1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,440 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey 2 00:00:06,519 --> 00:00:10,800 Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren vogebam here with another classic episode. This 3 00:00:10,880 --> 00:00:14,040 Speaker 1: topic is a favorite of mine. Concerns a tune that 4 00:00:14,160 --> 00:00:17,680 Speaker 1: became a sort of musical word or phrase for death 5 00:00:17,720 --> 00:00:22,120 Speaker 1: and gloom, and it absolutely permeates pop culture. I'll let 6 00:00:22,160 --> 00:00:28,000 Speaker 1: former Lauren explain. Hey brain Stuff, Lauren vogebam here. You've 7 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:31,120 Speaker 1: heard it during Star Wars, The Shining, even Home alone. 8 00:00:31,640 --> 00:00:35,080 Speaker 1: For decades, clever composers have woven elements of a particular 9 00:00:35,200 --> 00:00:38,640 Speaker 1: medieval dirge into film soundtracks to convey a sense of 10 00:00:38,720 --> 00:00:41,360 Speaker 1: dread and general doom where the script calls for it 11 00:00:41,960 --> 00:00:44,720 Speaker 1: no widely as the Day of Wrath. The original Latin 12 00:00:44,760 --> 00:00:47,560 Speaker 1: title for this piece is ds Era, which can also 13 00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:50,839 Speaker 1: translate to such sunny concepts as Judgment Day, the end 14 00:00:50,880 --> 00:00:54,080 Speaker 1: of the world, and death in general. The piece features 15 00:00:54,120 --> 00:01:04,680 Speaker 1: a mere handful of notes. Here's the basic tune. It 16 00:01:04,720 --> 00:01:07,520 Speaker 1: was originally composed back in the thirteenth century by a 17 00:01:07,600 --> 00:01:11,280 Speaker 1: Franciscan monk named Thomas of Solano. Little did he know 18 00:01:11,360 --> 00:01:14,280 Speaker 1: that one day his piece would be revered, repurposed, and 19 00:01:14,360 --> 00:01:17,600 Speaker 1: otherwise showcased in many of the biggest films to hit Hollywood. 20 00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:21,240 Speaker 1: Hardly what we would call a complex musical work by 21 00:01:21,240 --> 00:01:24,560 Speaker 1: today's standards, the piece doubles as a requiem chant and 22 00:01:24,640 --> 00:01:28,520 Speaker 1: features some pretty sobering Latin lyrics translated into English. The 23 00:01:28,560 --> 00:01:31,039 Speaker 1: first two lines read day of Wrath, the day that 24 00:01:31,080 --> 00:01:46,520 Speaker 1: will dissolve the world into burning coals. Here's a sample. Yes, Yes, Yes. 25 00:01:52,440 --> 00:01:55,120 Speaker 1: Mozart and Verdi are just two of the composers who 26 00:01:55,120 --> 00:01:58,760 Speaker 1: wrote original requiems based on ds era. The hymn's first 27 00:01:58,800 --> 00:02:02,680 Speaker 1: big movie exposure was in ninety Citizen Kane, but the 28 00:02:02,800 --> 00:02:09,080 Speaker 1: musical motif once you Know What to look For is ubiquitous. 29 00:02:09,720 --> 00:02:12,280 Speaker 1: It's prominently featured in the opening strains of The Shining 30 00:02:21,800 --> 00:02:24,120 Speaker 1: and a variation on it is included in the ultra 31 00:02:24,200 --> 00:02:34,160 Speaker 1: famous Jaws theme. Very appropriately, we might add, the shark 32 00:02:34,280 --> 00:02:37,600 Speaker 1: is death and doom manifested. It's in Star Wars when 33 00:02:37,680 --> 00:02:40,040 Speaker 1: Luke Skywalker faces the loss of his aunt and uncle, 34 00:02:49,880 --> 00:02:51,920 Speaker 1: and it's used throughout the Lord of the Ring series 35 00:02:51,960 --> 00:03:04,080 Speaker 1: to build a sense of foreboding. Occasionally, composers go with 36 00:03:04,200 --> 00:03:07,120 Speaker 1: a winking approach when incorporating the dirge into a soundtrack. 37 00:03:07,560 --> 00:03:10,240 Speaker 1: In the stop motion animated film The Nightmare Before Christmas. 38 00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:13,919 Speaker 1: An entire song Making Christmas is based around the sequence, 39 00:03:20,880 --> 00:03:23,799 Speaker 1: and in the nineties blockbuster hit Home Alone, our young 40 00:03:23,880 --> 00:03:26,880 Speaker 1: hero Kevin is regaled with the urban legend of old 41 00:03:26,960 --> 00:03:31,120 Speaker 1: Man Marley, the rumored South Bend shovel slayer. When Kevin 42 00:03:31,200 --> 00:03:34,080 Speaker 1: lays his eyes on the guy, composer John Williams cues 43 00:03:34,160 --> 00:03:36,720 Speaker 1: up a well placed strain of ds eerie to get 44 00:03:36,720 --> 00:03:45,120 Speaker 1: the point across. Kevin is terrified and his imagination is 45 00:03:45,200 --> 00:03:48,760 Speaker 1: running away with him. But ds erae isn't only effective 46 00:03:48,760 --> 00:03:51,840 Speaker 1: in films. The University of Georgia, for example, uses it 47 00:03:51,880 --> 00:03:55,360 Speaker 1: to intimidate their opponents into accepting the impending doom that 48 00:03:55,440 --> 00:03:57,960 Speaker 1: the song implies. It's a staple at u g A 49 00:03:57,960 --> 00:04:00,720 Speaker 1: football games and is frequently played the crowd by the 50 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:26,800 Speaker 1: Georgia Redcoat Marching Band. Today's episode is based on the 51 00:04:26,880 --> 00:04:30,040 Speaker 1: article why soundtracks Love the Day of Wrath on how 52 00:04:30,040 --> 00:04:32,720 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com. Written by Aleiah Hoyt, with musical 53 00:04:32,760 --> 00:04:36,479 Speaker 1: pews provided by David W. Collins. For more from David, 54 00:04:36,560 --> 00:04:40,040 Speaker 1: including a full and fabulous episode about ds era as 55 00:04:40,080 --> 00:04:43,240 Speaker 1: popular music's word for death, check out his podcast. The 56 00:04:43,279 --> 00:04:46,720 Speaker 1: soundtrack show brain Stuff is production off I Heart Radio 57 00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:48,720 Speaker 1: in partnership with how stuff Works dot com, and it's 58 00:04:48,760 --> 00:04:51,960 Speaker 1: produced by Tyler clang Or More podcasts from my Heart Radio, 59 00:04:52,160 --> 00:04:54,919 Speaker 1: visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 60 00:04:54,960 --> 00:04:56,160 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.