By Beah Corrales
Through this essay I seek to explore the music of The Hunger Games trilogy and prequels and their social impact, as well as the ways which they have shaped me as a creative and a person tremendously. The original trilogy began in 2008 with the first book, and I am still the biggest fan in 2025. My personal favorite of the series is the second book and film, Catching Fire (2009.)
The series correlates to the state of our world especially today and it gives me a sense of comfort amidst the chaos. Katniss Everdeen is the main character who is the Mockingjay, a symbol of rebellion to help aid the people across all the districts in Panem to rise against the corrupt capitol run by President Coriolanus Snow and put an end to the Hunger Games, an annual game where one boy and one girl between the ages of 12-18 are to be reaped every year to be put into an arena and fight to the death with only one reigning victor. There is a lot of lore behind this story which I unfortunately cannot condense into 10 pages, so I will try my best to talk about the most impactful songs and parts of the series. To many, this may seem like a totally made-up story for entertainment, but it is much deeper and more meaningful than that.
Suzanne Collins is an exceptional author who not only writes amazing books but also has an insane pen when it comes to writing music. I decided to talk about this series but to highlight mainly from the prequel that is a musical, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (2020.) This book takes place before the original trilogy and shows the backstory of President Snow how he became the cruel president and insight to the beginning of his terrible reign over Panem. There are a few songs/poems that repeat throughout the books such as The Hanging Tree, Nothing You Can Take from Me, and The Old Therebefore. These songs carry the plot but also are used to connect the characters throughout the series even if they do not know each other or never meet. The songs also carry traditions and show humanity to the people brainwashed by the Capitol. The film adaptation of this book came out at the end of 2023 and to this day I continue to listen to the soundtrack and take in the powerful production and lyrics of it.
Suzanne Collins, the author of The Hunger Games series and Indiana University alumni, has created a world full of double meanings, tragedy, real world issues, and sacrifice. She drew inspiration from many things such as reality tv, Greek mythology, and other dystopian literature. Collins flipped through different channels and came across news of war and destruction happening in different parts of the world. This helped her shape the cruel government hierarchy in the made-up world of Panem, dividing people by class between District 1-13 with District 1 being the wealthiest, down to the least wealthy, District 12. I find it very interesting how she is able to turn such tragedy into a storyline that will be more heard. It is unfortunate that it has to come to that to become a voice for these groups, but it has shifted many individuals’ views.
The music composed in the Ballad of the Songbirds and Snakes is by James Newton Howard. As I read this book, the lyrics were impactful alone, but hearing the final songs fully composed in the film, moved me in even more ways. District 12 is the poorest and smallest District in Panem. In District 12, there is a group of musical travelers known as the Covey. The Covey created these songs that told stories with beautiful sounds from the people of Appalachia, which is where District 12 resides. In this book we follow District 12’s first victor of the Hunger Games, Lucy Gray Baird. Lucy Gray’s voice is hypnotizing and haunts the narrative of this book and the entire series. She is a member of the Covey and responsible for creating the songs that are passed down through generations. Coriolanus Snow was Lucy Gray’s mentor for her games which began his obsession over control. Lucy Gray and the Covey communicated through song since anything they say or do could get them in trouble with the Capitol. The music also inspired everyone to take part in the revolution and was seen as a sign of hope which President Snow did not appreciate ultimately making these songs illegal and if anyone were to sing them he would raise hell.
