# What are your All Time Top Ten Oscar Nominated Songs? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 22, 2013, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-all-time-top-ten-oscar-nominated-songs/651112 "2013-02-22T21:07:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2013, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-all-time-top-ten-oscar-nominated-songs/651112/1 "2013-02-22T21:07:08Z")
I’ve posted here before when I’ve been a guest on my friend’s podcast: **[All Time Top Ten](http://alltimetopten.podomatic.com/entry/2013-02-22T09_09_15-08_00)** (Warning: Audio starts right away when link opens) For each show there’s a different topic. The Host and his Guest each put together a Top Ten list for that topic. I got to be a guest on the show again, the topic was **All Time Top Ten Oscar Nominated Songs**. For this episode, the host had _two_ Guests. Rather than putting together his own list, the host moderated while the other guest and I counted down our lists. So, what are _your_ top ten Oscar nominated songs? We chose not to limit the selection to Oscar Winners, but to be eligible for the list the songs have to have been nominated for [The Academy Award for Best Original Song (Wiki link as a point of reference while putting together your list).](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_Award_for_Best_Original_Song) **MY Top Ten List:** [ol] [li]Cheek to Cheek - **1935** from _Top Hat_[/li][li]Moon River - **1961** from _Breakfast at Tiffany’s_[/li][li]The Way You Look Tonight - **1936** from _Swing Time_[/li][li]Sooner or Later - **1990** from _Dick Tracy_[/li][li]Rainbow Connection - **1979** from _The Muppet Movie_\*\*\*\*\*[/li][li]The Look of Love - **1967** from _Casino Royale_[/li][li]Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B - **1941** from _Buck Privates_[/li][li]Unchained Melody - **1955** from _Unchained_[/li][li]Town Without Pity - **1961** from _Town Without Pity_[/li][li]Everybody Needs a Best Friend - **2012** from _Ted_[/li][/ol] **The Other Guest’s Top Ten List:** [ol] [li]Over the Rainbow - **1939** from _The Wizard of Oz_[/li][li]Live and Let Die - **1973** from _Live and Let Die_[/li][li]Save Me - **1999** from _Magnolia_[/li][li]Kiss at the End of the Rainbow - **2003** from _A Mighty Wind_[/li][li]Rainbow Connection - **1979** from _The Muppet Movie_\*\*\*\*\*[/li][li]Blame Canada - **1999** from _South Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut_[/li][li]Lose Yourself - **2002** from _8 Mile_[/li][li]Streets of Philadelphia - **1993** from _Philadelphia_[/li][li]Wild is the Wind - **1957** from _Wild is the Wind_[/li][li]Falling Slowly - **2007** from _Once_[/li][/ol] \*\*\*\*\*There is a Rule on the Show: No Repeats You have to have a short selection of “alternates” in case the other person plays a song from your list before you get to it. If the other person steals one of your songs, you play a song from your list of alternates. The other guest played “Rainbow Connection” before me, so I had to substitute an alternate. I played: “Nine to Five” - **1980** from _Nine to Five_ The “No Repeats” rule of course does _NOT_ apply to this Thread. So, what are your Top Ten? ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2013, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-all-time-top-ten-oscar-nominated-songs/651112/2 "2013-02-22T21:15:34Z")
There’s **Theme from _Shaft_** in first place, and everything else is a distant second. ---
**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:** [February 22, 2013, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-all-time-top-ten-oscar-nominated-songs/651112/3 "2013-02-22T21:16:50Z")
1. Lullaby of Broadway 2. Blame Canada 3. Baby It’s Cold Outside 4. Blues in the Night 5. Talk to the Animals 6. Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah 7. Swinging on a Star 8. That Thing You Do! (extra credit for the fact it’s played incessantly in the movie and doesn’t become tiresome). 9. On the Road Again 10. Georgie Girl ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2013, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-all-time-top-ten-oscar-nominated-songs/651112/4 "2013-02-22T22:47:02Z")
“Moon River” — Breakfast at Tiffany’s “Georgy Girl” — Georgy Girl “The Windmills of Your Mind” — The Thomas Crown Affair “Theme from Shaft” — Shaft “It Might Be You” — Tootsie “Let the River Run” — Working Girl “Miss Misery” — Good Will Hunting “Things Have Changed” — Wonder Boys “Town Without Pity” — Town Without Pity “Alfie” — Alfie ---
