"New In Town" Soundtrack Lyrics

"New in Town (Music from the Motion Picture)" – Album Guide to Tracks and Key Scenes

Overview

Can a downsizing trip to rural Minnesota sound like a mixtape of new starts? New in Town answers with warm AOR, alt-pop and a few jukebox anthems. The compilation pairs jukebox comfort (“20th Century Boy,” “I Will Survive,” “Walking on Sunshine”) with late-2000s singer-songwriter picks, so Lucy Hill’s culture shock plays like flipping from Miami radio to a VFW dance floor.

The plot is a simple fish-out-of-water: Lucy arrives to “fix” a pudding plant, meets a union rep who refuses to be charmed, and discovers the community she was sent to cut. The soundtrack mirrors that thaw. Brassy confidence for the Miami executive; jangly, human-scale songs and porch-swing country when she starts listening.

Genres map cleanly to phases. Arrival taps glossy pop-rock and disco’s bravado. Adaptation softens into Americana and acoustic textures. Rebellion — the workforce pushing back — leans on rootsy drive. Collapse→release brings familiar radio staples and a small, feel-good score cue to land the ending.

How It Was Made

Composer John Swihart provides the original score (including an end-suite on the album). The song stack is a studio-cleared, radio-friendly set — catalogue anchors (Gloria Gaynor, T. Rex, Katrina & the Waves) plus contemporary cuts (Missy Higgins, Tift Merritt, Elizabeth & The Catapult). The commercial album (New in Town: Music from the Motion Picture) runs about 40–45 minutes and closes with Swihart’s “New in Town Suite.” As per the album listings and song credits, it’s a straight various-artists release; no separate full score CD exists.

Production kept placement diegetic whenever possible — car stereos, bars, store speakers — so needle-drops feel like part of New Ulm’s soundscape, not just gloss poured over it. According to the film’s song credits and soundtrack retailers, several tracks heard in the movie aren’t on every retail edition; the on-screen list is broader than the CD/streaming cut.

Tracks & Scenes

Documented tracks (album+credits) with scene-function notes. Some moments play in montage; exact timecodes vary by cut/edition.

“Move by Yourself” — Donavon Frankenreiter
Where it plays: Early travel/opening stretch as Lucy powers through departure — bright guitar groove over shots of airport gates and a rolling suitcase.
Why it matters: Big-city momentum in one riff; it sells Lucy’s self-propelled confidence.

“20th Century Boy” — T. Rex
Where it plays: Wardrobe/attitude montage beats as Lucy tries to impose Miami on Minnesota (stilettos on ice, designer coats in sub-zero wind).
Why it matters: Glam swagger as joke and armor; it punctures then protects.

“Walking on Sunshine (2004)” — Katrina & The Waves
Where it plays: Quick montage pop during a mid-movie thaw: Lucy loosens up around town events and the plant crew; cutaways to thermoses, snowplows, and awkward small talk that’s starting to work.
Why it matters: Instant sunshine — the needle-drop that telegraphs “okay, hearts are warming.”

“I Will Survive” — Gloria Gaynor (with in-film sing-along by Renée Zellweger)
Where it plays: Bar / karaoke-night gag that flips to catharsis as Lucy leans into the chorus and the room joins in.
Why it matters: Disco defiance repurposed as small-town bonding. A wink becomes a welcome.

“Steer” — Missy Higgins
Where it plays: Quiet pivot after a setback — windshield wipers and a two-lane highway as Lucy rethinks her plan.
Why it matters: Lyrical theme-fit: take the wheel or be driven by the spreadsheet.

“Race You” — Elizabeth & The Catapult
Where it plays: Plant-floor montage: clipboards, hairnets, assembly lines, a test batch that finally gels.
Why it matters: Bouncy meters keep hope moving — work as rhythm.

“Boss of Everything” — Crit Harmon
Where it plays: Lucy sparring with the union rep and the foreman; the lyric nods are on-the-nose and that’s the joke.
Why it matters: Character labeling via chorus — the town knows exactly who she is (for now).

“Another Country” — Tift Merritt
Where it plays: A reflective travel beat (commonly recalled as a plane scene): Lucy looks down at snowfields and wonders which life she’s choosing.
Why it matters: Title says it: she’s crossed into something new.

“Life Is Good” — Brittini Black
Where it plays: Church-basement cookies, knit-circle advice, and neighbor favors — the community montage.
Why it matters: Earnest, un-hip — exactly the film’s point about value.

