''Cold Mountain'' is the soundtrack for the Civil War film '' Cold Mountain'' (2003) starring

Jude Law David Jude Heyworth Law (born 29 December 1972) is an English actor. He received a British Academy Film Award, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, two Tony Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. In 2007, he received an Honorary Césa ...

Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an American and Australian actress and producer. Known for her work across various film and television productions from several genres, she has consistently ranked among the world's highest-paid act ...

, and

Renée Zellweger Renée Kathleen Zellweger (; born April 25, 1969) is an American actress. The recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards, she was one of the world's highest-paid ...

. The album was nominated for two Grammy Awards and was produced by

T Bone Burnett Joseph Henry "T Bone" Burnett III (born January 14, 1948) is an American record producer, guitarist and songwriter. He rose to fame as a guitarist in Bob Dylan's band during the 1970s. He has received multiple Grammy awards for his work in film ...

. Two songs were nominated for Academy Awards: "

You Will Be My Ain True Love "You Will Be My Ain True Love" is a song written and performed by Sting and Alison Krauss from 2003, in the film '' Cold Mountain''. The song was nominated for an Academy Award, a Grammy Award and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. Th ...

", written by

Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-eart ...

, and " The Scarlet Tide", written by Burnett and

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in ...

. Both songs were sung by

Alison Krauss Alison Maria Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass-country singer and musician. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of 8 and recording for the first time at 14. She signed with ...

. The soundtrack consists of Appalachian, roots music, and

old-time music Old-time music is a genre of North American folk music. It developed along with various North American folk dances, such as square dancing, clogging, and buck dancing. It is played on acoustic instruments, generally centering on a combination ...

to accompany the era of the movie.

Jack White John Anthony White (; born July 9, 1975), commonly known as Jack White, is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the duo the White Stripes. White has enjoyed consistent critical and popular success and is widely c ...

, of the rock band the White Stripes, performs five songs and appears as a troubadour in the movie.

Background

When T Bone Burnett was looking for a young musician who understood the music of ''Cold Mountain'', the person he came up with was

, a rock guitarist from Detroit who had a deep interest in

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

and

bluegrass music Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music The term American folk music encompasses numerous music genres, variously known as ''traditional music'', ''traditional folk music'', ''contemporary folk music'', ''vernacular music,'' or ...

. White was acquainted with two songs that appeared on the soundtrack. When he was fifteen, he played "

Sitting on Top of the World "Sitting on Top of the World" (also "Sittin' on Top of the World") is a country blues song written by Walter Vinson and Lonnie Chatmon. They were core members of the Mississippi Sheiks, who first recorded it in 1930. Vinson claimed to have com ...

", and years later he performed " The Wayfaring Stranger" with a band. Burnett and White met and talked about music and listened to

Dock Boggs Moran Lee "Dock" Boggs (February 7, 1898 – February 7, 1971) was an American old-time singer, songwriter and banjo player. His style of banjo playing, as well as his singing, is considered a unique combination of Appalachian folk music and Af ...

Son House Edward James "Son" House Jr. (March 21, 1902His date of birth is a matter of some debate. House alleged that he was middle-aged during World War I and that he was 79 in 1965, which would make his date of birth around 1886. However, all legal re ...

Jimmie Rodgers James Charles Rodgers (September 8, 1897 – May 26, 1933) was an American singer-songwriter and musician who rose to popularity in the late 1920s. Widely regarded as "the Father of Country Music", he is best known for his distinctive rhythmi ...

, and

Blind Willie Johnson Blind Willie Johnson (January 25, 1897 – September 18, 1945) was an American gospel blues singer, guitarist and evangelist. His landmark recordings completed between 1927 and 1930—thirty songs in total—display a combination of powerful "ch ...

. With the help of John Cohen, a musicologist and founding member of the

New Lost City Ramblers The New Lost City Ramblers, or NLCR, was an American contemporary old-time string band that formed in New York City in 1958 during the folk revival. Mike Seeger, John Cohen and Tom Paley were its founding members. Tracy Schwarz replaced Paley, w ...

