"Pearl Harbor" Soundtrack Lyrics

“Pearl Harbor — Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2001)” – Album Guide to Tracks and Key Scenes

Overview

How can an explosive war epic beat with a valentine’s heart? Pearl Harbor answers by braiding two musical identities: Hans Zimmer’s sweeping, melodic score and a power-ballad coda built to echo in graduation halls and weddings for years. The album swings from intimate piano motifs to percussion-heavy battle writing — romance and devastation under one flag.

The story tracks best friends Rafe and Danny and nurse Evelyn through courtship, separation, and the December 7 attack, then into the Doolittle Raid. The score’s main theme (“Tennessee”) sings small-town longing and moral clarity; set-piece cues (“Attack,” “War”) widen into thunder, brass, and martial ostinatos. Faith Hill’s end title “There You’ll Be” (written by Diane Warren) seals the film’s memory-keeping thesis.

Across the arc — arrival → adaptation → rebellion → collapse — the soundtrack’s genre map is clear: lyrical Americana piano for innocence and first love; choral-tinged orchestral writing for grief and duty; period source songs (Mills Brothers, Louis Armstrong, dance-band standards) to ground 1941 nightlife; and one glossy adult-contemporary anthem to carry the afterglow.

How It Was Made

Composer & palette. Zimmer builds around a simple hymnlike motif (piano/cello → strings) that he refracts into three threads: the lovers, the brothers-in-arms, and the cost of war. Additional music and editing flowed through his then–Media Ventures circle; Alan Meyerson’s mixes give the action cues their wide, glassy punch.

Supervision & album. Music supervision came from Kathy Nelson and Bob Badami — helpful on a picture that needed both period diegetics and a contemporary single. The album (Hollywood Records/Warner Bros.) presents Faith Hill’s “There You’ll Be” plus eight Zimmer cues, a concise narrative listen (as noted on label credits and retail listings).

Tracks & Scenes

“There You’ll Be” — Faith Hill
Where it plays: End titles and post-epilogue (approx. final minutes). The camera soft-lands after loss and mission, and the ballad carries memory into the credits; theatrical trailers and TV spots also leaned on it.
Why it matters: A Diane Warren elegy that became the film’s pop identity — grief framed as gratitude.

“Tennessee” — Hans Zimmer
Where it plays: Early courtship and return-home interludes; the theme threads Rafe/Evelyn’s New York harbor date and later reflective beats. Expect piano lead-ins that bloom to strings; non-diegetic.
Why it matters: The score’s soul — plainspoken melody that lets the movie cry without melodrama.

“...And Then I Kissed Him” — Hans Zimmer
Where it plays: Romantic crest as Rafe and Evelyn’s relationship flowers (pre-deployment) and in subsequent memory-laden reprises; non-diegetic, with harp/strings lilt.
Why it matters: A classic Zimmer lyric cue: suspended-time harmony for a kiss the plot will complicate.

“Brothers” — Hans Zimmer
Where it plays: Rafe and Danny’s bond — boyhood Tennessee to cockpit camaraderie; non-diegetic variations around their shared decisions and sacrifices.
Why it matters: The friendship theme; steadier pulse, fewer ornaments, more resolve.

“Attack” — Hans Zimmer
Where it plays: Core Pearl Harbor sequence (roughly mid-film, ~1:20–1:50). Orchestral surges, low brass, snare-drum undercurrent, and choral lifts ride the editing of torpedo runs, hospital triage, and shipboard crises.
Why it matters: A long-form action canvas that syncs to geography and escalating dread.

“December 7th” — Hans Zimmer
Where it plays: Aftermath montage: smoke, lists of the missing, and a quiet, reverent pace; non-diegetic strings and choir.
Why it matters: Memorial-tone writing that deliberately lowers the film’s temperature.

“War” — Hans Zimmer
Where it plays: Training and gearing-up beats for the Doolittle Raid; rhythmic ostinatos and bold brass step forward; non-diegetic.
Why it matters: “Resolve” music — the pivot from victimhood to agency.

“Heart of a Volunteer” — Hans Zimmer
Where it plays: Epilogue and farewell passages, capping the Doolittle mission and its cost; choir crowns the album’s thematic cycle.
Why it matters: The benediction — grief, pride, and continuity in one long breathe-out.

