"Time Traveler's Wife, The" Soundtrack Lyrics

"The Time Traveler’s Wife (Music from the Motion Picture)" – Album Guide to Tracks and Key Scenes

Review

Can a love theme exist outside of time and still feel inevitable? Mychael Danna’s score answers with quiet conviction — repeating motives like ripples through Henry and Clare’s looping life. The album blends chamber strings, piano, and a centuries-old hymn to frame a romance forever arriving late and still, somehow, right on time.

The film’s plot tracks a Chicago librarian with a genetic time-slip disorder and the artist who keeps meeting him at different ages. The soundtrack leans into memory over spectacle: intimate cues, hushed choir shades, and the German chorale “Es ist ein Ros entsprungen” recur like a beacon — at holiday tables, before calamity, and around reunions. Occasional needle-drops puncture the calm: Lifehouse’s trailer staple “Broken” and Broken Social Scene’s slow-waltz take on “Love Will Tear Us Apart” pull the story into contemporary pop textures without breaking its wistful spell.

Across the album, phases map feeling to style: chorale + strings — ritual, fate; piano ostinati — anxious clockwork; indie rock — modern ache; ambient pads — memory haze. Danna keeps the palette uncluttered, so when the harmonies finally bloom in the endgame cues, it hits like acceptance rather than tragedy. Soft-spoken — yes. But sticky. It lingers.

How It Was Made

Composer Mychael Danna recorded the score with the Hollywood Studio Symphony, weaving the Praetorius-harmonized hymn “Es ist ein Ros entsprungen” into the fabric as a leitmotif. Production ran through late 2008; the official soundtrack dropped in August 2009 via New Line Records (digital), with a Decca CD edition (primarily outside the U.S.). Indie collective Broken Social Scene cameo on screen as the wedding band and contributed a cover of Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart.” Trailer campaigns leaned on Lifehouse’s “Broken.”

Tracks & Scenes

Key placements and how they play on screen. Times are approximate narrative locations rather than minute:second counters (edits vary by release).

“Es ist ein Ros” (arr. Michael Praetorius) / score motif

Where it plays:

A hush of chorale harmony threads the film: just before the early car accident that claims Henry’s mother (opening act), at holiday gatherings with Clare’s family (mid-film), and as a recurring memory signal in several transitions.

Why it matters:

The 16th-century hymn functions as a fate marker — a timeless carol folded into a modern romance, binding sacred stillness to the story’s most fragile beats.

“Broken” (Lifehouse)

Where it plays:

Used in the theatrical trailer and promotional video; in-film placement underscores Henry and Clare’s separation/reunion montage, cutting between hospital light and nighttime drives.

Why it matters:

A contemporary pulse that sold the film’s ache to wider audiences; lyrically on-the-nose but emotionally effective as a montage spine.

“Love Will Tear Us Apart” (Broken Social Scene — Joy Division cover)

Where it plays:

Wedding-reception sequence: the on-screen band (BSS cameo) leans into a half-speed waltz, trading dancefloor churn for candlelit sway while Henry time-slips and Clare scans the room for the man she just married.

Why it matters:

The lyric sits like a dare inside their vows. Slowed tempo reframes inevitability — love here isn’t fragile; it’s weathered, complicated, and still chosen.

“Clocks” (Coldplay)

Where it plays:

Licensed in-film (not on the OST). Its piano figure briefly underscores a city-night passage as Henry’s uncontrolled jumps tug at the couple’s routine.

Why it matters:

Ticking arpeggios mirror the story’s metronomic pull — time as both engine and antagonist.

“Show Me What I’m Looking For” (Carolina Liar)

Where it plays:

Used in TV spots rather than the album; the hook’s plea maps neatly onto the film’s search-and-find structure.

Why it matters:

Marketing DNA: it positioned the film’s tone for broadcast audiences, even if it never made the disc.

“Gone to Earth” (The American Analog Set)

Where it plays:

An indie-ambient needle-drop under a late-night interior; the track’s soft motor hums while Henry recalibrates after a jump.

