"The End We Start" Soundtrack Lyrics

"The End We Start From (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)" – Album Guide to Tracks and Key Scenes

Overview

How do you score a world that’s ending while a life is beginning? Anna Meredith answers with a spare, tactile palette — bowed tension, pulsing electronics, and sudden wells of warmth — that follows a mother and infant through flood, fear, and small mercies. The album is short cues, not showpieces; music as breath between crises, music as skin-prickle when the water rises.

On screen, the score shadows sensation first: the white roar of labour (“Birth”), the stunned hush of early days (“Little World”), and the numb logistics of survival (“Leaving,” “Empty”). Needle-drops arrive like memory shards — a communal sing on the road, an ecstatic dance by fire — while Meredith’s cues do the heavy narrative lifting. It’s intimate apocalypse music, scaled to a newborn’s field of view.

Genres & themes, in phases: minimalist electronic & strings — bodily fear and focus; ambient folk-tinged textures — fragile domesticity; dance/euphoria needles — flashback and fellowship; hush & drone — grief-processing; tentative lyricism — return and repair.

How It Was Made

Composer: Anna Meredith. Her original score was released as The End We Start From (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) in January 2024 via Mercury Classics: Soundtrack & Score/Universal (digital, 19 tracks). The film’s music department was led by music supervisor Lucy Bright. The picture itself — directed by Mahalia Belo from Alice Birch’s adaptation of Megan Hunter’s novel — opened December 8, 2023 (U.S.) and January 19, 2024 (U.K.).

Tracks & Scenes

“Birth” (Anna Meredith)

Where it plays:

Early sequence as storms mount and labour begins. Tight, urgent writing; strings pulse against low synths as the world shrinks to breath and pain.

Why it matters:

Sets the score’s rulebook — physical, close-miked textures instead of disaster-movie blare.

“Little World” (Anna Meredith)

Where it plays:

Domestic moments: the family gardens; later returns under the first end credits (~01:35). The harmony glows like lamplight against grey skies.

Why it matters:

Crystallizes hope in miniature — a theme for the cocoon around mother and child.

“Empty” (Anna Meredith)

Where it plays:

A brutal beat: R and his father emerge from the car, injured and sobbing (~00:29). The cue returns in late end credits (~01:40).

Why it matters:

Grief without melodrama; the cue withholds grandeur and lands harder.

“Raid” (Anna Meredith)

Where it plays:

Refugees scatter in panic (~00:51). Percussive flickers and high-string edge carry the adrenaline.

Why it matters:

Action inside a whisper — the film never breaks its intimate scale.

“Stars” → “Something’s Coming” (Anna Meredith)

Where it plays:

AB packs to leave (~01:00); then a boat approaches (~01:05). The two cues bridge parting and uncertain passage.

Why it matters:

Shifts the film from makeshift community to mythic crossing — quietly.

“Return” (Anna Meredith)

Where it plays:

Homeward passages and city re-entry (~01:30), then second end-credit slot (~01:37). Open, steadying harmony — like roads widening.

Why it matters:

The emotional landing: not triumph, but steadiness.

“Waterfall” (Anna Meredith)

Where it plays:

After a goodbye to her friend, the mother packs and leaves with the baby (~01:22). A slow rise that feels like breath before plunge.

Why it matters:

Names the film’s rhythm — endings that are starts.

“Can’t Do Without You” (Caribou) — needle drop

Where it plays:

Campfire meal after meeting AB (~00:56). Mothers dance and laugh; an ecstatic loop flickers against night.

Why it matters:

First communal joy in a while — euphoria as survival tactic.

“(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” (cast sing) — diegetic

Where it plays:

Walking road scene (~01:01). Exhausted women, babies strapped on, sing the hook together.

Why it matters:

A gallows lullaby — pop memory welded to endurance.

“It’s Not Easy” (Ofege) — needle drop

Where it plays:

Memory of R asking her out (~01:06). Warm, vintage groove under a softer recollection.

Why it matters:

Re-threads who they were before the storm — a pocket of sweetness.

