Released September 20, 2005 Recorded 2005 Label Warner Bros. | Format CD Genre Soundtrack Writer(s) Danny Elfman | |
"Remains of the Day" is one of the four main songs sung in the 2005 stop-motion animated film Tim Burton's Corpse Bride. It was composed by Danny Elfman, along with all other music for the film.
The song is the second one in the movie, and vital to the plot. The character Bonejangles (voiced by Danny Elfman) introduces the song with the following lyrics: "What a story it is; a tragic tale of romance, passion and murder most foul". Then, Bonejangles and other skeletons and corpses from the Land of the Dead sing the song with a fast and jazzy melody, and the lyrics explain how Emily (the Corpse Bride) died. A wealthy young woman, famed for her beauty, Emily was seduced by a "mysterious stranger." However, her father forbade her to marry the man due to his poverty. The stranger manipulated Emily into eloping with him; Emily donned her mother's wedding dress, took her jewels and a purse of gold, and went to the churchyard in the middle of the night to meet the man. However, he murdered her, stole her jewels, wealth and hid her body beneath an oak tree. In death, Emily vowed to remain there until her "true love set her free."