, Burnett continued his quest for experts on early American music. He found

Dirk Powell Dirk Powell (born 1969) is an American fiddler, banjo player, and singer. Powell was born in Oberlin, Ohio into a family with deep Kentucky roots. He has lived in Louisiana since 1992. He is considered one of the world's leading experts on traditio ...

, who played banjo, the Reeltime Travelers, an

band from Tennessee, and

Tim Eriksen Tim Eriksen is an American musician, musicologist, and professor. He is the leader of the band Cordelia's Dad, a solo artist, and was a performer and consultant for the award-winning soundtrack of the film '' Cold Mountain''. Cordelia's Dad C ...

, a vocalist and guitarist who was familiar with

Sacred Harp Sacred Harp singing is a tradition of sacred choral music that originated in New England and was later perpetuated and carried on in the American South. The name is derived from ''The Sacred Harp'', a ubiquitous and historically important tune ...

music. The song "

Idumea Edom (; Edomite: ; he, אֱדוֹם , lit.: "red"; Akkadian: , ; Ancient Egyptian: ) was an ancient kingdom in Transjordan, located between Moab to the northeast, the Arabah to the west, and the Arabian Desert to the south and east. ...

" is an example of Sacred Harp music, also known as

shape note Shape notes are a musical notation designed to facilitate congregational and social singing. The notation, introduced in late 18th century England, became a popular teaching device in American singing schools. Shapes were added to the noteh ...

because the notes printed on the sheet music bear shapes, such as squares and triangles, to show changes in pitch. After rehearsing with the Sacred Harp singers in a studio, Burnett decided that the style was best heard in Liberty Baptist Church in Henagar, Alabama. The church's sixty-three member choir appeared on the soundtrack. "Lady Margaret", sung by choir member Cassie Franklin, appeared on the soundtrack but not in the movie.

wrote "

" for ''Cold Mountain'', and it was sung by

. Burnett and

wrote " The Scarlet Tide", also sung by Krauss. Both songs received Academy Award nominations for Best Original Song and Grammy Award nominations for Best Song Written for Visual Media. The soundtrack reached No. 51 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart. As of 2004, the soundtrack has sold 260,000 copies in United States. The DVD of the movie included a concert documentary with performances by some of the musicians who contributed to the soundtrack.

Awards and honors

BAFTA Award for Best Film Music This is a list of winners and nominees for the BAFTA Award for Best Original Music, formerly known as the Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music, which is presented to film composers, given out by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts si ...

, T Bone Burnett, Gabriel Yared *

World Soundtrack Award for Best Original Score of the Year The WS Award for Best Original Soundtrack of the Year is one of the three main prizes given by the World Soundtrack Academy to honour the best movie soundtracks. "†" means that the film won the Academy Award for Best Original Score. Winners an ...

, Gabriel Yared * Nomination,

Academy Award for Best Original Score The Academy Award for Best Original Score is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by t ...

, Gabriel Yared * Nomination, Academy Award for Best Original Song, "The Scarlet Tide", written by T Bone Burnett and Elvis Costello, sung by Alison Krauss * Nomination, Academy Award for Best Original Song, "You Will Be My Ain True Love", written by Sting, sung by Alison Krauss * Nomination,

Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media The Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media has been awarded since 2000. In 2000 the award was presented as the Grammy Award for Best Soundtrack Album, and from 2001 to 2011 as Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for Motion Pi ...

* Nomination,

Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song The Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song is a Golden Globe Award that was awarded for the first time in 1962 and has been awarded annually since 1965 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. The award is presented to the songwriters of a ...

, "You Will Be My Ain True Love", Sting, Alison Krauss

Track listing

Personnel

– vocals *

– guitar, vocals *

– banjo *

Stuart Duncan Stuart Duncan (born April 14, 1964) is an American bluegrass musician who plays the fiddle, mandolin, guitar, and banjo. Life Duncan was born in Quantico, Virginia, and raised in Santa Paula, California, where he played in the school band. He ...

– fiddle *

Gabriel Yared Gabriel Yared (Arabic: غبريال يارد; born 7 October 1949) is a Lebanese-French composer, best known for his work in French and American cinema. Born in Beirut, Lebanon, Yared scored the French films ''Betty Blue'' and ''Camille Claude ...