The song Nothing You Can’t Take from Me is a song Lucy Gray sang that empowers her throughout her time in Panem. She tells everyone how she won’t change or dim her personality for people to like her. She says how she does not care what anyone does to her because it will not separate her from her real self. “Nothin’ you can take was ever worth keepin’. Oh, nothin’ you can take was evеr worth keepin’. Nothin’ you can take from me is worth dirt. Take it ‘causе I’d give it free, it won’t hurt. Nothin’ you can take was ever worth keepin’” are the standout lines in this song to me. She sings this song first when she is illegally reaped into the games. It was a message to the Capitol but mostly to how she was illegally reaped by the mayor. Maude Ivory and Tam Amber, other fellow Covey members, sing the beginning to start the song to show their solidarity with her. The second time she sings it is when she performs in District 12 after she won her games. Here she is wearing her new attire post games. She is seemingly wealthier and “happier” after physically surviving her games, but her character and the Covey are much smarter than that. This time she sings it to entertain and distract while simultaneously continuing to push the narrative that she is still unapologetically herself despite what the Capitol does and takes from her. The lyrics “Thinkin’ you’re so fine. Thinkin’ you could have mine. Thinkin’ you’re in control. Thinkin’ you’ll change me, maybe rearrange me. Think again if that’s your goal.” make this second performance even more meaningful because of how she was beginning to really perceive Coriolanus for his true colors, because she had to remind herself no matter how she felt about him, that he was part of the Capitol but she had to act clueless in order to make sure she and all she loves stays alive. In the newest book, Sunrise on the Reaping, we see that this song was passed down to characters who never met her which shows her connection to the Covey and people of District 12 despite how President Snow tried to erase her from everyone’s memory. His obsession with control started and continued because of her, he was not able to control her, which scared him. These songs kept her and the Covey alive which gave President Snow discomfort seeing individuals that acted like Lucy Gray and sang her songs.
Another song that I wanted to highlight was her song The Old Therebefore which is a funeral song. Lucy Gray sang this as she was being chased after by snakes during her games. She sang it to provide herself comfort with dying because she accepted her death by the snakes. The song was broadcast live during her games which brought everyone to tears. Her chilling vocals mixed with the utterly depressing lyrics of the song moved everyone, even Coriolanus. The last verse of the song is what hold the most emotional value to me, “I’ll bring the news. When I’ve danced off my shoes. When my body’s closed down. When my boat’s run aground. When I’ve tallied the score. And I’m flat on the floor. Right here in the old therebefore. When nothing is left anymore. When I’m pure like a dove. When I’ve learned how to love. Right here in the old therebefore. When nothing is left anymore.” This part is not only heartbreaking, but it is a callback to her song Nothing You Can’t Take from Me and how she will remain who she presented herself as even in death. She speaks about how she does not want to be forced to entertain with her musical talents and how it could ultimately lead to her death. The line “When I’m pure like a dove. When I’ve learned how to love” is a call to the Sunrise on the Reaping book’s main character Haymitch Abernathy and his one and only love, Lenore Dove.
The Hunger Games is well known for the song The Hanging Tree, which presents itself from book one to the other books and is the most popular song from the series. When we first heard this song in the first book of the trilogy, it was clearly a haunting song from the start, but it’s true origins were not revealed until we got The Ballad of the Songbirds and Snakes book. In that book we see that the song is yet another Lucy Gray Baird original that she wrote about the hanging of a man, from his perspective. According to an article in the Polygon written by Petrana Radulovic, The Hanging tree is a “… District 12 folk song, sung from the perspective of a hanged man. In the modern times, it’s used as a rallying cry for the districts, and unifies the people of Panem in their rebellion against the Capitol. Katniss eventually sings it in Mockingjay, the last book of the trilogy, when a rebel asks her to deliver a tune for the song-replicating mockingjay birds and she remembers the old folk song from her childhood. The haunting song becomes the anthem of the Rebellion.” The standout verses in this song to me are “Are you, are you. Coming to the tree? Where dead man called out. For his love to flee. Strange things did happen here, no stranger would it be. If we met at midnight in the hanging tree. Are you, are you. Coming to the tree? Where I told you to run. So we’d both be free. Strange things did happen here, no stranger would it be. If we met at midnight in the hanging tree.” Lucy Gray traumatized Coriolanus so much with this song, that it was another sign of her haunting the narrative in future events. At the end of her book, she flees and is nowhere to be found. No one knows if she lives or dies. Once Katniss enters the games and Coriolanus discovers that she knows The Hanging Tree, it brings immediate negative attention to her. Katniss did not even know the extent of what happened when all she did was sing that song. She learned it from her father, Burdock Everdeen, who in the new book is revealed to be distant cousins with the Covey, thus making Katniss and Lucy Gray related.
