From Lorde to Taylor Swift: The 15 Best Hunger Games Soundtrack Songs, Ranked
Rolling Stone ranks the 15 best Hunger Games soundtrack songs, from Lorde's 'Yellow Flicker Beat' to Bella Kay's 'See It Coming' from Sunrise on the Reaping.
Programme
- Sunrise on the Reaping opened in theaters on November 20, with a soundtrack featuring Gigi Perez, Bella Kay and Mckenna Grace.
- The four-film Hunger Games saga ran from 2012 to 2015; The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes followed in 2023.
- Lorde, then 17, curated the Mockingjay – Part 1 soundtrack, released in 2014.
- Taylor Swift's 'Safe & Sound' was recorded at T-Bone Burnett's home in an impromptu session with the Civil Wars.
- The Hanging Tree, first sung by Jennifer Lawrence, was revealed in the prequel to originate from an execution in District 12.
Rolling Stone has ranked the 15 best songs from the Hunger Games soundtracks, a catalog that spans Lorde, Taylor Swift, Patti Smith, the Weeknd, Olivia Rodrigo and newcomer Bella Kay. The list lands as the franchise's newest film, Sunrise on the Reaping, opened in theaters on Friday, November 20.
The rankings follow a franchise that has grown well beyond its four-film core. The original saga, adapted from Suzanne Collins' book trilogy, ran from 2012 to 2015. Since then, two prequels have arrived: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes in 2023, and now Sunrise on the Reaping. Each film came with a star-studded, genre-spanning soundtrack — and music has mattered to this story from the very first scene, when Katniss Everdeen, played by Jennifer Lawrence, sings a lullaby to her sister Prim: "Deep in the meadow, under the willow. A bed of grass, a soft green pillow."
What makes these songs work?
Each track takes a different angle on the same volatile material. Here's the full list, with the reasoning behind it.
-
Lorde, 'Yellow Flicker Beat.' The first song released from the Mockingjay – Part 1 soundtrack. Lorde described it in 2014 as her first attempt at getting inside Katniss' head. The chorus lands hard: "This is the start of how it all ends / They used to shout my name, now they whisper it."
-
Taylor Swift feat. The Civil Wars, 'Safe & Sound.' Written from Katniss' perspective before Folklore and Evermore existed, and recorded in an impromptu session at T-Bone Burnett's Los Angeles home. "There's so many things he could've done production-wise to make that song bigger sonically than it is, but I think that would have possibly been a mistake," Swift told Rolling Stone in 2012. "For [Burnett] to have left the song as a lullaby is brilliant."
Olivia Rodrigo, 'Can't Catch Me Now.' Sung from the perspective of Lucy Gray Baird. "[She] is a character that I feel very connected to," Rodrigo said in 2022. The closing-credits song was inspired by the film's final aerial scene of mockingjays: "I want to write a song that captures what that feeling is."
Tinashe, 'The Leap.' Written for one of her own albums before a 17-year-old Lorde, curating the Mockingjay – Part 1 soundtrack, came calling. "I'm gonna set it all ablaze, watch it burn to ash and dust" mirrors the destruction of District 12.
Jennifer Lawrence and Rachel Zegler, 'The Hanging Tree.' First sung softly by Lawrence in Mockingjay as a protest anthem, then revealed in the prequel — set more than six decades earlier — to have been written after an execution in District 12, with Zegler's Lucy Gray Baird on melody.
The Weeknd, 'Devil May Cry.' A sparse Catching Fire cut that offers the returning victors a silver lining: "It won't be in vain / To swallow all your pain."
The National, 'Lean.' Originally titled "Dying Is Easy." Matt Berninger sings: "Love will lead us all to smithereens."
Patti Smith, 'Capitol Letter.' Spoken-word couplets from the punk poet, speaking truth to a fictionalized tyranny — closer to "Easter" than "People Have the Power."
Gigi Perez, 'Favor.' A haunting folk cut from the Sunrise on the Reaping soundtrack capturing the goodbye between Haymitch and Lenore: "When you are lonely, know I'm awake, listen for me and the song that we sang."
Bella Kay, 'See It Coming.' A refusal to be blindsided: "Tell me you run, I'm beggin' you, hide / They're gonna hurt you, so give 'em a fight."
Charli XCX, 'Kingdom.' An ember of hope after the Second Rebellion, produced by Rostam and Ariel Rechtshaid, with a brief appearance from Duran Duran's Simon Le Bon. "I'm lost, but not alone."
Miranda Lambert, Pistol Annies, 'Run Daddy Run.' A gospel-style warning from the first soundtrack, with Lambert joined by bandmates Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley.
The Chemical Brothers, Miguel, 'This Is Not a Game.' An unlikely pairing that works. Miguel opens with a Charles Bukowski quote — "Find what you love and let it kill you" — over warping electronic production, with a whispered "There it is" from Lorde.
Rachel Zegler, 'The Ballad of Lucy Gray Baird.' The prequel's pivotal interview song, delivered in Appalachian-inspired drawl: "It's sooner than later that I'm six feet under / It's sooner than later that you'll be alone."
Mckenna Grace, 'Half Alive.' Grace plays both Maysilee and Merrilee Donner in Sunrise on the Reaping and carries both roles into the song: "Promise you'll hold me when I'm half alive."
What does this change for the franchise's musical legacy?
The list shows a clear pattern: the Hunger Games has served as a launchpad and proving ground for young singer-songwriters, from Swift's early character study to Kay's breakout this month. With more book-to-film pairings in motion, that pipeline — and the mockingjay's call — shows no sign of stopping.
Source: rollingstone.com
More from Grace Kim
Show full bio
Correspondent covering technology and product news in arts in the broadest sense at Arts & Voices.
1,451 articles
Also on view
Stevie Nicks, The Cure and Jennifer Lawrence Join 29-Track Hunger Games Soundtrack
Critics Call 'Sunrise on the Reaping' a 'Perfect Adaptation' and the Franchise's 'Rogue One'
Elizabeth Banks Calls 'Sunrise on the Reaping' 'Amazing': Zada Is a 'Perfect' Haymitch
Jennifer Lawrence, Stevie Nicks and the Cure Join 29-Track Hunger Games Album