– piano * Simon Chamberlain – piano *

Keith Ciancia Keith Ciancia, better known as Keefus Green or Keefus Ciancia is an American musician, composer and music producer. He has won an Ivor Novello Award and been nominated for an Emmy. Along with his long time creative collaborator, T Bone Burnett, h ...

– piano * Nick Bucknall – clarinet * David Theodore – oboe *

David Schnaufer David Schnaufer (September 28, 1952 – August 23, 2006) was an American folk musician. He is widely credited with restoring the popularity of the Appalachian dulcimer. Schnaufer was born in Hearne, Texas, and grew up in La Marque, Texas. Schnaufer ...

– dulcimer * Norman Blake – mandolin *

Dennis Crouch Dennis David Crouch (born April 30, 1975 in Columbia, South Carolina) is an American patent attorney who worked for McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP (MBHB) in Chicago, Illinois, until 2007.Dennis Crouch''Thank you MBHB, Hello Missouri!'' ...

– double bass *

Martin Tillman Martin Tillman (born 6 November 1964) is a Swiss cellist and composer. Biography Tillman was born in Zürich, Switzerland, in 1964. He arrived in the US in 1988. He has since performed/composed on numerous films, television shows, commercials and ...

– cello * Rolf Wilson – violin * Patrick Warren – harmonium * Susan Bohling – Cor Anglais *

Riley Baugus Riley Baugus is an American old-time guitarist, banjo player, fiddler, singer and instrument builder from North Carolina. Early life Baugus grew up in the Regular Baptist tradition, which gave him a solid foundation in unaccompanied singing. H ...

– vocal harmony *

– vocal harmony * Cassie Franklin – vocal harmony * Brendan Gleeson – vocal harmony *

– vocal harmony * Cheryl White – vocal harmony * Reeltime Travelers * Sacred Harp Singers * Tim O'Brien * Heidi Andrade * Roy Andrade *

Martha Scanlan Martha Scanlan is an Old-time music, old-time, traditional music singer-songwriter. She is originally from Minnesota and has been featured on the ''Woodsongs Old-Time Radio Hour'', NPR's World Cafe Next, and Mountain Stage, as well as the ''Cold ...

* Brandon Story * Thomas Sneed Production *

– producer *

Anthony Minghella Anthony Minghella, (6 January 195418 March 2008) was a British film director, playwright and screenwriter. He was chairman of the board of Governors at the British Film Institute between 2003 and 2007. He won the Academy Award for Best Directo ...

– executive producer *

Bob Neuwirth Robert John Neuwirth (June 20, 1939May 18, 2022) was an American folk singer, songwriter, record producer, and visual artist. He was noted for being the road manager and associate of Bob Dylan, as well as the co-writer of Janis Joplin's hit so ...

– associate music producer *

– orchestration, score producer * John Bell – orchestration *

Nick Ingman Nicholas Ingman (born 29 April 1948) is an English arranger, composer and conductor in the commercial music field. His collaborators include Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Björk, and the British X-factor. Born and educated in London, Ingman moved ...

– orchestration * Kevin Townsend – orchestration *

Harry Rabinowitz Harry Rabinowitz MBE (26 March 1916 – 22 June 2016) was a South African-British conductor and composer of film and television music. Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, he was the son of Israel and Eva Rabinowitz. He was educated at the Unive ...

– conductor * David Hartley – arranger * Ralph Stanley – arranger * Simon Osborne – engineer *

Mike Piersante Mike Piersante is a recording engineer and mixer. 2009 Grammy Awards Mike Piersante won two Grammy Awards in 2009 for his work as Engineer/Mixer. The first Grammy was for "Please Read the Letter" a duet track by Alison Krauss and Robert Plant. ...

– engineer, mixing * John Richards – engineer, mixing *

Gavin Lurssen Gavin Lurssen is an American mastering engineer. He owns Lurssen Mastering in Hollywood, California.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cold Mountain 2003 soundtrack albums Albums produced by T Bone Burnett Appalachian music Old-time music Sacred Harp