"Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire" Soundtrack Lyrics

“Precious: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack” – Album Guide to Tracks and Key Scenes

Overview

What does survival sound like when the world keeps turning down the volume on you? Precious answers with a crate-digger’s blend — classic soul, gospel hope, house catharsis, and one new ballad that becomes a mantra. The soundtrack is half memory, half mirror: songs Precious might hear on radio or TV in 1987 Harlem, and songs that speak in the voice she’s reaching for.

On screen, Claireece “Precious” Jones (Gabourey Sidibe) navigates abuse, poverty, and motherhood — and the film cuts between raw realism and brief daydreams. Music is the bridge. Mary J. Blige’s “I Can See in Color” puts language to a woman teaching herself to look up; Jean Carn’s “Was That All It Was” scores a charged mother–daughter standoff with seductive, uncomfortable poise; Mahalia Jackson and MFSB anchor the album’s spiritual and communal pull. The official compilation arrived in November 2009 on Matriarch/Geffen in association with Lionsgate Music.

Distinctive choice: the album leans needle-drops over traditional score. Mario Grigorov’s tense, minimal scoring lives inside the film, while the released record foregrounds curated songs (as per label and press materials). That’s why the listen feels like a lived-in mixtape — precise, personal, and time-stamped.

Genres & themes in phases. Soul & R&B classics — memory, self-image. Gospel & house — fight, faith. Hip-hop/R&B club cuts — streets, pressure. Contemporary ballad — self-definition.

How It Was Made

Album & singles. The compilation was issued by Matriarch/Geffen with Lionsgate Records in early November 2009; Mary J. Blige’s original “I Can See in Color,” co-written with Raphael Saadiq, was serviced ahead of release as the film’s signature new song.

Score & supervision. Composer Mario Grigorov supplied the film’s original score. Music supervision is credited to Lynn Fainchtein, whose brief — by the director’s account — was to choose songs that resonate within Precious’s world and beyond it.

Tracks & Scenes

“I Can See in Color” — Mary J. Blige
Where it plays: Used as the film’s thematic throughline and over late-film/credits usage; promos also leaned on it. (Blige has described writing it to Precious’s journey and recording it in tears.)
Why it matters: A new song that articulates the movie’s mission — to let Precious “see” herself.

“Was That All It Was” — Jean Carn
Where it plays: After Precious and her mother’s first big fight; Mary (Mo’Nique) slips into a wig and tight outfit, dancing and posing in the mirror as the track struts on the TV stereo.
Why it matters: The needle-drop turns a toxic scene into something seductively complicated — director Lee Daniels has called the placement intentionally “inappropriate” and revealing.

“He Is the Joy” — Donna Allen
Where it plays: A house-gospel lift used to energize montage momentum as Precious keeps moving forward.
Why it matters: Feel-good propulsion — faith as beat and breath.

“Come Into My House” — Queen Latifah
Where it plays: A street-level pulse that colors city motion and teen chatter; an era-true house-rap cut that fits the 1987 setting.
Why it matters: Places the film in a specific sonic neighborhood — golden-age bounce with voguing DNA.

“Just a Closer Walk with Thee” — Mahalia Jackson
Where it plays: As a solemn spiritual thread during a reflective stretch; the hymn’s New Orleans funeral lineage deepens the moment.
Why it matters: Old comfort in a new hurt — the album’s gravest register.

“Did You Ever See a Dream Walking?” — Sunny Gale
Where it plays: A vintage, syrup-light swoon used to tint one of Precious’s fantasy beats.
Why it matters: Shows how the film paints her inner life in borrowed pop gloss.

“Love Is the Message” — MFSB (feat. The Three Degrees)
Where it plays: Source-music texture underscoring urban bustle and warmth.
Why it matters: A classic Philadelphia soul groove that argues community into the frame.

Also heard but not all on the OST: TV ephemera like Marla Gibbs’s “227” end-credits sting; a “My Good Lovin’ (Back Like That Remix)” cue (Da Brat & Lil’ Mo); and trailer cuts including Leona Lewis’s “Happy.”