“Mission Desire” (Jane Weaver) — needle drop

Where it plays:

Featured during the women’s journey (album-extra, on the film’s songs list). Psychedelic shimmer against bleak terrain.

Why it matters:

A left-field texture that widens the movie’s musical vocabulary.

Trailer music

What you hear:

The official trailers centre on film score elements and atmospheric builds rather than a single “trailer single.”

Why it matters:

Marketing matched the film’s tone: intimate scale, big feelings.

Notes & Trivia

• The OST landed January 19, 2024, on Mercury Classics: Soundtrack & Score/Universal (19 tracks, ~37–38 minutes).
• Music supervision by Lucy Bright; Arabella Winter served as music editor.
• Key non-OST songs appearing in-film include Caribou’s “Can’t Do Without You,” the road-sing of “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life,” Ofege’s “It’s Not Easy,” and Jane Weaver’s “Mission Desire.”
• U.S. release was December 8, 2023; U.K. release January 19, 2024.

Reception & Quotes

Critics praised the score’s restraint and nerve: small sounds with big aftershock. Fans built playlists mixing the OST with the film’s few, telling needle-drops.

“Meredith’s pulsing score needles like a building panic attack.” — The Guardian

“Contemporary without being cold… imaginative, fresh and unsettling.” — Buzz (album review)

“Light electronic intrusions… excellent score.” — Variety (festival review)

Availability: The official OST streams on major platforms; singles (“Little World,” “Waterfall”) were pre-released. There’s no separate “songs” album — use curated playlists and the film itself.

Interesting Facts

• Intimate apocalypse: The score keeps everything chest-close — more heart monitor than disaster siren.
• End credits braid: “Little World,” “Return,” and “Empty” share the credits space, turning exit music into coda.
• Campfire euphoria: The Caribou needle-drop is the film’s most communal musical rush.
• Singing as stamina: The on-foot “Time of My Life” chorus is both joke and morale hack.
• Meredith’s lane: Fans of her Eighth Grade textures will recognize the nerve-prickle minimalism here — a different crisis, same clarity.

Technical Info

• Title: The End We Start From (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
• Year: 2024 (album); film 2023 U.S. Dec 8 / U.K. Jan 19, 2024
• Type: Film soundtrack (original score + a handful of licensed songs in-film)
• Composer: Anna Meredith
• Music supervision: Lucy Bright
• Label: Mercury Classics: Soundtrack & Score / Universal Music Operations
• Selected notable placements: “Birth” (labour); “Little World” (domestic moments; end credits); “Empty” (post-accident shock; end credits); “Raid” (panic run); “Return” (homeward passages; end credits); Caribou — “Can’t Do Without You” (campfire dance); “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” (road sing); Ofege — “It’s Not Easy” (R memory); Jane Weaver — “Mission Desire” (journey needle-drop).
• Release context: TIFF premiere Sept 10, 2023; wide releases U.S. (Dec 8, 2023) & U.K. (Jan 19, 2024).

Questions & Answers

Who composed the score?

Anna Meredith — a classically trained composer known for blending electronics and acoustic ensemble writing.

Is there a songs album?

No. The official release is the score; the film uses a small handful of licensed tracks not compiled on a separate album.

What’s the most recognizable needle-drop?

Caribou’s “Can’t Do Without You” at the campfire — a rare, joyous release valve in the film.

Where can I stream the OST?

On major platforms (e.g., Apple Music, Spotify) under Mercury Classics: Soundtrack & Score.

Who supervised the music?

Lucy Bright led music supervision; Arabella Winter handled music editing.

Key Contributors

Sources: Apple Music album page; Spotify album page; Film Music Reporter (album announcement & tracklist); IMDb Soundtracks & Full Credits; Metacritic credits (music dept.); Soundtracki scene-by-scene placements & timestamps; Variety festival review; The Guardian (U.K. release review); Buzz (album review); Wikipedia (film overview, dates, music credit); official YouTube trailers.

November, 28th 2025