Why Home Alone is the Best Christmas Soundtrack Ever 

It never occured to me that Carol of the Bells had the same melody as the beginning of Dies Irae. My world has been turned upside down, thanks Sideways.

*Sideways:* *Me, who’s been binging his videos:* I stfg it’s the Dies Irae isn’t it *Sideways:* iTs tHe diES iRaEs

So, the key to writing good christmas music is to write it 30 years ago?

Just for the record, the Nutcracker is crazy popular in Europe, too. Tschaikowsky was pretty unlucky with his ballets initially (Swan Lake was a bomb, too, Sleeping Beauty was his one big success), but they came to be beloved with time. In the case of the Nutcracker - it is just the ideal ballet to get children interested. It is really, really hard to mess that one up. The score has multiple pieces which are very memorable - most ballets only have one or two which make you really want to hum to the music - the set pieces are usually colourful and the protagonist is a little girl. No wonder that it became a classic. It is also really, really hard to mess up. For the stage, that is. For movies, it is apparently easy to mess up….

What makes it sound like Christmas? Dm7♭5 of course.

I've only actually seen Home Alone once, and it was YEARS ago, but I can still call to mind that main theme perfectly. If that doesn't prove John Williams is a genius, I don't what does.

My favorite musical moment in Home Alone is actually just after that church scene between Kevin and the (not)creepy old dude, where Williams transitions perfectly from the end of Carol of the Bells into the awesome upbeat beginning of "Setting the Trap" (a track that kinda makes me wish for drum machine remixes of all John Williams' music ever written)

I've always thought Home Alone was among some of John Williams' best work.

Not gonna lie, I want to listen to Dies Irae and Carol of the Bells now. This explains why Carol of the Bells feels tense to me. I love it because of its fast pace, and the strange haunting feeling it gives me. As a big fan of singing the Dies Irae, this makes perfect sense to me now.

I always thought that "Somewhere in my memory" also perfectly captures the literal situation of a boy home alone, especially on high pitched recorders or flutes or when whistled. It kind of captures that "but it wasn't my fault!" spirit some kids have.

Something interesting that I heard in a Tom Scott video is that, while in America, Christmas carols were written in the 40s, 50s and 60s, in Britain, the most popular Christmas songs were written in the 70s and 80s. Possibly because unlike America, Britain was not in a great space for the late 1940s and 1950s.

Because John Williams made it Case closed

9:07 Me: "Huh, that sounds like the Dies Irae." 9:18 Me: "That would explain it."

Talk about Avatar the Last Airbender's soundtrack

What about the 'Polar Express" with it's ONE song that they played every 5 minutes?

The melody to the Christmas hymn "Watchmen tell us of the night" was written by Joseph Parry in 1876, and the melody is known as "Aberystwyth", after a Welsh town. It's more famous now, at least in the UK, as the melody to the hymn "Jesus, lover of my soul". It is even used in "The Crown" season 3, episode 3, in the funeral scene for the victims of the Aberfan disaster. I personally find it to be one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever written.

Woo! You chose my idea! And everyone else's idea! I'm gonna pretend that I was the only one to suggest this idea!

Regarding the “old, religious” tone you speak of: As someone who works as a choir director/pianist of a fairly traditional Methodist church, I will say that a lot of the oldest hymns we sing are Christmas carols, and the frequency of these older tunes during the Advent season means that even devout members of traditional churches will associate that sound with Christmas.

The score that plays when Kevin sets up all the traps around the house is awesome as well. It's a fugue while also incorporating the Star of Bethlehem theme. Also, the fugue subject sounds like it might've been an early prototype of the Harry Potter theme.

Home Alone has to be one of my favourite soundtracks of all time. Like Star Wars, it's a huge part of what makes the movie great; honestly one of the best things about Christmas is being able to listen to the soundtrack again.