Also heard (period source): dance-band and vocal sides like “Little Brown Jug,” “Jeepers Creepers,” Mills Brothers favorites, and Hawaiian standards that paint barracks, canteens, and hotel floors — largely diegetic and scene-local, giving 1941 its lived-in sound.

Notes & Trivia

• Faith Hill’s “There You’ll Be” earned Oscar and Grammy nominations and became a crossover hit.
• The album sequence is economical — 1 pop single + 8 cues — yet it retells the film cleanly.
• Music supervisors Kathy Nelson and Bob Badami balanced 1940s source clearances with a contemporary flagship single.
• Zimmer’s main theme “Tennessee” is a fan favorite beyond the film — oft-covered by classical-crossover artists.
• Trailers famously leaned on Zimmer’s earlier “Journey to the Line” (from The Thin Red Line) before release.

Music–Story Links

When the piano of “Tennessee” opens on city lights and a borrowed patrol boat, the music treats a modest date like destiny — so we feel the fracture when war interrupts. “Attack” doesn’t just score explosions; it tracks the POV handoffs (pilots → sailors → nurses), letting rhythmic cells reset our position. And the epilogue’s “Heart of a Volunteer” reframes heroism as endurance — not fireworks, but a choir lifting what’s left.

Reception & Quotes

Reviewers were mixed on the film but singled out the score’s romance writing and the single’s radio power. The original album became a gateway Zimmer listen for non-score fans.

“Zimmer’s most elegant, consistently beautiful romance theme.” Filmtracks

“A noble melancholy — ‘Tennessee’ is the heart.” Classic FM

“‘War’ brings the percussion thunder fans expect.” Album review round-up

Interesting Facts

• Label split: The U.S. CD carried joint branding — Hollywood Records with Warner Bros. catalog numbering.
• Short and focused: At ~46 minutes, the album omits many cues; expanded/bootleg sessions circulate among collectors.
• Choir weight: The finale’s choral writing is a Zimmer hallmark that would echo in later epics.
• Source world: 1930s–40s sides (Mills Brothers, Louis Armstrong) act as gentle “room tone” for social scenes.
• Award trail: The film’s music was a Golden Globe score nominee; the Hill single landed Oscar/Grammy nods.

Technical Info

• Title: Pearl Harbor — Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
• Year / Type: 2001 / Movie
• Composer: Hans Zimmer (additional music via Media Ventures team)
• Music Supervision: Kathy Nelson; Bob Badami
• Label / Album: Hollywood Records in association with Warner Bros.; 9-track commercial album
• Key selections: “There You’ll Be” (Faith Hill), “Tennessee,” “Brothers,” “…And Then I Kissed Him,” “Attack,” “December 7th,” “War,” “Heart of a Volunteer.”
• Notable source cues: “Little Brown Jug,” “Jeepers Creepers,” Mills Brothers cuts, Hawaiian standards used diegetically.
• Awards: Best Original Song (Oscar) nomination for “There You’ll Be”; score nominated at the Golden Globes; film won the Academy Award for Sound Editing.

Questions & Answers

Who composed the score, and what’s the main theme?

Hans Zimmer composed it; the central melody is “Tennessee,” a piano-led hymn that recurs across love and memory scenes.

Where does “There You’ll Be” appear in the film?

It closes the film over the end credits, functioning as the pop coda to the story’s losses and goodbyes.

Is there an official album — and what’s on it?

Yes. The 9-track album pairs Faith Hill’s single with eight score cues that outline romance, attack, aftermath, and epilogue.

Who handled period music?

Music supervisors Kathy Nelson and Bob Badami cleared 1940s dance-band/vocal sides for parties, bars, and hotel scenes.

Which cue underscores the harbor assault?

“Attack” — a long, sectional cue whose percussion and brass are cut tightly to torpedo runs, hospital triage, and shipboard action.

Canonical Entities & Relations

Sources: Discogs release & credits; Apple Music listing; IMDb soundtrack/credits; Wikipedia (film & awards); Filmtracks review; MovieMusicUK review; Classic FM feature; period-song playlist references.

November, 18th 2025