The Hunger Games trilogy had a standout song by Taylor Swift called Safe and Sound. This song was used as a theme song to represent how Katniss witnesses the death of District 11 tribute, Rue during their games. Rue’s death is what sparked Katniss to begin the revolution because Rue’s death not only enraged her, but many watching and the residents of District 11 because she was a small girl who had to face death too early. In The Ballad of the Songbirds and Snakes, the standout song was written by Filipina American artist Olivia Rodrigo called Can’t Catch Me Now. This song is amazing and perfectly represents how Lucy Gray haunts the narrative. The production is linked back to the Appalachia folk roots which make it blend seamlessly with the soundtrack while also giving you an eerie feeling especially with the film ending with Lucy Gray disappearing to the unknown.
Throughout the semester, we read books about social change and how it is emphasized through music. Although The Hunger Games take place in a fictional world, we see how music moves people to unit but to also causes chaos in Panem. Like how our books touch on music in the real world and how it inspires other artists, sparks social change, and gives people an outlet to express themselves in entertaining forms to get people to listen. The books refer to artists like The Clash, Bob Dylan, and Billie Holiday. I wanted to connect Bob Dylan and Billie Holiday to The Hunger Games soundtrack specifically because of their lyricism and genres. I loved learning about them throughout the semester in the books and through information some individuals in the class have shared about them. Bob Dylan is widely known for his political folk music. As mentioned, the Covey reside in Appalachia while in District 12, so folk music is the main genre there. In a way it is really interesting to see the difference between Lucy Gray Baird’s songwriting compared to Bob Dylan. They both possess those folk roots and charming lines to hypnotize the audience and to entertain. Billie Holiday is brought into conversation mostly because of her song Strange Fruit. This song is a protest song about the racist lynchings comparing to the bodies hanging from the trees to how fruit hangs on the trees. There is no doubt in my mind that Suzanne Collins took inspiration writing The Hanging Tree from Billie Holiday. Billie wrote the song in metaphor form while telling the story about true events. It became too hard for her to sing she even stopped singing it and it brought her a lot of pain similar to how The Hanging Tree affected Katniss and Lucy Gray throughout their lives in corrupt Panem.
In the book Talkin’ Bout a Revolution, there is a quote that stuck out to me “There is a difference between songs that weigh in on social issues and songs that are written in a deliberate attempt to bring about social change.” (Weissman, 2010, p. 171 ch.5). I think about this quote a lot because it is something that comes to mind whenever I hear any song that is political or has political undertones. The Ballad of the Songbirds and Snakes soundtrack is about fictional events but can relate to real life. For example, I have seen many refer to the songs when talking about the genocide happening in Gaza. It brings people together to gain comfort during difficult times. I believe wholeheartedly that they were written to bring awareness to the control we have placed upon us in society and to inspire us to change it. “Throughout the history of American folk and popular music, songs have commented upon social conditions. Some of the subjects of these songs have included the plight of minority groups, Robbin Hood heroes who reputedly steal from the rich and give to the poor, historical events, and contemporary issues” (Weissman, 2010, p. 171 ch.5). This is a callback that goes hand in hand with the previous quote basically referring to folk music that is written with intentions to cause a change in different groups.
Works Cited
- Talkin’ Bout a Revolution: Music and Social Change in America by Dick Weissman
- What Inspired Suzanne Collins to Write The Hunger Games? –
- The Tragic Meaning Behind Billie Holiday’s ‘Strange Fruit’
- The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes explains the Hanging Tree song origin |