The wide variety of songs on Civil War‘s soundtrack help to establish the high-stakes atmosphere of the A24 dystopian thriller. Written and directed by Alex Garland, Civil War is set in the near future against the backdrop of an American civil war unfolding between the authoritarian government and different regional factions. Civil War follows a group of journalists as they travel from New York to D.C. to interview the President, encountering mass violence, chaos, and death along the way.

The more intense moments in Civil War are elevated by the chilling original score composed by Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow. Civil War also features a selection of both dietetic and non-diegetic songs, spanning a range of decades and genres. From jazz tunes to Christmas classics to hard rock bangers, the Civil War soundtrack is a mixed musical bag that heavily contributes to the storytelling in each given scene of Alex Garland’s movie.

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When Every Song Plays In Civil War

“Lovefingers” by Silver Apples: The first song in Civil War starts playing toward the end of the president’s speech on Lee (Kirsten Dunst)’s TV in her hotel room. When the speech is over, the drums kick in as Lee looks out the window to see an explosion in the distance. “Lovefingers” then plays over the title card and a montage of establishing shots of New York as Joel (Wagner Moura) drives the press van while Lee rides shotgun.

“Thinking of You” by Geoffrey Gascoyne: This jazz tune plays in the background at the hotel in New York as Lee, Joel, and Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson) discuss the suicide bombing that took place earlier that day.

“Easy Talker” by Rob Townsend and Arnie Somogyi: After the power comes back on in the hotel, Sammy asks Lee and Joel where they’re heading next. The music switches to this jazz tune right after Sammy gets done saying, “Photograph and interview the president? In D.C.?”

“What Do I Know” by Brice Davoli: The third jazz tune that plays in the hotel in New York begins as Jessie tells Lee that she has the same first name as her hero, Lee Miller.

“Rocket USA” by Suicide: After Lee reluctantly agrees to let Jessie tag along with them to D.C., this song starts playing right as the note indicating “857 miles to D.C.” appears onscreen. Lee, Joel, Sammy, and Jessie hit the highway, driving around a ton of wrecked, abandoned cars.

“Hold Me” by Steve Vaus: This song can be heard playing faintly in the background as Jessie and one of the armed men from the gas station approach the two barely alive looters hanging from the ceiling of the car wash. He explains that they’ve been debating what to do with them and asks Lee and Jessie to decide if they should keep torturing them or kill them. Lee asks him to pose in between his victims so she can take a photo.

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“Say No Go” by De La Soul: This song starts playing right after some secessionist militiamen shoot a lone loyalist soldier inside the empty loyalist building as Joel and Jessie watch on. The militiamen lead the remaining loyalist prisoners out of the building at gunpoint to execute them, which Jessie photographs.

“Never Surrender” by Colin Kiddy: This song is playing in the clothing store the journalists enter as they pass through a small idyllic town where everyone is pretending the war isn’t happening. Joel confronts the saleswoman about the town’s collective ignorance, and she says that they all try to “stay out” of everything, much to his disbelief.

“No Regrets” by Wayne Murray, Timothy Fleet, & Lana McDonagh: This song plays at the clothing store as Lee looks at herself in the mirror while trying on a dress. Jessie then takes a photo of Lee wearing the dress.

“Jingle Bells” by William Henry Harris: An instrumental of this Christmas jingle is playing as the journalists drive through a golf course and encounter the remains of a Christmas fair, where a dead body is lying in the middle of the road. Joel cautiously proceeds with driving until shots are fired at them from a distance.

“Joy to the World” by Skhal Romance Symphony Orchestra: The festive music changes to an instrumental of this Christmas classic as Lee, Joel, and Jessie exit the van and crouch down to try to spot the sniper who shot at them. They encounter a couple of camouflaged snipers with their weapons pointed at a mansion in the distance, where the initial shots came from.

“Silent Night” by Adam Saunders, Mark Cousins, & Franz Gruber: The last instrumental Christmas song that plays during the sniper scene in Civil War is “Silent Night,” which starts playing right after Joel bolts from behind the van to hide behind the Christmas display with the camouflaged snipers, dodging a bullet in the process.

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“Sweet Little Sister” by Skid Row: This song is blasting from the car closely following the press van on a tree-lined road. The car starts tailgating Lee and pulls up next to her while honking, making everyone anxious, but it turns out to be Joel’s reporter friends Tony (Nelson Lee) and Bohai (Evan Lai). Tony proceeds to climb into their car through the window while Lee is driving, and Jessie does the same.

“Breakers Roar” by Sturgill Simpson: This song starts playing right after Sammy switches from the driver’s seat to the backseat because of his gunshot wound. They drive through a forest fire on their way to the Western Forces Military Base in Charlottesville as Sammy slowly bleeds out in the backseat.

“Dream Baby Dream” by Suicide: The last song starts playing end of Civil War right as the Western Forces shoot the President inside the Oval Office, which Jessie captures on her camera. The song continues to play as the credits roll over Jessie’s photo of the WF soldiers posing and smiling with the president’s dead body.

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Where To Listen To The Civil War Soundtrack

No official Civil War soundtrack album is available to stream on digital platforms, but Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow’s original score is available to stream on Spotify and Apple Music. A24 has also compiled an official playlist on Spotify comprised of all 11 tracks of the score as well as select songs from Civil War. This playlist does not include “Hold Me,” “Never Surrender,” “No Regrets,” or any of the classical jazz or Christmas songs featured in Civil War. A vinyl pressing of the score and four songs from Civil War is also available to purchase on A24’s website.

Civil War

Civil War is a 2024 action thriller from writer and director Alex Garland. Starring Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, and Stephen McKinley Henderson, Civil War takes place in the near future and shows the United States entering a new Civil War after California and Texas attempt to separate from the country.

Release Date

April 26, 2024

Studio(s)

DNA Films

Distributor(s)

A24

Cast

Kirsten Dunst , Wagner Moura , Stephen McKinley Henderson , Cailee Spaeny , Jesse Plemons , Nick Offerman

Runtime

109 Minutes

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