Once Upon a Time in the West (soundtrack)

Once Upon a Time in the West: The Original Soundtrack Recording is a soundtrack composed by Ennio Morricone, from the 1968 western film of the same name directed by Sergio Leone, released in 1972. The film score sold about 10 million copies worldwide.^[2][3][4][5]

Once Upon a Time in the West: The Original Soundtrack Recording
Soundtrack album by Ennio Morricone
Released	1972 (1972)
Genre	Contemporary classical
Length	38:23
Label	RCA
Producer	Ennio Morricone

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

The soundtrack features leitmotifs that relate to each of the main characters of the film (each with their own theme music), as well as to the spirit of the American West.^[6] The theme music for Jill McBain, Claudia Cardinale's character, has wordless vocals by Italian singer Edda Dell'Orso.

It was Leone's desire to have the music available and played during filming. Leone had Morricone compose the score before shooting started and would play the music in the background for the actors on set.^[6]

In 2018, for the 50th anniversary of the film, the Italian records company "Beat Records" released a limited 500 copies edition.

In 2020, in a retrospective on CineAction, Mark Lager wrote that "Morricone’s music in Once Upon a Time in the West and The Great Silence is magnificent in its melodic splendor and its revolutionary textures."^[7]

Track listing

Original release

1. "Once Upon a Time in the West" – 3:46
2. "As a Judgment" – 3:08
3. "Farewell to Cheyenne" – 2:40
4. "The Transgression" – 4:43
5. "The First Tavern" – 1:41
6. "The Second Tavern" - 1:34
7. "Man with a Harmonica" – 3:31
8. "A Dimly Lit Room" – 5:09
9. "Bad Orchestra" – 2:25
10. "The Man" – 1:03
11. "Jill's America" – 2:48
12. "Death Rattle" – 1:45
13. "Finale" – 4:13

Expanded edition

An expanded and remastered album was released in Italy in November 2005.

1. "Once Upon a Time in the West" - 3:43
2. "The Man" - 1:03
3. "The Grand Massacre" - 2:40
4. "Arrival at the Station" - 0:55
5. "Bad Orchestra" - 2:25
6. "Jill's America" - 2:47
7. "Harmonica" - 2:27
8. "The First Tavern" - 1:39
9. "A Bed Too Large" - 1:32
10. "Jill" - 1:47
11. "Frank" - 1:52
12. "Cheyenne" - 1:16
13. "The Second Tavern" - 1:33
14. "The Third Tavern" - 1:19
15. "Epilogue" - 1:14
16. "On the Roof of the Train" - 1:19
17. "Man with a Harmonica" - 3:30
18. "A Dimly Lit Room" - 5:08
19. "The Transgression" - 4:41
20. "Return to the Train" - 0:40
21. "Morton" - 1:36
22. "As a Judgment" - 3:08
23. "Final Duel" - 3:35
24. "Death Rattle" - 1:44
25. "Birth of a City" - 4:25
26. "Farewell to Cheyenne" - 2:38
27. "Finale" - 4:08

Sampling

The track "Man with a Harmonica" was sampled by Beats International for their record Dub Be Good to Me^[8] (released in January 1990) and by The Orb for their record Little Fluffy Clouds^[9] (released in November 1990). Claude Challe in his album Sun played a remix of "Man with a Harmonica" in CD 2 Lovely Sunset (released in 2001).^[10] The track "Man with a Harmonica" as well as quotes from the film was sampled by Colourbox in their song "Looks Like We're Shy One Horse" from their Colourbox album. The German punk band Die Toten Hosen covered "Man with a Harmonica" under the title "Spiel mir das Lied vom Tod" on their 1984 album Unter falscher Flagge.

Certifications and sales

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada	—	110,000[11]
France (SNEP)[12]	2× Gold	300,000[13]
Netherlands (NVPI)[14]	Platinum	800,000[15]

References

1. Allmusic Review
2. "Future Legend Records". Retrieved 12 November 2012.
3. "De Weekkrant" (PDF). Retrieved 12 December 2011.
4. "Cult Cinema, 2005". Archived from the original on 2008-04-14. Retrieved 2012-11-12.
5. Reviews. "chokingonpopcorn, October 23rd, 2003". Chokingonpopcorn.com. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
6. Kehr, Dave (2011). "Once Upon a Time in the West". When movies mattered: reviews from a transformative decade. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-42941-0.
7. Lager, Mark (2020). "Ennio Morricone's Elegiac and Powerful Soundtracks of 1968". CineAction.
8. "Beats International's "Dub Be Good to Me" sample of Ennio Morricone's "L'uomo Dell'armonica"". whosampled.com. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
9. "Little Fluffy Clouds by The Orb". songfacts.com. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
10. "Sun by Claud Challe". Discogs.
11. "Morricone's "Best" Tops RCA Sales" (PDF). RPM. 21 July 1973. p. 7. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
12. "French album certifications – Ennio Morricone – Il Etait Une Fois" (in French). InfoDisc. Select ENNIO MORRICONE and click OK. 
13. "RCA - supreme in sound track". Billboard. 8 July 1972. p. F-11. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 28 July 2023 – via Google Books.
14. "Dutch album certifications – Ennio Morricone – Het gebeurde In Het Westen" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Enter Het gebeurde In Het Westen in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 1978 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
15. Guido Van Der Heijden & Annemiek Leclaire (14 July 1995). "Nederlandse violist verkoopt meer dan de Beatles". Trouw. Retrieved 25 May 2023.