"The Sum of All Fears" Soundtrack Lyrics

“The Sum of All Fears — Music From the Motion Picture (2002)” – Album Guide to Tracks and Key Scenes

Review

Can a modern spy blockbuster move like an action film yet sound like a lament? Jerry Goldsmith’s score says yes — brass for resolve, elegy for consequence. Where the plot escalates, his writing pulls back: counter-lines and choir offer the sober voice in the room.

The soundtrack (a compact 48-minute album in 2002, later expanded) blends propulsive suspense writing with two striking vocals: a wordless soprano that opens the drama and, at the other end, a tenor aria that turns the finale into ritual reckoning. Pop isn’t the point here; gravitas is. The music becomes the film’s conscience, refusing to treat apocalypse as spectacle.

Genres & themes in phases: orchestral action — procedure, logistics, grit; choral/aria — public grief and moral weight; dignified hymn-like song — reconciliation after brinkmanship. The arc runs from calculation to catharsis, then to caution.

How It Was Made

Composer: Jerry Goldsmith, delivering one of the late-career highlights of his 2000s run. The album dropped via Elektra/WEA in early June 2002, aligned with the film’s U.S. release. The program mixes taut set-pieces (“The Bomb,” “Clear the Stadium”) with thematic statements and two vocal outliers: the end-credits song “If We Could Remember” (lyrics by Paul Williams; vocal by Yolanda Adams; produced by Trevor Horn) and a Puccini aria performance licensed for the climactic montage.

Goldsmith’s material later received deluxe presentations: a 2014 expansion and a remastered/expanded 2-CD edition (score + the original 2002 album) capped at 3,000 units, with new mixes and liner notes — catnip for film-music collectors.

Tracks & Scenes

Key musical moments — album cuts and on-screen placements — with scene context. (Diegetic = heard in-world.)

“Nessun dorma” (from Puccini’s Turandot) — performed by Bruce Sledge

Where it plays:

The famous “payback” montage near the end: as geopolitical tensions ease publicly, private reckonings hit off-screen — assassinations, car bombs, the ledger balanced. Non-diegetic.

Why it matters:

Opera as moral frame: the aria’s inexorable build makes the reprisals feel like ritual, not triumph.

“If We Could Remember” (music Jerry Goldsmith; lyrics Paul Williams) — vocal: Yolanda Adams

Where it plays:

End-credits song following the resolution speeches; a vocalization of the score’s main theme.

Why it matters:

A sober benediction after catastrophe narrowly averted — memory as deterrent.

“If We Get Through This” (Tabitha Fair; co-written with Carole King & John Parish)

Where it plays:

Used toward the film’s close around the reconciliation/treaty-signing sequence before the main credits.

Why it matters:

A contemporary song that grounds the political pageant in personal hope.

“The Mission (Includes ‘If We Could Remember’)” — Jerry Goldsmith feat. Shana Blake Hill (soprano)

Where it plays:

Early in the film, establishing the story’s solemn tone; the soprano voice floats above restrained strings as the chessboard is set. Non-diegetic.

Why it matters:

The opening “human” color — a wordless prayer that bookends the later tenor catharsis.

“The Bomb” — Jerry Goldsmith

Where it plays:

The Baltimore stadium detonation sequence. Non-diegetic score driving the terrible inevitability.

Why it matters:

Muted brass and ticking rhythm reject sensationalism; the cue treats disaster with grim clarity.

“Clear the Stadium” — Jerry Goldsmith

Where it plays:

Evacuation push as security senses the threat. Non-diegetic, all forward motion.

Why it matters:

Procedure under pressure — a Goldsmith specialty.

“Snap Count” — Jerry Goldsmith

Where it plays:

Pre-game and build-up material around the football setting. Non-diegetic.

Why it matters:

Sports-pageantry texture that will soon collide with terror — intentional dissonance.

Notes & Trivia

• Goldsmith’s end-credits song “If We Could Remember” adapts his main theme with new lyrics by Paul Williams; Yolanda Adams provides the powerhouse vocal.
• Tabitha Fair’s “If We Get Through This” (co-written with Carole King) appears near the closing White House sequence.
• The climactic montage famously uses Puccini’s “Nessun dorma,” sung on the soundtrack by tenor Bruce Sledge.
• Later soundtrack editions from La-La Land Records remastered/expanded the program; a two-disc set presents the film score and the original 2002 album.

Reception & Quotes

Reviewers of the score praised its restraint and architecture — action cues with spine, vocal bookends that carry unexpected weight.

“A remarkably dignified thriller score — cool surface, deep ache underneath.” Filmtracks

“Tension writing of real class, plus a knockout album presentation in expansion.” Movie Wave

Availability: 2002 Elektra/WEA album (digital/CD); 2014 expansion; later remastered/expanded limited 2-CD (score + original album) from La-La Land Records.

Interesting Facts

• Two voices, one frame: A soprano colors the opening; a tenor crowns the finale — a structural conceit noted by opera writers.
• Theme with words: “If We Could Remember” isn’t a random single — it’s the score’s theme with Paul Williams’ lyrics.
• Collector gold: The expanded editions add alternates and previously unreleased cues, newly mixed by the original team.
• Stadium, not CGI city: The football catastrophe uses Montreal’s Olympic Stadium for key location work (the album titles nod to the sequence).

Technical Info

• Title: The Sum of All Fears — Music From the Motion Picture
• Year: 2002 (album street date June 4, 2002)
• Type: Film soundtrack (score-led, select vocals)
• Composer: Jerry Goldsmith
• Key vocals: Yolanda Adams (“If We Could Remember”); Shana Blake Hill (soprano on “The Mission”); Bruce Sledge (Puccini aria as licensed track); Tabitha Fair (“If We Get Through This”)
• Label: Elektra / WEA (2002 original album); La-La Land Records (expanded/remastered editions)
• Selected notable placements: “Nessun dorma” — end montage; “If We Get Through This” — treaty/speeches; “If We Could Remember” — end credits; “The Bomb” — detonation sequence

Questions & Answers

Who composed the film’s score?

Jerry Goldsmith, delivering a suspense score with choral/aria bookends.

What’s the opera at the end?

Puccini’s “Nessun dorma,” performed on the soundtrack by tenor Bruce Sledge.

Is the end-credits song part of the score?

Yes — “If We Could Remember” sets Goldsmith’s theme to new lyrics by Paul Williams (vocal: Yolanda Adams).

Was the album reissued?

Yes. After the 2002 Elektra album, La-La Land issued expanded/remastered editions (score presentation + the original album).

Is there much pop music in the movie?

No — it’s mostly score. The few songs are purposeful: the aria, a closing pop cut, and the theme-song vocal.

Key Contributors

Sources: Apple Music album page; Discogs master; IMDb soundtrack credits; Filmtracks review; Movie-Wave review; OperaWire feature on the film’s soprano/tenor framing; La-La Land Records expansion & remaster announcements; Wikipedia film entry; Spotify listing for cues.

November, 29th 2025