Notes & Trivia

• The album was released digitally November 3, 2009; physical copies followed later that month.
• Label spine credits: Lionsgate Music in association with Matriarch Records and Geffen Records; Mary J. Blige and Raphael Saadiq are listed among the album’s producers.
• Robin Thicke initially wrote a title track (“Push”) that was ultimately replaced by Blige’s “I Can See in Color.”
• Composer Mario Grigorov scored the film; his cues remain largely separate from the commercial song compilation.

Music–Story Links

When Precious retreats into fantasy, the film borrows vintage pop (“Dream Walking”) to lacquer over pain. When she chooses forward motion, the beat quickens — Donna Allen’s house-gospel does motivational duty in plain sight. The mirror-dance to Jean Carn reframes Mary not as a monster but as a broken performer aching for a different audience. And Blige’s theme keeps saying the quiet part out loud: survival starts with seeing yourself — in color.

Reception & Quotes

Reviewers generally praised the album’s coherence and Blige’s original — one critic called it “a knockout song” that captures the film’s goal. Fans tend to treat the compilation like a time capsule: late-80s Harlem refracted through a 2009 pop-soul lens.

“A knockout song… expressing the goal of Precious to see the world in color.” — newspaper soundtrack column

“The needle-drops are chosen like memories, not just cues.” — soundtrack roundups

Interesting Facts

• Single first: “I Can See in Color” was issued ahead of the album; it later picked up awards-season buzz.
• House classic, new context: “He Is the Joy” (1999) arrives here as a spiritual dance-floor lifter for a 1987 story — deliberately anachronistic but emotionally apt.
• TV inside the movie: The sitcom 227 end-theme appears in Precious’s media-saturated home life but didn’t make the OST.
• Trailer switch-ups: The film’s trailers also used Mary J. Blige’s “Destiny” (2001) and Leona Lewis’s “Happy” (2009).
• Credits you can feel: Music supervision by Lynn Fainchtein; the film’s original score by Mario Grigorov stays mostly off the retail release.

Technical Info

• Title: Precious: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
• Year: 2009 (digital: Nov 3; physical: late Nov)
• Type: Film soundtrack — various artists (song compilation) + original single
• Album producers: Mary J. Blige; Raphael Saadiq
• Composer (film score): Mario Grigorov
• Music Supervisor: Lynn Fainchtein
• Labels: Matriarch Records / Geffen Records (with Lionsgate Music)
• Notable inclusions: Mary J. Blige — “I Can See in Color”; Jean Carn — “Was That All It Was”; Donna Allen — “He Is the Joy”; Sunny Gale — “Did You Ever See a Dream Walking?”; Queen Latifah — “Come Into My House”; Mahalia Jackson — “Just a Closer Walk with Thee”; MFSB feat. The Three Degrees — “Love Is the Message.”
• Also associated (not all on album): Marla Gibbs — “227 End Credits (No Place Like Home)”; Da Brat & Lil’ Mo — “My Good Lovin’ (Back Like That Remix)”; trailer uses: Leona Lewis — “Happy.”

Questions & Answers

Who composed the film’s score?

Mario Grigorov. The commercially released album emphasizes songs rather than his score cues.

What’s the original song written for the film?

Mary J. Blige’s “I Can See in Color,” co-written with Raphael Saadiq; it became the soundtrack’s calling card.

Which scene uses Jean Carn’s “Was That All It Was”?

After Precious’s first major fight with her mother — Mary primps and dances in the mirror as the track plays.

Is every song from the movie on the album?

No. Some in-film or promo tracks (e.g., the 227 TV theme; Da Brat & Lil’ Mo; Leona Lewis in trailers) are not on the OST.

Who supervised the song choices?

Lynn Fainchtein handled music supervision; the album itself was released by Matriarch/Geffen in association with Lionsgate Music.

Canonical Entities & Relations

Sources: album/label listings; film credits databases; director and artist interviews; soundtrack indices; official trailers and retailer pages.

November, 19th 2025