Memphis Belle is based on the story of the first American bomber crew in the 8th Air Force to have completed their tour of duty of 25 missions during the second World War. And being a historical film, the music had to of course be just as representative of the heroes of the story as the actors. And the music which George Fenton composed is just that. Using the traditional folk song Danny Boy as the basis for his main theme, Fenton uses this theme to represent one of the crew members, Danny, as well as his crew mates. In addition, Fenton includes many of the Big Band type songs popular at the time to keep the mood of the movie alive when listening to the soundtrack.
Fenton also includes such traditional pieces as The Londonderry Air and Amazing Grace to set the tone of the movie. Most of the pieces are based on the previously mentioned Danny Boy and so there is a sense of continuity to the music. Also included is a vocal rendition of Danny Boy, unfortunately it is a more modernized version of the song, it would have been better if they could have had Harry Connick Jr. sing the song the way he does in the movie and that would have been the ultimate. In all, it is a decent score with a well known theme making it easy to remember.
Total time: 44:15
1: The Londonderry Air/Front Titles: Memphis Belle (3:50)
2: Green Eyes (3:25)
3: Flying Home (2:57)
4: The Steel Lady (1:44)
5: "Prepare for take off" (Amazing Grace) (2:39)
6: The Final Mission (3:51)
7: "With deep regret..." (2:02)
8: I Know Why (And So Do You) (2:55)
9: The Bomb Run (1:30)
10: Limping Home (2:25)
11: Crippled Belle: The Landing (3:26)
12: Resolution (1:06)
13: Memphis Belle End Title Suite (7:37)
14: Danny Boy (Theme from Memphis Belle) (3:20)