# Songs that are forever linked to a specific movie/TV scene in your mind **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 25, 2020, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-forever-linked-to-a-specific-movie-tv-scene-in-your-mind/916341 "2020-07-25T21:18:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2020, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-forever-linked-to-a-specific-movie-tv-scene-in-your-mind/916341/1 "2020-07-25T21:18:56Z")
I almost mentioned this in the [“The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-night-they-drove-old-dixie-down-question-and-general-discussion-thread/916154/4), but I realized this could be its own thread. I can never hear “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” without thinking of the scene in _Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri_, where Officer Dixon attacks the man he suspects of being the killer. Likewise, every time I hear “How To Save a Life” by The Fray I picture [this scene](https://youtu.be/RzDoqGGs1IM) from the _Scrubs_ episode “My Lunch”. Honestly my eyes always get a bit watery whenever I hear that song now because of that. U2, “With or Without You” always makes me think of the series finale of _The Americans_. What songs are forever linked to a movie or TV scene for you? ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2020, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-forever-linked-to-a-specific-movie-tv-scene-in-your-mind/916341/2 "2020-07-25T22:11:28Z")
Ghost and unchained melody. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/cwmVjzxDsos/hqdefault.jpg "Unchained Melody (from the movie Ghost) by Frenk Summers, Holland") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwmVjzxDsos) ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2020, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-forever-linked-to-a-specific-movie-tv-scene-in-your-mind/916341/3 "2020-07-25T22:44:55Z")
The “helicopter scene” from Goodfellas: _Jump Into The Fire_, _Memo From Turner_, and _Magic Bus_. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2020, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-forever-linked-to-a-specific-movie-tv-scene-in-your-mind/916341/4 "2020-07-25T22:58:11Z")
Phil Collins’s “In the Air Tonight” with the opening episode of _Miami Vice._ ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2020, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-forever-linked-to-a-specific-movie-tv-scene-in-your-mind/916341/5 "2020-07-25T23:08:27Z")
Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was in) by The First Edition. Come on, you know what movie I’m talking about. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2020, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-forever-linked-to-a-specific-movie-tv-scene-in-your-mind/916341/6 "2020-07-25T23:13:18Z")
_Moving in Stereo_ Really, do I have to say more? ok, Phoebe Cates in Fast times at Ridgemont High ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2020, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-forever-linked-to-a-specific-movie-tv-scene-in-your-mind/916341/7 "2020-07-25T23:33:55Z")
I can’t hear “Stuck in the Middle with You” without picturing Michael Madsen talking into a severed ear. (Reservoir Dogs, in case anyone doesn’t get it) ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2020, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-forever-linked-to-a-specific-movie-tv-scene-in-your-mind/916341/8 "2020-07-25T23:42:08Z")
Joe Vs. The Volcano and Sixteen Tons performed by Eric Burdon [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/jg047oJf1B4/hqdefault.jpg "Joe vs Volcano - 16 Tons") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jg047oJf1B4) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2020, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-forever-linked-to-a-specific-movie-tv-scene-in-your-mind/916341/9 "2020-07-25T23:55:05Z")
“With or Without You” also in the movie _ **Blown Away** _. > **[Blown Away (1994) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109303/)** > > Blown Away: Directed by Stephen Hopkins. With Jeff Bridges, Tommy Lee Jones, Suzy Amis, Lloyd Bridges. An Irish bomber escapes from prison and targets a member of the Boston bomb squad. ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2020, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-forever-linked-to-a-specific-movie-tv-scene-in-your-mind/916341/10 "2020-07-25T23:56:56Z")
Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries and Apocalypse Now The English Beat’s Mirror in The Bathroom always makes me think of the fight in the school hallway in Grosse Pointe Blanc ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-forever-linked-to-a-specific-movie-tv-scene-in-your-mind/916341/11 "2020-07-26T00:09:26Z")
Also in _ **Blown Away** _ another U2 number: “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.” ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-forever-linked-to-a-specific-movie-tv-scene-in-your-mind/916341/12 "2020-07-26T00:53:07Z")
Try a Little Tenderness in both Bull Durham and The Commitments. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-forever-linked-to-a-specific-movie-tv-scene-in-your-mind/916341/13 "2020-07-26T01:04:20Z")
The Beat, here, too, but March of the Swivel Heads and Ferris Beuller’s Day Off. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/VI8KjD2BdtY/hqdefault.jpg "Movie Scene - Ferris Bueller's Day Off - The Race Home") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VI8KjD2BdtY) ---
**Author:** ![GinoC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f4b2a3/32.png) [@GinoC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GinoC)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-forever-linked-to-a-specific-movie-tv-scene-in-your-mind/916341/14 "2020-07-26T01:24:07Z")
Wait, what about the train scene in “Risky Business”? ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-forever-linked-to-a-specific-movie-tv-scene-in-your-mind/916341/15 "2020-07-26T01:24:55Z")
I believe that was Tangerine Dream. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-forever-linked-to-a-specific-movie-tv-scene-in-your-mind/916341/16 "2020-07-26T01:26:10Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > _Moving in Stereo_ > Really, do I have to say more? > ok, > Phoebe Cates in Fast times at Ridgemont High That was the first thing I thought of. Is that a commentary on us? ---
**Author:** ![GinoC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f4b2a3/32.png) [@GinoC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GinoC)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-forever-linked-to-a-specific-movie-tv-scene-in-your-mind/916341/17 "2020-07-26T01:27:20Z")
“Men of Harlech” from “Zulu”. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-forever-linked-to-a-specific-movie-tv-scene-in-your-mind/916341/18 "2020-07-26T01:46:17Z")
_Mad World_ and _Donnie Darko_. Though it has to be that particular [cover version by Gary Jules](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4N3N1MlvVc4), as the original from _Tears For Fears_ doesn’t sound as grim and ominous. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-forever-linked-to-a-specific-movie-tv-scene-in-your-mind/916341/19 "2020-07-26T01:56:48Z")
“Don’t You Forget about Me” from _ **The Breakfast Club** _. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-forever-linked-to-a-specific-movie-tv-scene-in-your-mind/916341/20 "2020-07-26T02:02:44Z")
That’s a good one. Another is the [Tiny Dancer scene from Almost Famous](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qW9wqUI4Lg), which comes after the “I’m a golden god” scene. There’s tension among the members of the band, but one person on the tour bus starts to sing along to the song and then after a bit, everyone on the bus is, and the tension is broken, at least for the moment. Of course that movie is full of great music moments. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-forever-linked-to-a-specific-movie-tv-scene-in-your-mind/916341.md?page=2)