**Author:** ![Rollo\_Tomasi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/58956e/32.png) [@Rollo\_Tomasi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rollo_Tomasi)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2013, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-all-time-top-ten-oscar-nominated-songs/651112/5 "2013-02-23T00:55:47Z")
This was harder than I thought it would be: 1. “The Man that Got Away” (A Star is Born) 2. “Moon River” (Breakfast at Tiffany’s) 3. “Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darlin’” (High Noon) 4. “When She Loved Me” (Toy Story 2) 5. “The Trolley Song” (Meet Me in St. Louis) 6. “Chim Chim Cher-ee” (Mary Poppins) 7. “Falling Slowly” (Once) 8. “It Might as Well Be Spring” (State Fair) 9. “Cheek to Cheek” (Top Hat) 10. “Friend Like Me” (Aladdin) To narrow my list down, I only included songs that I strongly associate with the movies they appeared in. Otherwise, “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy,” “Call Me Irresponsible,” and “Unchained Melody” might have made my top 10. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2013, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-all-time-top-ten-oscar-nominated-songs/651112/6 "2013-02-23T01:01:53Z")
I’m surprised to find out that neither “Mrs. Robinson” nor “To Sir With Love” were Oscar-nominated songs. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2013, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-all-time-top-ten-oscar-nominated-songs/651112/7 "2013-02-23T01:21:14Z")
> [@Rollo\_Tomasi](#): > > This was harder than I thought it would be: For sure. I started with about 25 - 30, then whittled it down. > [@](#): > > To narrow my list down, I only included songs that I strongly associate with the movies they appeared in. Otherwise, “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy,” “Call Me Irresponsible,” and “Unchained Melody” might have made my top 10. I kind of did a hybrid approach, blending priority of personal fondness with priority of a more academic selection (what songs would be in a film history textbook in the music chapter?). I included “Unchained Melody” because the song has such an interesting history that I was looking forward to being able to share. “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” is definitely associated with the movie for me. I was first exposed to Abbott and Costello movies broadcast on T.V. on Saturday afternoons when I was a little kid. I think it’s very possible that the very first time I heard the song it was within the context of the movie. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2013, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-all-time-top-ten-oscar-nominated-songs/651112/8 "2013-02-23T03:10:12Z")
My top-10. I picked songs that I liked and could recognize/remember from the title alone w/o worrying about historical significance, overall popularity, etc. There very well may be a song that I like better than #10 among the forgotten, but if I forgot it, I guess it doesn’t deserve to be in the top-10, right? 1 “Moon River” - A lovely, lovely song. I like Audrey singing it, I like the over-orchestrated version of it. 2 “Belle” - If I burst into song (and yes, sometimes I burst into song), this could very well be the one I start singing. IMHO, one of the all-time great movie openings. “Right from the moment when I met her, saw her, I said ‘She’s gorgeous’ and I fell. Here in town there’s only she, who’s as beautiful as me! So I made my plans to woo and marry Belle.” This song opens the movie, introduces all the major characters (except the Beast), states the personal conflict of Belle’s life (her ennui) as well as the external conflict (Gaston), gives you an idea of what the town is like… God, a lot goes on here. There could very well be more than 15 separate voices to this 5 minute song. 3 “Be Our Guest” - What can I say other than _Beauty and the Beast_ is my favorite movie musical? 4 “Live and Let Die” - Really, “A Hard Day’s Night” should be on this list. This is one of the best Wings tunes, however. 5 “Theme fromShaft” - Shaft! 6 “Nobody Does It Better” - I like Carly Simon and I like this one more than “Let the River Run.” 7 “Over the Rainbow” - Tonight, on CBS! 8 “Unchained Melody” - It got a bit (more than a bit) overplayed after _Ghost_, but is still a great, great ballad. 9 “Georgy Girl” - This one is kind of weird, in a bouncy way. Three different sets of lyrics to this one (one at the beginning of the movie, a second set at the end, and the single had a third set.) 10 “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)” - Phil Collins bizarrely gets a lot of shit, but I consider this one of his finest works. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2013, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-all-time-top-ten-oscar-nominated-songs/651112/9 "2013-02-23T03:33:25Z")
