"Scrooge: A Christmas Carol" Soundtrack Lyrics

"Scrooge: A Christmas Carol (Music From the Netflix Film)" – Album Guide to Tracks and Key Scenes

Overview

What happens when a miser meets a melody? In this 2022 animated musical, the music pushes Ebenezer to listen. Scrooge: A Christmas Carol revives Leslie Bricusse’s 1970 songbook with bright new arrangements and a contemporary film-score sheen, turning Dickens’ night of reckoning into a fully staged song cycle.

The story’s arc—arrival → adaptation → rebellion → collapse—gets mapped in music. Early, bustling numbers sell the bustle of London; mid-film duets open the fault lines in Scrooge’s past; the Ghost of Christmas Present swings the mood into generosity; then, in the grave-cold future, a parade song curdles into a cautionary anthem. Finally, morning breaks and the melodies lift like church bells.

Distinctiveness? The album is concise—eleven vocal tracks performed by the cast—with a separate orchestral release for the score. The songs keep Bricusse’s hooks intact but polish them for a Netflix-age ear, while the score threads choir and warm brass through the ghosts’ set-pieces. According to a widely circulated track list roundup, the vocal album features Luke Evans, Jessie Buckley, Johnny Flynn, Fra Fee, Trevor Dion Nicholas, Giles Terera and more (album issued digitally day-and-date with the film).

Genres & themes (phases) — Big-band holiday bustle: public cheer vs. private cold. Romantic ballad/duet: a heart in retreat. Show-tune swing: appetite and generosity. Parade anthem: public delusion. Orchestral/choral lift: revelation and rebirth.

How It Was Made

Director Stephen Donnelly builds on Bricusse’s Scrooge (1970), retaining the original songbook while inviting a modern score. Jeremy Holland-Smith composed the original score and also arranged/produced the film’s songs, recorded with the cast. The movie was produced by Timeless Films with Axis Studios and released globally by Netflix.

Cast performances anchor the album: Luke Evans (Scrooge) handles the confessional turns, Jessie Buckley (Isabel) lights the flashbacks, Johnny Flynn (Cratchit) brings hearth-and-home warmth, while Trevor Dion Nicholas (Ghost of Christmas Present) swings the room into joy. Music supervision was led by Catherine Grieves, whose brief balanced legacy lyrics with present-day vocal personalities.

Tracks & Scenes

“I Love Christmas” — Fra Fee
Where it plays: Opening bustle. Market stalls steam, carriages rattle, and a cheery chorus sets the town’s temperature while Scrooge threads through, unimpressed. A town carol that functions like a curtain-raiser (non-diegetic lead, diegetic color at the edges).
Why it matters: Establishes the world’s joy so the central chill has contrast.

“Christmas Children” — Johnny Flynn
Where it plays: Bob Cratchit walks home through lamplit streets, narrating small gifts and bigger hopes. Family shadows in windows; the lyric sketches the household before we see it.
Why it matters: Hearth music: empathy in 3/4 time.

“Tell Me” — Luke Evans
Where it plays: Alone in his rooms, Scrooge half-sings a challenge to the night—why should he change? The camera circles the ledger, clock, and door bolt; the melody is tight and contained.
Why it matters: Locks us into Ebenezer’s point of view before the first ghost cracks it.

“Happiness” — Luke Evans & Jessie Buckley
Where it plays: Christmas Past sequence. Young Ebenezer and Isabel dance inside memory—warm lighting, fast-cut laughter, and a tune that feels like it could go on forever.
Why it matters: A bliss theme the film can take away later.

“Later Never Comes” — Luke Evans & Jessie Buckley
Where it plays: The turning point of the flashback. Promises meet ledgers, the tempo tightens, and the duet hardens into a near-argument as opportunity slips away.
Why it matters: New to this version: a pointed counter-melody about procrastination and loss.

“I Like Life” — Trevor Dion Nicholas
Where it plays: Christmas Present’s arrival. Food appears, lights flare, and the Ghost sweeps Scrooge through rooms where the day is bigger than any man’s purse.
Why it matters: The show’s appetite number—grace with swing.

“The Beautiful Day” — Oliver Jenkins
Where it plays: A tender interlude linked to the Cratchits—humble gifts, firelight, and the fragile hope anchored to Tiny Tim.
Why it matters: Gives the act its breath so the next blow lands.

“Thank You Very Much” — Giles Terera
Where it plays: Christmas Yet to Come’s parade of ignorance. A raucous street party celebrates a debt cleared by a death—dancers kicking over the very moral we came to learn.
Why it matters: Satire with a smile; the tune you hum, then regret.

