"Our Town" is a
song used in the
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
Disney/
Pixar animated film ''
Cars''. It was written by longtime Pixar contributor
Randy Newman
Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist known for his Southern American English, Southern-accented singing style, early Americana (music), Americana-influenced songs (often ...
and recorded by
James Taylor.
Story
The song is a
ballad that recounts the
economic decline of the fictional town of
Radiator Springs after the creation of
Interstate 40.
Awards and nominations
At the
49th Grammy Awards
The 49th Annual Grammy Awards was a ceremony honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2005 and ending September 30, 2006 in the United States. The awards were handed out on Sunday, February 11, 2007 at the Staples Ce ...
(given on February 11, 2007), the song won the
Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media. The same night, Newman's work for
''Cars'' won for
Music in an Animated Feature Production at the
34th Annie Awards
The ceremony for the 34th Annual Annie Awards, honoring the best in animation in 2006, was held on February 11, 2007, at the Alex Theatre in Glendale, California.
The nominations were announced on December 4, 2006.
Winners are marked in bol ...
.
The song was also nominated for
Academy Award for Best Original Song
The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who have composed th ...
but lost to "
I Need to Wake Up
"I Need to Wake Up" is a song by Melissa Etheridge, written for the 2006 documentary film, ''An Inconvenient Truth''. It is the first instance of a documentary film winning the Best Song category, beating three songs nominated from the musical fil ...
" from ''
An Inconvenient Truth''.
International version
As the track is a background song, not key for the understanding of the plot, "Our Town" was left untranslated in most foreign dubbings. However, it numbers a few translations in various language versions.
References
2006 songs
Randy Newman songs
James Taylor songs
Songs written by Randy Newman
Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media
Walt Disney Records singles
Cars (franchise)
Pixar songs
{{2000s-song-stub