“In the Thick of It” — Moot Davis
Where it plays: Factory crunch time — trucks at the bay, snow drifts, hands in gloves.
Why it matters: Bar-band twang that sounds like steel-toed boots.

“Hey You” — Natalia Safran (feat. Mikolaj Jaroszyk)
Where it plays: Late-film warmth / end-titles glide (varies by territory).
Why it matters: Soft landing after the big save.

“New in Town Suite” — John Swihart
Where it plays: Score medley at the finish — the film’s gentle themes in one cue.
Why it matters: Confirms the movie’s center is small and human, not corporate.

Also heard (on screen/credits): Perk Badger “Do Your Stuff”; APM Music “I’m Movin’ Out”; Carrie Underwood “That’s Where It Is”; Marty Jensen “Just Because We’re Over”; Craig N. Cisco “On the Other Side.”

Notes & Trivia

• The film’s music by credit is composer John Swihart; the album is a various-artists set capped by his suite.
• The on-screen song list is longer than some retail editions; regional/streaming versions may shuffle one or two tracks.
• Yes, Zellweger’s on-screen “I Will Survive” moment is acknowledged in the credits even though the album carries Gaynor’s original.
• The jukebox mix is deliberate: glam, disco and sunny 80s pop are deployed as comic contrast to −20°F visuals.

Music–Story Links

When Lucy arrives, big-city polish gets glam rock and disco bravado. As she listens, the needle drops pivot: acoustic guitars, front-porch harmonies, un-flashy grooves. The turning points use lyric on-the-nose choices — “Steer,” “Another Country” — that read like chapter titles. And the union fight never gets scored like a thriller; it’s scored like teamwork, which is the movie’s whole argument.

Reception & Quotes

Critics were cool on the film; audiences were warmer. The soundtrack drew “radio-friendly comfort” notes — familiar hooks with a couple of tasteful mid-2000s adds.

“Predictable, yes — but the music keeps it chipper and the town feels lived-in rather than mocked.”
— summary of mainstream reviews

“The throwback picks — T. Rex, Gaynor, Katrina & The Waves — do exactly what they’re asked: melt the ice.”
— retrospective soundtrack note

Interesting Facts

• The soundtrack album runs ~40–45 minutes; the film’s cue sheet lists a few extras beyond the retail tracklist.
• “Walking on Sunshine” is the 2004 re-record, a common sync in 2000s rom-coms.
• “Another Country” is widely remembered against an in-flight reflection scene — a rare needle-drop that isn’t played as a joke.
• Swihart’s score is light and functional: short cues, unobtrusive pads, one end medley.
• The closing suite is the album’s only piece of original score; the rest is licensed songs.

Technical Info

• Film: New in Town (2009)
• Director: Jonas Elmer
• Composer: John Swihart
• Album: New in Town: Music from the Motion Picture (various artists + score suite)
• Key songs (album/film): Donavon Frankenreiter “Move by Yourself”; T. Rex “20th Century Boy”; Gloria Gaynor “I Will Survive”; Crit Harmon “Boss of Everything”; Elizabeth & The Catapult “Race You”; Brittini Black “Life Is Good”; Craig N. Cisco “On the Other Side”; Tift Merritt “Another Country”; Moot Davis “In the Thick of It”; Natalia Safran “Hey You”; Perk Badger “Do Your Stuff”; Katrina & The Waves “Walking on Sunshine (2004)”.
• Distributor: Lionsgate (NA)
• Runtime: 97 minutes
• Availability: Digital/streaming album editions (11–12 tracks, depending on version); no standalone full score album.

Questions & Answers

Who composed the score?

John Swihart; the album closes with his “New in Town Suite.”

Is the soundtrack a full various-artists set or a score album?

Various-artists set with one score medley; most on-screen music is licensed songs.

Does Renée Zellweger really sing “I Will Survive”?

Yes — there’s an in-film sing-along; the album itself carries Gaynor’s original recording.

Are all the movie’s songs on the retail album?

No. The on-screen list is longer; some versions of the album omit a few cues heard in the film.

What’s the track playing over “things are finally working” plant montages?

Commonly listed: Elizabeth & The Catapult’s “Race You,” with other scenes bridged by Swihart’s light score cues.

Canonical Entities & Relations

Sources: film page and on-screen song list; album/retailer listings; soundtrack indexes; IMDb song credits.

November, 17th 2025