7:42 "Well, you guessed it: WW2" Yeah... I didn't see that coming, at all

Nostalgia is a scary thing. Both my parents love 1940s movies and music, yet they were born in the 1950s and grew up in the 60s. I myself was born in the mid 80s and grew up in the 1990s, yet my nostalgia comes from music and movies of the 1970s and 80s. You could say this is just because kids watch movies from a decade or so earlier and grow attached to them. But in my experience, most kids I see grow attached to the music and movies of their actual time period. While I was obsessing over Hook, Back to the Future and Star Wars, most of my friends were obsessing over Jurrasic Park, Nightmare Before Christmas and Independence Day, contemporary movies of the decade we were in. And while I enjoy movies from the mid to late 90s, I never really feel "nostalgic" over them. I have to go to earlier movies to get that sense of nostalgia. Especially movies that came out before I was born. This plays right into the videos point about how people from the 1980s would find nostalgia from 1950s carols and movies, not the 1980s. Anyway, all that said, Somewhere in my Memory always stood out to me in this film. It doesn't sound like a Christmas song to me. It sounds like the typical touching song from an entire era of Hollywood. And I don't mean that to lessen it. It is one of my favorite songs and I credit it as making Home Alone my favorite Christmas movie. However, after Home Alone, it seemed like dozens of other movies all had to have their "touching theme". Including many John Williams scores. Especially a certain song in Harry Potter that I'm sure people will recall just hearing the name Harry Potter. It's also similar to themes in Hook and ET. My point is, the song is basically the most John Williams style song I can think of and defines my childhood nostalgia. So while it may sound Christmasy for some people, for me it sticks out as definitive John Williams. And in the best way possible.

Muppet's Christmas carol begs to differ.

Somewhere In My Memory has only grown on me as an adult. It’s bittersweet because obviously I don’t have the same appreciation for the Christmas season now that I had as a kid, but it hits all the right nostalgia notes for me. It’s my favorite Christmas song.

That's really interesting about the Dies Irae being in Carol of the Bells. The song itself is about the birth of Jesus Christ. However, we all know how Jesus' life went. So while the actual message is supposed to be joyous and that Christmas (the birth of Christ is here) the melody evokes the eventual death of Jesus. Just a thought.

Wow, this video explains why I love your videos so much. You just break things down so well and understandably while still going at a good speed, and you blow my mind a few hundred times in each video.

Okay but that parallel between Dies Irae and Carol Of The Bells... perhaps might have something to do with the same melody being the basis of “Making Christmas” in the Nightmare Before Christmas, which is mainly based around that same 4-note phrase

So glad you mentioned "Somewhere in my Memory". It's probably one of, if not my favorite, "Christmas" songs. And the lyrics emphasize that feeling of nostalgia as well, which I always felt was important too.

“Somewhere in my memory” is such a good song! Loved this video!

Does anyone think that the opening notes of "Somewhere in my memory", the main theme from Polar Express (2004), and the main whistle theme from Elf (2003) sound similar?

Somewhere in my memory is my go-to Christmas song, I can't even talk about how it makes me feel, made me cry when you mentioned it

Sometime I want you to play "Somewhere In My Memory" along with the chords to Pachelbel's Cannon in D on piano. All the questions in your life will be answered

"Sideways posted a video 20 minutes ago." It's about Home Alone. That's an instant click from me.

Talk about "Somewhere in my Memory".... I saw this movie in theaters when I was about 10. My mother laughed so hard that she past wet herself. She died a year later. I heard that and almost instantly started to tear up. Thanks for happy memories.

i love this. i never got to watch home alone as a kid... i feel like i was robbed. also when i heard marley's theme, i didn't think immediately of the dies irae- my mind went straight to nightmare before christmas dskjflds

Me watching Home Alone for the first time in 2020 with my parents and little sister: *hears Dies Irae with Old Man Marley* Hey that's Dies Irae!! My parents and my sister: What the f**k is that?

I often have that same thought around this time. “ how is it that we don’t get newer Christmas music each year? It’s always stuff from the 50s?” The newer music that is around isn’t as popular. Thanks for giving me this aspect of nostalgia in my contemplation.

Why is Home Alone making a yt comeback 28 years later?

Hey! That excerpt of Watchmen of the Night was the same melody as "Jesu Lover of my Soul"!

'Setting the Trap' is awesome!

One of MY Christmas traditions is rewatching this video. Absolutely love it and your other work. Merry Christmas, Sideways!

Sideways I absolutely love your videos and even though I am not a musician in any way shape or form, your videos have given me access to aspects of music that I've never realize upon hearing them. I learned so much about music because of your videos it actually makes me want to look up more things about music so I can learn about these things and maybe one day learn to play an instrument. I have a question, however, since next month is the release of Kingdom Hearts 3, will you make a video talking just about the music from the series? Like perhaps it tells a story through the music or what happens to certain characters can be heard via in the music. (My eyes are on Ventus's theme). Regardless, I can't wait for your next video!

I don't understand why I cannot focus on a single research paper for my online class, yet I can marathon about 10 of your videos in a row and get so much more out of them! Thank you for your quality content!

Missed opportunity at the end after you said "Merry Christmas" you could have followed with, "ya filthy animals". (also thank you this video was very informative and enjoyable to watch - I just wrote a paper on dies ires and this was nice)

The history behind all this is so fascinating!! Awesome work!

