The eclectic music of Three Billboards frames a very unique movie that bridges the gap between a modern western, an introspective drama and an action-packed black comedy.

If you liked the music in 3 Billboards, then you’ll find lots of good music recommendations in this article.

At least 3 kinds of music

The movie feels like a modern western and it takes place in rural Missouri, so it’s normal that it features its fair share of American country music and folk.

And you’ve got Carter Burwell’s dramatic and emotional score which leans on a lot of classic Western soundtracks.

But it also has lots of surprises… from inappropriately funny Abba songs to traditional Irish poetry. So let’s jump right in!

The western music in the movie

I think the movie’s original compositions deserve a seat of honor in the hallowed halls of great western classics.

Here is one version of what I’ll call the Three Billboards theme:

“Billboards on Fire” by Carter Burwell — Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

This theme comes back throughout the movie and shifts as the characters evolve and change their motivations and allegiances.

The punctuated guitar licks, claps and stomps give it the feel of a lot of modern western soundtracks (the kind of western soundtracks that came after Ennio Morricone’s iconic use of chanting, grunting, whistling and all kinds of goodies in his Fistful of Dollars soundtrack).

And in general it has this tense feeling of a showdown. It never gets to the galloping heights that a lot of cowboy soundtracks feature, but it definitely harkens to some classics.

“Hang ’em High theme” by Dominic Frontiere — Hang em High

Three Billboards uses many western tropes from classic soundtracks like Hang em High, creating a familiar atmosphere for the audience — in a movie that is at times very unusual and unfamiliar

Three Billboards also featured a lot of slower, introspective pieces which are surprisingly prominent in Westerns. We often think of Westerns as action-packed cowboy movies, but they kind of have a lot of long, slow shots of prairies, and cowboys wistfully looking over the Brokeback Mountains…

“Sorry Welby” by Carter Burwell — Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

A lot of the classic westerns have a slow, weepy introspective theme too. “Sorry Welby”, “The Deer”, and “My Dear Anne” maintain that tradition.

If you like the slower parts of the Three Billboards soundtrack, you should definitely check out the introspective scores of movies like Unforgiven and The Wild Bunch that really want to take it slow and steady, like many of their strongman protagonists.

“Claudia’s theme” composed by Clint Eastwood, soundtrack by Lennie Niehaus — Unforgiven

Claudia’s theme comes back a whopping 8 times on the official soundtrack, each version different. This is the longest version of it and reminds me of how the Three Billboards theme develops across “Mildred Goes to War”, “I’ve Been Arrested” and “Billboards on Fire”

“Dirge and Finale” by Jerry Fielding — The Wild Bunch

Some of the slow sad bits of Three Billboards like “Collecting the Samples” and “A Cough of Blood, A Dark Drive” remind me a lot of the ending of The Wild Bunch

More Western recommendations:

I need to get on to the other types of music in Three Billboards, but here are some links that you may want to check out if you need more Western music!

“Song from The Wild Bunch” by Jerry Fielding — The Wild Bunch

“Sixty Seconds to What?” by Ennio Morricone — For a Few Dollars More

“Farewell to Cheyenne” by Ennio Morricone — Once Upon a Time in the West

“The Missouri Breaks title” by John Williams — The Missouri Breaks

“End credits (La Golondrina)” by Jerry Fielding — The Wild Bunch

“True Grit theme” by Carter Burwell himself — True Grit (Coen Brothers version)

So there’s a lot of western influence on the soundtrack in the movie. But that’s not all…

Carter Burwell has actually spoken publicly about how he had to think differently about this score, “Because of the odd way the characters come and go, and the way their alliances keep shifting”.

So the movie doesn’t rely only on traditional western scoring…

The folk/country music in the movie

The movie takes place in rural Missouri, and it features its fair share of American folk music and country to help set the scene.

Very early in the movie, we get a recognizable tune from one of the icons of American country music, Townes van Zandt.

If you’re not familiar with Townes Van Zandt, but want more music of this flavor, I can probably be a little lazy here and just refer you to classic recordings other country artists covering his songs.

“Pancho and Lefty”— covered by Emmylou Harris

“Pancho and Lefty”— covered by Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard

“Tecumseh Valley” — duet b/w Townes Van Zandt and Nanci Griffith

“Flyin Shoes” — covered by Lyle Lovett

And just for fun, here’s Townes Van Zandt covering Bob Dylan’s “Man Gave Names to All the Animals”

Throughout the movie, we also get to hear music that the characters are actually listening to.

A jukebox plays a 1971 billboard chart hit that speaks to what it’s like living in the postbellum South.

“The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” — Joan Baez

There’s also a car scene where Dixon sings along to a traditional cowboy ballad. The Cowboy’s Lament AKA “Streets of Laredo” performed by Marty Robbins is a piece about a tired old cowboy at the end of his life that sort of bridges folk, country and western all in one song.

“Streets of Laredo” — performed by Marty Robbins

I think Dixon’s character in particular gets a lot of popular music in his scenes, which might be an appropriate window into a relatively infantilized character (reads golden age comics, lives with his mom, and prone to destructive tantrums and immature beliefs about race).

And so to explore all the themes in the Three Billboards and its diverse range of characters, the movie ends up covering an even wider spectrum of music…

The popular music in the movie

Admittedly, I’m going to use “pop music” to mean a lot here. In many ways, Joan Baez was popular music in the 70’s and I already boxed her in as folk/country music above. I apologize!

But you know what? I hope everybody on earth can agree on one thing. ABBA = pop.

Dixon listens to some epic pop music at really inappropriate times

“Chiquitita” — ABBA

This song actually starts off a bit like a country western (like Fernando too)

“Radio Song” — The Felice Brothers

“Walk Away Renee” — The Four Tops

Playing “Walk Away” at a poignant moment when we wonder if any of the characters will ever be able to walk away from the tragedies that have occurred in their lives

“Blessed Are” — Joan Baez

“His Master’s Voice” — Monsters of Folk

Playing during Dixon’s infamous window scene, this is a beautiful folksy piece by indie supergroup Monsters of Folk (members of Bright Eyes, M Ward, Centro-matic, and My Morning Jacket). If you like this, maybe also check out Sufjan Stevens (who has his own oscar nominated movie soundtrack this year with Call Me By Your Name), Devendra Banhart, and John Vanderslice.

“Buckskin Stallion Blues” — covered by Amy Annelle

Over the closing credits, we get to hear a cover of Townes Van Zandt’s Buckskin Stallion Blues sung by a much younger, more feminine voice that gives all the words another meaning.

Don’t take my word for it…

Go listen to as much music you like and come to your own conclusions. That’s one of the wonderful things about music and art — you can read somebody like me prattle on forever or you can go start appreciating the thing yourself.

I tried to recommend some good starting points above, and wrap it all up in a tidy bow. But the truth is that the movie is complicated and its soundtrack is complicated too.

Perhaps one of the oddest/quirkiest musical choices is the use of a grandiose operatic recording of a traditional Irish tune, The Last Rose of Summer, in the opening sequence. That’s not western, folk or pop. And it’s at the very beginning of the movie, setting the tone for everything that ensues.

So it’s not like there’s only one way to interpret the music in this movie. Go have fun with it!

bibliography:

All the music in the credits: https://www.soundtrack.net/movie/three-billboards-outside-ebbing-missouri/

Quotes from Carter Burwell: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/four-composers-break-down-oscar-nominated-scores-1080310