Actually, I decided to count the distinct singers in _Belle_ and there are at least 38 different parts singing in this song. 1 Belle 6 5 “Bon Jour” singers 7 Baker 9 2 old ladies (“Look there she goes that girl is strange, no question…”) 10 Woman at barbershop door 11 Barber 13 2 peasants (“No denying she’s a funny girl that Belle.”) 14 Wagon driver 15 Pretty girl 16 Meat seller 17 2nd pretty girl 18 Egg buyer 19 Pottery buyer \<\< all the above in the first 1:36\>\> book seller \< -doesn’t really sing, though. 22 3 guys (“Look there she goes that girl is so peculiar…”) 24 2 ruffians (“And her nose stuck in a book”) 25 Wig buyer 26 Wig seller 27 Gaston Lumiere \< -doesn’t really sing, though. 30 3 girls swooning over Gaston 38 8 different people in the final medley as Belle walks out of town (“This bread/those fish, is stale/they smell!”) ``` Then, at the end, the entire town sings the final verses. ``` _Belle_ is a great song, wonderfully complex in its lyrical construction (at least to my untrained ears, that is.) Had I gone through this exercise before my previous post, I would have put it at #1. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/juQSy7XFVDk/hqdefault.jpg "Beauty and the Beast - Belle") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juQSy7XFVDk) ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2013, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-all-time-top-ten-oscar-nominated-songs/651112/10 "2013-02-23T08:46:27Z")
In chronological order: The Way You Look Tonight - Swing Time I’ve Got You Under My Skin - Born to Dance They Can’t Take That Away from Me - Shall We Dance? You’d Be So Nice to Come Home to - Something to Shout About Over the Rainbow - The Wizard of Oz Unchained Melody - Unchained The Shadow of Your Smile - The Sandpiper I Will Wait for You - The Umbrellas of Cherbourg The Look of Love - Casino Royale The Windmills of Your Mind - The Thomas Crown Affair It was hard to narrow it down after my top four choices. If I went over the list again tomorrow my list might be somewhat different. One thing I noticed in going over the list is how few memorable songs have been nominated since 1990. I hope this doesn’t just mean I’m getting old. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2013, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-all-time-top-ten-oscar-nominated-songs/651112/11 "2013-02-23T17:21:12Z")
**Jeff Lichtman** , if I were to put together a list on top ten songs since 1990 I would draw from the following list. The songs are only listed chronologically, and I haven’t whittled the list down to 10 (obviously). Choosing from this selection of songs I could put together a pretty awesome Top Ten List: [ul] [li]Sooner or Later - **1990** from _Dick Tracy_[/li][li]Be Our Guest - **1991** from _Beauty and the Beast_[/li][li]A Friend Like Me - **1992** from _Aladdin_[/li][li]A Wink and a Smile - **1993** from _Sleepless in Seattle_[/li][li]You’ve Got a Friend in Me - **1995** from _Toy Story_[/li][li]That Thing You Do! - **1996** from _That Thing You Do!_[/li][li]Save Me - **1999** from _Magnolia_[/li][li]Blame Cananda - **1999** from _South Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut_[/li][li]I’ve Seen it All - **2000** from _Dancer in the Dark_[/li][li]Lose Yourself - **2002** from _8 Mile_[/li][li]Father and Daughter - **2002** from _The Wild Thornberrys Movie_[/li][li]Belleville Rendez-Vous - **2003** from _The Triplets of Belleville_[/li][li]The Scarlet Tide - **2003** from _Cold Mountain_[/li][li]Accidentally in Love - **2004** from _Shrek 2_[/li][li]It’s Hard out Here for a Pimp - **2005** from _Hustle & Flow_[/li][li]Falling Slowly - **2007** from _Once_[/li][li]That’s How You Know - **2007** from _Enchanted_[/li][li]Everybody Needs a Best Friend - **2012** from _Ted_[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2013, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-all-time-top-ten-oscar-nominated-songs/651112/12 "2013-02-23T17:42:14Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > **Jeff Lichtman** , if I were to put together a list on top ten songs since 1990 I would draw from the following list. AAAARRGH!!! AGAIN my list somehow neglects “A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow” from _A Mighty Wind_ **2003**!!! :mad: I figured it out. That song is in red text on the Wiki page, and my eye just keeps skipping