Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey brain Stuff, Lauren vogebam here with another classic episode. This topic is a favorite of mine. Concerns a tune that became a sort of musical word or phrase for death and gloom, and it absolutely permeates pop culture. I'll let former Lauren explain. Hey brain Stuff, Lauren vogebam here. You've heard it during Star Wars, The Shining, even Home alone.
For decades, clever composers have woven elements of a particular medieval dirge into film soundtracks to convey a sense of dread and general doom where the script calls for it no widely as the Day of Wrath. The original Latin title for this piece is ds Era, which can also translate to such sunny concepts as Judgment Day, the end of the world, and death in general. The piece features a mere handful of notes. Here's the basic tune. It was originally composed back in the thirteenth century by a
Franciscan monk named Thomas of Solano. Little did he know that one day his piece would be revered, repurposed, and otherwise showcased in many of the biggest films to hit Hollywood. Hardly what we would call a complex musical work by today's standards, the piece doubles as a requiem chant and features some pretty sobering Latin lyrics translated into English. The first two lines read day of Wrath, the day that will dissolve the world into burning coals. Here's a sample. Yes, Yes, Yes.
Mozart and Verdi are just two of the composers who wrote original requiems based on ds era. The hymn's first big movie exposure was in ninety Citizen Kane, but the musical motif once you Know What to look For is ubiquitous. It's prominently featured in the opening strains of The Shining and a variation on it is included in the ultra famous Jaws theme. Very appropriately, we might add, the shark
is death and doom manifested. It's in Star Wars when Luke Skywalker faces the loss of his aunt and uncle, and it's used throughout the Lord of the Ring series to build a sense of foreboding. Occasionally, composers go with a winking approach when incorporating the dirge into a soundtrack. In the stop motion animated film The Nightmare Before Christmas.
An entire song Making Christmas is based around the sequence, and in the nineties blockbuster hit Home Alone, our young hero Kevin is regaled with the urban legend of old Man Marley, the rumored South Bend shovel slayer. When Kevin lays his eyes on the guy, composer John Williams cues up a well placed strain of ds eerie to get the point across. Kevin is terrified and his imagination is running away with him. But ds erae isn't only effective
in films. The University of Georgia, for example, uses it to intimidate their opponents into accepting the impending doom that the song implies. It's a staple at u g A football games and is frequently played the crowd by the Georgia Redcoat Marching Band. Today's episode is based on the article why soundtracks Love the Day of Wrath on how Stuff Works dot com. Written by Aleiah Hoyt, with musical
pews provided by David W. Collins. For more from David, including a full and fabulous episode about ds era as popular music's word for death, check out his podcast. The soundtrack show brain Stuff is production off I Heart Radio in partnership with how stuff Works dot com, and it's produced by Tyler clang Or More podcasts from my Heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.