Written by: Beck Hansen, Nigel Godrich
Lyrics:Movie Theme [Version (a)]:
Looking for a ladder
In the stratosphere
So I can be happy
Let my bones melt away
Stranded on a plane
That is circling round
I carry my heart
Like a soldier with a hand grenade
Walking down the aisle
In the supermarket
Looking for the things
For to carry my senses away
Listen to the ring
Of the telephone
Somebody's calling
Somebody who is all alone
Looking for a home
In the magazine page
Wages in my pocket
Gonna buy me anything that I need
A switch in my brain
The battery light
Washing away
Gaping at the oceans below
And I'm not scared
'Cause there's nobody there
My mind is awake
And anything could lead me astray
Listen to the voice
On the radio wave
Somebody needs you
Somebody who is far away
aaah
The Song:"Movie Theme," on stage, is a nice reflective song, chorusless and pretty. Beck has called it a song that they "messed around with one afternoon before work...we strayed off the path." Musically, it does not hit the same percussive style as much of
Information, but Beck noted that they dug it anyway and it made the album "diverse."
It seems to be a message from Beck to his wife/family, having left them to go on tour. He's on a plane, his heart aches. He talks to them on the phone. He has to go to make his wages. He tells them to hear his voice on the radio.
Live:Played live 12 times:
May 30, 2006June 13, 2006August 16, 2006September 26, 2006October 4, 2006October 22, 2006March 22, 2007April 1, 2007April 6, 2007June 3, 2022...and
2 more.
Earliest known live version:
May 30, 2006Latest known live version:
June 10, 2022"Movie Theme" was not a song Beck tried on stage very often. It seemed to show up about once a month throughout the 2006 tour (May, June, August, September, twice in October). Then in 2007 he did it three times in Australia and Japan.
Most of those 9 times were smaller-sized shows, or on the radio. It is not a song Beck would play to a festival audience. That said, I really like hearing it live, and prefer it there than the record. I wish it had been given more of a chance on stage.