over it when I am looking at the list as a reminder. The is an AWESOME song, and I can’t believe I left it off my list TWICE! ---
**Author:** ![James\_Otto\_Sweet\_Heart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ac8455/32.png) [@James\_Otto\_Sweet\_Heart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/James_Otto_Sweet_Heart)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2013, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-all-time-top-ten-oscar-nominated-songs/651112/13 "2013-02-23T19:17:23Z")
Because I don’t know what songs have been Oscar nominated the following are my favorites from the ones that have been named so far by the rest of y’all. Thank you for doing that by the way. 🙂 🙂 🙂 1.) “Rainbow Connection” from The Muppet Movie 2.) “You’ve Got A Friend In Me” from Toy Story God bless you always!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂 Holly ---
**Author:** ![Rollo\_Tomasi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/58956e/32.png) [@Rollo\_Tomasi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rollo_Tomasi)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2013, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-all-time-top-ten-oscar-nominated-songs/651112/14 "2013-02-24T18:26:13Z")
Something I noticed after seeing the list of nominees and winners: there was a period in the 90s where animated Disney movies had two or more songs nominated in a single year for several years in a row (or almost). In every year, I prefer the losing song(s) over the winning one. Go figure. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2013, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-all-time-top-ten-oscar-nominated-songs/651112/15 "2013-02-24T20:31:36Z")
> [@Rollo\_Tomasi](#): > > Something I noticed after seeing the list of nominees and winners: there was a period in the 90s where animated Disney movies had two or more songs nominated in a single year for several years in a row (or almost). In every year, I prefer the losing song(s) over the winning one. Go figure. Hmmmm, let’s see: 1989 (yeah, I know you said 90s) _The Little Mermaid_ I do prefer “Kiss the Girl” to “Under the Sea” but I can’t really gripe about this one. 1991 _Beauty and the Beast_ “Beauty and the Beast” won, I _definitely_ think “Be Our Guest” was the better song. “Belle” was also nominated, a great song but it can’t really be separated from the movie. Ideal for me is a song that enhances and supports the movie and _also_ stands on its own. 1992 _Aladdin_ “A Whole New World” won, um . . . are you kidding me? _Definitely_ should have been “A Friend Like Me”. 1994 _The Lion King_ I really didn’t like this movie and don’t have a strong feeling about the nominees- none of which I particularly love. “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” made sense as the obvious win but I would have gone with “Hakuna Matata”. I think “Circle of Life” and “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” are about equal on the LCD scale. 1995 _Pocahontas_ Only one song nominated: “Colors of the Wind”. Disney _did_ have a second nomination with a different film: “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” from _Toy Story_, which would have gotten my vote. 1997 _Hercules_ One nomination. Lost to “My Heart Will Go On” from _Titanic_. 1999 _Tarzan_ Only one song nominated, “You’ll Be in My Heart”, it won . . . it won despite the fact that it _SUCKS_!!! 1999 was my angriest year for this category. “You’ll Be in My Heart” won _beating_ both “Save Me” from _Magnolia_ AND “Blame Canada” from _South Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut_. AAAARGH! This will make me angry until and possibly long after the day I die!!! But, yes **Rollo Tomasi** , that was a pretty interesting point to make. 10 Nominations for 4 films- 4 films in a row all scoring a win (actually 5 films in a row scoring a win but the 5th film wasn’t a multi-song nominee) but none of the wins would have been my choice. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2013, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-all-time-top-ten-oscar-nominated-songs/651112/16 "2013-02-24T23:35:43Z")
This is hard - The Way You Look Tonight - Swing Time They Can’t Take That Away From Me - Shall We Dance Over the Rainbow - Wizard of Oz Blues in the Night - Blues in the Night Baby, It’s Cold Outside - Neptune’s Daughter Windmills of Your Mind - Thomas Crown Affair Nobody Does it Better - The Spy Who Loved Me Sooner or Later - Dick Tracy Kiss the Girl - The Little Mermaid Be Our Guest - Beauty and the Beast Lose Yourself - 8 Mile