Why it matters:

Connective tissue between Danna’s delicate cues and the film’s modern setting.

Score cues to notice (Danna)

“Meadow”

Their recurring sanctuary — a summer field becomes an emotional checkpoint across timelines; strings widen as the frame opens.

“Alba”

Anxious tenderness around their daughter’s reveal; cello lines search, then settle.

Endgame trio — “New Year’s Eve” → “No Tracks in the Snow” → “See You Again”

Winter hush, footfall imagery, and finally a luminous release that chooses wonder over despair in the meadow epilogue.

Notes & Trivia

• Broken Social Scene appear in the film as the wedding band performing their Joy Division cover; the track is on the official album.
• The recurring hymn “Es ist ein Ros entsprungen” (Praetorius harmonization) is woven through several pivotal scenes, functioning as a leitmotif.
• Marketing featured Lifehouse’s “Broken” in trailers; TV spots leaned on Carolina Liar’s “Show Me What I’m Looking For.”
• The soundtrack released digitally via New Line Records with a later CD edition handled by Decca, primarily outside the U.S.

Reception & Quotes

Critics tagged the film as sentiment-forward, but many singled out Danna’s restraint and the left-field indie cover at the wedding. Fans of the novel found the hymn motif a tasteful way to literalize memory and ritual.

“A hushed, melancholy score that chooses intimacy over bombast.” Movie Music UK (album review)

“Broken Social Scene’s waltz turns a classic into vows — divisive, yes, but striking.” Pitchfork (track coverage)

“Beautiful, melancholy… easy to digest.” Fandomania (soundtrack review)

Availability: Digital album (New Line Records) released August 2009; Decca CD outside the U.S.; streaming on major platforms.

Interesting Facts

• Hymn as glue: A Renaissance carol binds a 21st-century love story — rare for a studio romance.
• Band on screen: BSS don’t just soundtrack the wedding; they are the wedding band.
• Trailer vs. album: Lifehouse’s “Broken” sold the movie but shares album space with an indie cover that changes the reception’s mood entirely.
• Two labels, two paths: Digital via New Line; physical via Decca — a split release reflecting 2009’s format transition.
• Praetorius presence: The most anachronistic yet perfect needle-thread — a 1600s harmony for a love out of time.

Technical Info

• Title: The Time Traveler’s Wife (Music from the Motion Picture)
• Year: 2009
• Type: Film soundtrack (score + songs)
• Composer: Mychael Danna
• Key songs: “Love Will Tear Us Apart” (Broken Social Scene); “Broken” (Lifehouse)
• Motifs: “Es ist ein Ros entsprungen” (Praetorius harmonization) recurring in-score
• Release: Digital (New Line Records, Aug 11, 2009); CD via Decca (primarily outside U.S.)
• Not on OST (notable): “Show Me What I’m Looking For” (Carolina Liar; TV spots), “Clocks” (Coldplay; film use), “Gone to Earth” (The American Analog Set)
• Runtime (film): 107 minutes

Questions & Answers

Who composed the score and what’s the main musical idea?

Mychael Danna; he threads the hymn “Es ist ein Ros entsprungen” throughout as a leitmotif for memory and fate.

Which song plays at the wedding?

Broken Social Scene perform a slow, waltzing cover of Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart” — and they appear on screen as the band.

What’s the trailer song everyone remembers?

Lifehouse’s “Broken.” It anchors the theatrical marketing and appears in promotional videos.

Why are some songs in the movie but not on the album?

Licensing and marketing: TV spots/trailers often use tracks (“Show Me What I’m Looking For”) that aren’t part of the official OST program.

Where can I hear the album now?

It’s on major streaming platforms; the original digital release was via New Line Records, with a Decca CD edition outside the U.S.

Key Contributors

Sources: Wikipedia (film & music sections); IMDb Soundtracks; Apple Music (album); Spotify (album & BSS track); Pitchfork (BSS cover news & review); Stereogum (BSS cover news); SoundtrackInfo (OST details + trailer song); Movie Music UK (review); Fandomania (review).

November, 29th 2025