This was an incredible video. By far one of the best and most insightful videos I've seen this year. Thanks for taking the time to figure this out and describe it! Williams is a Genius, for the record.

Thank you for sparking more christmas vibes. I always thought that the first part of the melody in the "main theme", sounded like the notes played at airports before they announce stuff. At least that made sense to me since the family travels and he missed the flight (and takes the wrong one in the second one). Either way, great video and analysis, as always!

I loved this! I wasn't sure what to expect but this is what I love about your channel!

Your videos are hands down the most interesting thing I've come across on RU-vid. How wonderful! Thank you for your analysis!

Just watching Home Alone at Christmas (no.1 Christmas movie in Poland) and throwing soundtrack curiosities to my fam, thanks to your video. We are watching this movie every year and it's so good to know more stuff about it :)) thx a lot. Have a beautiful Christmas guys and hopefully the next year will be better!

No matter what you do PLEASE keep creating content. You are so uniquely brilliant

I love rewatching this video. Such great work! I would also add that the opening music to the film that repeats during the storm that knocks out the phone lines sounds like The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies from The Nutcracker.

This soundtrack was one of my first CDs, I've listened to it many times over, and I love the perspective you added to that experience. Also it feels good to have an internet person make a video that matches your opinion!

Nail on the head with 'nostalgia'. Loving these videos where you go in depth.

John Williams is a genius in so many ways.

I've been screaming this on street corners for years and now the world is finally aware of home alone's superiority when it comes to music

Thank you! Great video, as always! I just want to mention that I believe "One Horse Open Sleigh" was initially a song for Thanksgiving time.

Oh my God that old man Marley Easter egg made me cryyyyyyy!! I love your videos dude

Tchaikovsky really felt that his Christmas opera, 'Cherevichki' (usually translated in English as 'The Tsarina's Slippers') was the superior composition. It was never as popular as he'd hoped, and he spent the last years of his life repeatedly tweaking and rewritting the score and lyric to try to boost the opera and get it more recognition. My toddler is obsessed with 'Tsarina's Slippers'. We've watched the Royal Opera House's performance more times than I can count, and no sign of stopping yet.

You make really good content and I am very grateful

this was the final push i needed to subscribe to you; i’ve been binging all your videos for a while. congratulations on 200k subs, imitation dipper.

Oh my god, mind blown.. My favorite scene in home alone is the church scene. I thought it was just because it has a choir, and I'm Swedish and in Sweden we have a lot of choir music, especially at holidays. But it's also the score itself being more "traditional" as you put it, because that's our Christmas music. The American examples you had are very modern types of Christmas music to us. So that scene is the one that makes me nostalgic, the one I relate to Christmas the most... I'd never thought about it. Love your videos.

i've been binge-watching your video's all day and in every single one so far, you've mentioned the dies irea

I am very thankful for your videos because while I sometimes feel what music is trying to do, I can't read sheet music and have no clue what tricks are woven into the score most of the time (like that Picardy third thing, that sound like double Dutch to me). Home Alone is part of my childhood and my Christmas playlist too, so thank you for explaining, and Merry Christmas!

Happy 200k Sideways! You deserve it!

So thanks to this video I knew EXACTLY when the sound track for this movie came on my work place's Christmas playlist. It was wild hearing a song come on, think "that Sounds like the Nutcracker but ITS NOT", then think "is this the home alone sound track?", then have it confirmed by the prim lite motif of Star of Bethlehem play like three times in a row and know all of this because of this blasted video.

Somewhere In My Memory is my favorite Christmas song! Thanks so much for this beautiful video!

Dude I have learned so much trivia from channels like these that I have no idea what I know anymore

Wow what a fantastic video! Keep doing what your doing man!

Wow this is so well explained and really so amazing! Keep it up Sideways

Sang this for my chorus's competition piece this summer! Couldn't help but think of this whole video.

this was such an incredible breakdown of one of my favorite Chrismtas movies. and now i know why the soundtrack sounds so nostalgic--the nutcracker suite is one of my favorite pieces of music.

your work is great, thank you

This is such a great channel! I'm so glad I found it.

I'm not sure if you read comments, especially on old videos, but I just wanted to say that you're actually teaching me things, and I thought my brain was fried from too much tv. When I watched this video, I had already seen both the sweeney todd and the nightmare before christmas videos, so when you got to the part about Old Man Marley's leitmotif, I knew it was the dies irae before you said it. I'd never heard the name of that piece before your videos, and honestly wouldn't have recongnized it outside of Hunchback of Notre Dame before you. So thank you for renewing my faith in my own ability to learn

The fact that the Nutcracker being a major part of the "Christmas Music Zeitgeist" if you will, links to the nostalgia thing is very funny to me because The Nutcracker is like, the definition of nostalgia for me. My aunt took me (and later my sisters) to see it every year since I was 5 until about 2019, so hearing it immediately takes me back to my childhood. It's one of the few consistent things to be nostalgic about in my childhood. Edit: In other news, Sideways has trained me well because every single time I hear the Dies Irae, I immediately go, "Wait wait wait, was that the Dies Irae? It was! That was the Dies Irae!"