“I’ll Begin Again” — Luke Evans
Where it plays: Christmas morning. Bells swing, windows fly up, and Scrooge sings a promise into the day as he sets about making amends.
Why it matters: The confession as action—song becomes to-do list.

End title reprise: “I Love Christmas (Closing Titles)” — Trevor Dion Nicholas
Where it plays: Closing credits, a last jubilee as the town resets to joy.
Why it matters: Bookends the film’s mood swing: cynic to celebrant.

Notes & Trivia

• The vocal album gathers 11 tracks performed by the cast; a stand-alone orchestral album followed two weeks later.
• Most numbers originate in Bricusse’s 1970 score; “Later Never Comes” is a pointed new duet for this version.
• Luke Evans recorded Scrooge’s leads; Jessie Buckley voices and sings Isabel; Johnny Flynn handles “Christmas Children.”
• The production was mounted by Timeless Films with Axis Studios; Netflix premiered it globally for the 2022 holidays.
• Music supervision by Catherine Grieves; Jeremy Holland-Smith produced/arranged the songs in addition to composing the score.

Music–Story Links

When the town belts “I Love Christmas,” Scrooge becomes a moving hole in sound—music as social pressure he refuses. Past rewinds that chorus into intimacy (“Happiness”), then sharpens it with a new warning (“Later Never Comes”), so his present cynicism looks like fear, not principle. Present turns appetite into ethics (“I Like Life”), while Yet to Come weaponizes cheer (“Thank You Very Much”) to show how easily crowds celebrate the wrong thing. By “I’ll Begin Again,” the melody that once excluded him belongs to him.

Reception & Quotes

Viewers called the soundtrack “faithful but fresh,” highlighting Buckley/Evans duets and Present’s show-stopper. Critics noted that the film plays like a gateway to the 1970 musical and that the new arranging smooths the jump from legacy tunes to contemporary animation.

“A crisp, compact album that lets the performances carry the sparkle.” one capsule summary

“Bricusse’s earworms still do the heavy lifting; the new polish sells the ride.” a holiday round-up quipped

Interesting Facts

• The songs album released December 2, 2022; the original score album arrived December 16, 2022.
• Digital releases are licensed to Broadway Records LLC and Lakeshore Records; later, a colored-vinyl edition followed.
• Track order mirrors the film’s story flow, making it easy to map scenes for sing-alongs.
• “Thank You Very Much” charts a crowd celebrating a debt paid—one of Dickens’ darkest ironies set to a grin.
• Evans’ closing “I’ll Begin Again” functions like an epilogue and a pledge—rare for family animation, the lyric stays confessional.

Technical Info

• Title: Scrooge: A Christmas Carol — Music From the Netflix Film (songs) / Scrooge: A Christmas Carol — Original Score (orchestral)
• Year: 2022
• Type: Animated musical feature (songs + original score)
• Songs: Leslie Bricusse (legacy songbook); arrangements/production by Jeremy Holland-Smith
• Score Composer: Jeremy Holland-Smith
• Music Supervision: Catherine Grieves
• Key vocal placements: “I Love Christmas” (opener); “Christmas Children” (Cratchit walk/home); “Happiness” & “Later Never Comes” (Isabel flashbacks); “I Like Life” (Ghost of Christmas Present); “Thank You Very Much” (future parade); “I’ll Begin Again” (Christmas morning).
• Labels & releases: Songs — digital Dec 2, 2022; score — digital Dec 16, 2022; subsequent vinyl for the songs compilation.
• Studios/Distributor: Timeless Films & Axis Studios / Netflix

Questions & Answers

Is this a brand-new score or the original 1970 tracks?

Both: the film uses Leslie Bricusse’s songs (newly arranged/produced) and a new orchestral score by Jeremy Holland-Smith.

Is there a separate album for the score?

Yes. A dedicated score album by Holland-Smith followed two weeks after the songs release.

Who sings the main numbers?

Luke Evans (Scrooge), Jessie Buckley (Isabel), Johnny Flynn (Cratchit), Fra Fee, Trevor Dion Nicholas, Giles Terera, and others.

What’s new to this version?

“Later Never Comes,” a duet that frames Scrooge’s fateful choice in the Past sequence.

Where can I stream the film and album?

The film streams on Netflix; the albums are on major platforms and digital storefronts.

Canonical Entities & Relations

Sources: Netflix trailer & film page; Film Music Reporter album notes; Apple Music & Spotify listings; RadioTimes track guide; Discogs release entry.

November, 26th 2025