The Wicker Man Soundtrack: The Wicker Man is a 1973 British folk horror film directed by Robin Hardy and starring Edward Woodward, Britt Ekland, Diane Cilento, Ingrid Pitt, and Christopher Lee. The screenplay was written by Anthony Shaffer and inspired by David Pinner’s 1967 novel Ritual.
The film premiered in the United Kingdom on December 6, 1973, and did not reach American theaters until the following year, opening in Atlanta on May 15, 1974 before a wider US release on August 7, 1974.
Quick Facts
| Title | The Wicker Man |
| UK Release Date | December 6, 1973 |
| US Release Date | August 7, 1974 (wide) |
| Director | Robin Hardy |
| Writer | Anthony Shaffer |
| Composer | Paul Giovanni, with the folk band Magnet |
| Genre | Horror; Mystery; Thriller (Folk Horror) |
| Starring | Edward Woodward, Christopher Lee, Britt Ekland, Diane Cilento |
| Where to Watch | Prime Video, Apple TV+ |
Who Composed The Wicker Man Soundtrack?
Paul Giovanni (1933–1990) was an American playwright, actor, director, singer, and composer who wrote the music for The Wicker Man at the suggestion of screenwriter Anthony Shaffer. Giovanni researched, wrote, and recorded the score in about seven weeks, working with the British folk band Magnet — not “Magnates,” a misspelling that has circulated in some reprints of the credits. Together, Giovanni and Magnet used flutes, lyres, harmonicas, and guitars to build a mixture of original compositions and traditional Scottish, Irish, and English folk tunes.
Rather than a conventional orchestral score, the soundtrack is made up of folk songs performed in-story by characters on the island of Summerisle, several of them sung by members of the film’s own cast. The songs were arranged to evoke a pre-Christian, pagan culture, ranging from the rabble-rousing “The Landlord’s Daughter” to the erotic “Willow’s Song” and the eerie nursery-rhyme cadence of “Chop Chop,” which is based on “Oranges and Lemons.” The soundtrack has since been called one of the most influential folk-horror scores ever recorded, cited by Spin magazine in 2013 as one of the “40 Movie Soundtracks That Changed Alternative Music.”
The Wicker Man Soundtrack List
The soundtrack went unreleased for 25 years after the film came out. Two different reissues exist, drawn from different surviving tape sources, so track counts and a few song titles vary slightly between them.
1998 Track Listing (Trunk Records, mono):
- “The Wicker Man (Main Title)”
- “Corn Riggs”
- “Landlord’s Daughter”
- “Festival Photos”
- “Loving Couples”
- “Willow’s Song”
- “Maypole Song”
- “Beetle”
- “Ruined Church Sequence”
- “Corn Riggs” & “Fireleap”
- “Fireleap (Reprise)”
- “Graveyard Sequence” – “Tinker Of Rye”
- “Tinker Of Rye (Part 2)”
- “Festival”
- “Masks”
- “Hobby Horse & Tarring”
- “Search 1 – Baa, Baa, Black Sheep”
- “Search 2”
- “Hand Of Glory”
- “Procession”
- “Chop Chop”
- “Horn At Cave – Cave Chase”
- “The Anointing”
- “Hum”
- “Approach”
- “Summer Is A Coming In”
- “The Wicker Man (End Title)”
2002 Track Listing (Silva Screen Records, stereo):
- “Corn Rigs”
- “The Landlord’s Daughter”
- “Gently Johnny”
- “Maypole”
- “Fire Leap”
- “The Tinker Of Rye”
- “Willow’s Song”
- “Procession”
- “Chop Chop”
- “Lullaby”
- “Festival” / “Mirie It Is” / “Sumer Is A-Cumen In”
- “Opening Music” / “Loving Couples” / “The Ruined Church”
- “The Masks” / “The Hobby Horse”
- “Searching For Rowan”
- “Appointment With The Wicker Man”
- “Sunset”
The 2002 reissue restores “Gently Johnny” and the missing verses of “Willow’s Song,” both absent from the shorter 1998 release because that version was dubbed from the music-and-effects tapes for the film’s original, shorter theatrical cut.
Where to Stream The Wicker Man Soundtrack
The soundtrack can be streamed on Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music. The film itself is available to stream on Prime Video, and it can be rented or purchased on Apple TV+.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who composed The Wicker Man soundtrack?
Paul Giovanni composed and recorded the soundtrack with the British folk band Magnet. The songs were written and arranged in about seven weeks.
Why does The Wicker Man soundtrack have two different track listings?
The album went unreleased until 1998, when Trunk Records issued a mono version dubbed from surviving tapes of the film’s shorter cut. Silva Screen Records followed with a stereo 2002 reissue drawn from a different tape source, which restored two songs missing from the 1998 release.
What is the most famous song on The Wicker Man soundtrack?
“Willow’s Song” is the soundtrack’s best-known track and has been covered by artists including the Sneaker Pimps and Isobel Campbell. “Corn Rigs” and “Sumer Is Icumen In” are also frequently singled out by critics.
Is The Wicker Man soundtrack based on real folk songs?
Many tracks are arrangements of genuine traditional material, including Robert Burns ballads, the medieval song “Sumer Is Icumen In,” and the nursery rhyme “Oranges and Lemons,” mixed with original compositions by Paul Giovanni.
When was The Wicker Man released in the UK and the US?
The film premiered in the UK on December 6, 1973. It did not open in the United States until 1974, debuting in Atlanta on May 15 before a wider release on August 7, 1974.
Related reading: Browse more movie soundtracks, or see our guides to Prime Video and Apple TV+ for where to watch titles like this one.