Great dissection of the themes! Those original carols were pretty amazing. On the subject of Christmas Music in minor keys, Coventry Carol is pretty rad.

somewhere in my memory is like, childhood for me because I would always be in a Christmas choir and we would always sing this song, oh memories

so little rant but i'm a 𝒷𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓇𝒾𝓃𝒶 and my old dance studio used somewhere in my memory as like the little kids dance in our winter show and listening to it gave me so much nostalgia and actually made me cry so thank you for recognizing my childhood

I thought that the “star of Bethlehem” carol by Williams sounded like “God rest ye merry gentlemen” too:). Also that part about the Di-es I-rae was an awesome connection. I always heard a darker “carol of the bells” in the old man Marley motif, but that other extra bit is truly cool. Thanks!!!

Thank you for bringing light to this soundtrack! The thing with making a soundtrack for a christmas movie is that it would be a really easy task if one were to just slap on some classic xmas tunes and nutcracker public domain tracks, but it's the fact that John Williams put so much thought and effort into it that it can build the movie's own identity as well as establish it within a known Christmas canon. Great video as always!

Liked before I even watched... since the soundtrack is a must on all Christmas playlists I've ever made.

wait... the beginning of carol of the bells sounds super similar to the beginning of the 'Home Alone' theme! I think the Home Alone theme beginning IS the beginning of carol of the bells, just with every fourth note cut out

Wow got here early. Good videos Sideways!

Thanks for this. Somewhere In My Memory is one of my favorites from these movies and from John Williams in general. A close second is When You're Alone from the Hook movie, which I just found out was originally intended to be a Musical. That would make a great video.

Great analysis! You nailed it: NOSTALGIA. I really appreciated your logic and music history of it all. Also, I really enjoyed all of your John Williams themes and breakdowns. He is brilliant on every level, and Tchaikovsky is one of the greatest arranger/orchestrators who ever lived (in my opinion).

Thanks for this breakdown! Nice job! I love Home Alone-and yes, one of the reasons why, is the music throughout-very "Christmas-y" .

My favorite Christmas songs are all medieval. I love the original music throughout the first two home alone movies, but I do really like the nostalgia of earlier 20th century music and atmosphere. That Dies Irae detail was one I'd never caught ahold of before. This was an awesome video.

So, I'd just watched your video about Dies Irae and Sweeney Todd, and then I think later that day watched Home Alone for the first time (I know, I'm late). So I actually totally caught the reference in Old Man Marley's theme! Thanks for making me feel smart.

Very well analysed and researched, very enjoyable, congrats on a great video essay. One thing I would add though, concerning Williams' "Somewhere In My Memory" theme: As much as it does sound Christmassy like the Nutcracker and "Star of Bethlehem", I think there's a better explanation for it's nostalgic sound due to Williams' larger compositional technique. The motif is very similar to his Pan theme in 'Hook', which shares a child-like perspective. It's use is supposed to tap into our nostalgia for childhood more so than Christmas, I think. Not to say that your interpretation is contrary to that idea!

Lovely! Thank you. Now I'm off to listen to, Somewhere in my memory.

Not sure why I was recommended this in July, but I've liked it anyway! That Deus Irae thing is really cool.

You 100% are my favourite RU-vidr! Would love it if you made a video about La La Land and maybe how it's old Hollywood inspiration influenced the music (if it did)

I LOVE trying to understand the public of past decades' perspectives on the media we still have today, and how perspectives have changed over the last several decades, it's so interesting.

I associate all of my favorite Christmas music with sounding old, including the gorgeous Vince Guaraldi Trio works for Charlie Brown

A really great analysis!

"Somehow Williams managed to pull it off". That is no fluke, the man is an incredibly skilled composer.

Man, what an amazing video. 😍

Not going to lie, you just blew my mind with this, especially in regards to “Watchmen Tell Us of the Night”. I was hired to play in as part of an orchestra for a cantata by a local church a few years ago; the cantata itself had that tune with different lyrics, and over the course of the entire cantata nostalgic references like the ones you mention in this video make an experience (though they tend to stick to traditional carols and hymns). Thank you!

I recently played it with our orchestra (I play horn). Soo beautiful...