why it matters: Title-as-thesis for the back half of the movie.

“We’ll Meet Again” — Vera Lynn (with ensemble)
Scene: Marlow sings along to his wife’s photo on the boat; sunset water and a flicker of hope (≈1:45). Diegetic sing-along.
Why it matters: Wartime nostalgia reframed as survival promise.

Score: “Kong the Destroyer” — Henry Jackman
Scene: First helicopter encounter; rotor wash meets a backlit wall of fur. Non-diegetic.
Why it matters: Brass and low strings announce Kong’s scale—terrifying, not hateful.

Score: “The Temple” — Henry Jackman
Scene: Skulker-lore reveal and stakes reset in the heart of the island. Non-diegetic.
Why it matters: Long-lined writing that lets mystery breathe.

Score: “Kong the Protector” — Henry Jackman
Scene: Role reversal: Kong as guardian against a deeper threat. Non-diegetic.
Why it matters: Motif pivots from menace to myth.

Music–Story Links

The jukebox tracks keep you in a 1973 head—letters from home, club smoke, river radios—while the score handles the non-human scale. When humans talk, guitars and vinyl; when the island speaks, brass, choir, and drums. That handoff tells you whose story a scene belongs to.

How It Was Made

Jackman wrote a large-scale orchestral score tempered with period-appropriate guitar textures; recording spanned late 2016–early 2017. The score album arrived via WaterTower; a deluxe double-LP followed with expanded art and notes. According to public credits and listings, the film’s licensed cuts were cleared individually—no official “songs” album was issued.

Reception & Quotes

Critics and fans called out the canny pairing of thunderous cues and crate-digger picks; the vinyl reissue became a collector favorite.

“Psychedelic color inside a muscular symphonic frame.” album-era coverage

“The mixtape choices nail the 1973 vibe without leaning on the usual suspects.” soundtrack roundups

Additional Info

• Score highlights: “Into the Storm,” “Kong the Destroyer,” “The Temple,” “Grey Fox,” “Marlow’s Farewell,” “Kong the Protector.”
• Prominent film-only songs: “White Rabbit,” “Paranoid,” “Bad Moon Rising,” “Run Through the Jungle,” “Ziggy Stardust,” “Time Has Come Today,” “Down on the Street,” “Long Cool Woman,” “We’ll Meet Again.”
• Trailer Video ID: 44LdLqgOpjo (figures above).
• Playlist tip: Editorial playlists mirror the film’s needle-drops if you want the “songs” side in one place.

Technical Info

• Title (score album): Kong: Skull Island (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
• Year / Type: 2017 / Film score (24 tracks)
• Composer: Henry Jackman
• Label: WaterTower Music (digital); later 2×LP edition (Waxwork Records)
• Select licensed placements (film): The Chambers Brothers; Jefferson Airplane; The Hollies; The Stooges; Black Sabbath; Jorge Ben Jor; Creedence Clearwater Revival; David Bowie; Vera Lynn

Canonical Entities & Relations

Subject	Relation	Object
Film “Kong: Skull Island” (2017)	Music by	Henry Jackman (score)
Score album	Released by	WaterTower Music (digital)
Vinyl edition	Published by	Waxwork Records (2×LP)
Film (licensed songs)	Features	The Chambers Brothers; Jefferson Airplane; The Hollies; The Stooges; Black Sabbath; Jorge Ben Jor; CCR; David Bowie; Vera Lynn

Sources: score album page/metadata; film soundtracks listings with scene timings; soundtrack label and vinyl release notes; trailer postings; composer interviews about the ’70s guitar/ orchestral blend.

This in another epic remake of King Kong’s legend – a huge ape from some exotic islands lost somewhere in the warm seas. It definitely looks like the relaunch of the entire franchise. This could have been done in the recent years, but no – the creators considered it too premature and placed this fancy gorilla in some ‘middle age’ of 1950-1960ies of America. The songs tell us about it even before we look at the film’s trailer: ‘Bad Moon Rising’ and ‘Run Through the Jungle’ are creations of Creedence Clearwater Revival. David Bowie with The Stooges are definite headliners in this collection, where every name is tied to these ages: Jefferson Airplane, Vera Lynn, The Chambers Brothers, The Hollies, and Black Sabbath. The most vivid anti-war lyrics are in Creedence Clearwater Revival. While absolutely cuckoo lyrics has the ‘Time Has Come Today’ song performed in the psychedelic rock way. There are many more good songs of that time, but these songs included in the soundtrack have something in common: they are all anti-war manifestations or, they are drug abuse manifests. That makes them all be linked to one another and thus, they emphasize the greatness of the ape that is going to fight with the representatives. Even not watching this particular film, knowing the story, it is possible to predict the following sequence of actions in this action tape: some people for whatever reason go to the jungles, find an enormously huge ape, it attacks them or they attack it, it fights back, crashing the cities and habitats, they expel it or make it dead with lots of snots about its death or expelling. After you go to cinema, please write us back if we were right in such a basic definition of the plot.

November, 12th 2025

Find movie profile on IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes

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