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Gone With The Wind 

Rediscovering Buried Treasure 

In 1939 when Gone With The Wind was first released, the first long-playing record album of the score was still many years away. It should be remembered that records then were still fragile shellac 78 RPM disks, and the playing time for even a 12-inch "78," both sides, was only seven minutes or so. Then, too, musical scoring of dramatic sound films was still only seven or eight years from its very beginnings. Thus, in 1939 no one at M-G-M had any concern over the fact that they did not have the music master recordings.

DISC ONE

[TT 74:22] 



MAIN TITLE (4:06) 
The music behind the Selznick International trademark showing the front of the Southern-styled building, which, in fact, was the front of the Selznick International Studio on Washington Boulevard in Culver City, was written by Alfred Newman in 1937. 

This leads directly into the Steiner music for the "Main Title," which begins with a brief, arresting variation on "Dixie" and is followed by a short statement of the theme written for "Mammy" and then a rich, powerful rendition of the "Tara" theme. Toward the end of the "Main Title" a heavy brass passage announces the first part of Rhett Butler's motif, then back to the "Tara" melody and a muted chorus singing a wordless "Dixie." 


AT TARA, THE O'HARA PLANTATION IN GEORGIA 



TARA (2:13)
THE TWINS
KATIE BELLE

Composed by STEPHEN FOSTER

Public Domain
ASHLEY
MAMMY 


THE O'HARA FAMILY(6:17)
DRIVING HOME
GERALD O'HARA
TARA
GRAZIOSO
MAMMY
UNDER THE WILLOW

Composed by STEPHEN FOSTER

Public Domain
KATIE BELLE
PRAYER IN DESPAIR 


SCARLETT PREPARES FOR THE BARBECUE (2:20)
DRESSING SCENE
MAMMY
EXPECTANCY 
The opening sequence of the film, as in the novel, takes place on Tara's front porch, where we are introduced to Scarlett O'Hara--the personification of the Southern belle--and her two suitors, the Tarleton twins. The music accompanying this flirtatious, prewar banter is represented by a somewhat obscure Stephen Foster melody, "Katie Belle," interwoven with the Steiner motif "The Twins." Ashley's rather pensive and quiet descending motif is touched on, and there is a bit of the lilting tune associated with "Mammy." 

Gerald O'Hara, Scarlett's father, is represented by a theme in an Irish vein. "Prayer In Despair," depicting the entire Tara household at evening prayer, is a lift from Steiner's score for Selznick's 1938 The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer. A full syncopated statement of the theme for "Mammy" is heard during the dressing scene. 


AT TWELVE OAKS, THE NEARBY WILKES PLANTATION 



TWELVE OAKS (1:17)
LOUISIANA BELLE
DOLLY DAY
RING DE BANJO

All Composed by STEPHEN FOSTER

All Public Domain 


THE BARBECUE (EXTENDED VERSION) (5:23)
THE TWINS
MELANIE
KATIE BELLE
SCARLETT
RHETT
MELANIE AND ASHLEY 


AFTERNOON NAP (1:58)
SWEET AND LOW

Composed by JAY BARNBY

Public Domain
ANXIETY 


CHARLES HAMILTON CHALLENGES RHETT (1:07)
CAVALIERS OF DIXIE

Composer Unknown

Public Domain ANXIETY 


IN THE LIBRARY (2:31)
ASHLEY AND SCARLETT 
At Twelve Oaks we hear some charming atmospheric Stephen Foster tunes--augmented with banjo for flavoring. Melanie's lovely motif is introduced along with Rhett's heroic and purposeful martial-sounding theme. 

The "Melanie And Ashley" love theme is serene, tender, and spiritual as opposed to the intricate melody with which Scarlett throws herself at Ashley in the Wilkes library and the complex response elicited from the man she cannot have. This "Ashley And Scarlett" music recurs often in yearning, tormented developments. 



WAR IS DECLARED/THE DEATH OF CHARLES(4:03) DIXIE

Composed by D. EMMET

Public Domain
PROPOSAL
UNREQUITED LOVE
TAPS

Composer Unknown

Public Domain
MASSA'S IN DE COLD, COLD GROUND

Composed by STEPHEN FOSTER

Public Domain 
For spite, Scarlett marries Melanie's brother, Charles Hamilton ("Unrequited Love"), whose death during the war from pneumonia following an attack of measles is ironically commented on musically by Steiner's quotation from "Massa's In De Cold, Cold Ground." 


IN ATLANTA 



AT THE BAZAAR (1:03)
CHARLESTON HEEL AND TOE POLKA 


MARYLAND, MY MARYLAND (1:42)
Composer Unknown
Public Domain 


DANCES (1:51)
IRISH WASHERWOMAN

Composer Unknown

Public Domain
GARY OWEN

Composer Unknown

Public Domain
SOUTHERN BELLE WALTZ
RHETT
SCARLETT 
The "Charleston Heel And Toe Polka," "Southern Belle Waltz," etc., are heard during the bazaar at the Atlanta armory, where Rhett dances with Scarlett, who has recently lost her first husband and supposedly is in mourning. 



GETTYSBURG (:55)
WHEN JOHNNY COMES MARCHING HOME

Composed by L. LAMBERT

Public Domain 


OUTSIDE THE EXAMINER NEWSPAPER OFFICE (2:12) DIXIE
WHEN THIS CRUEL WAR IS OVER

Composed by H. TUCKER

Public Domain
WHEN JOHNNY COMES MARCHING HOME 

ASHLEY'S CHRISTMAS LEAVE 



AT THE DEPOT (1:06)
BONNIE BLUE FLAG

Composer Unknown

Public Domain
WARRIORS RETURN 


CHRISTMAS AT AUNT PITTY'S (4:56)
HARK, THE HERALD ANGELS SING
Composed by F. MENDELSSOHN
Public Domain
MELANIE AND ASHLEY
MELANIE
CAVALIERS OF DIXIE
TRAMP, TRAMP, TRAMP 
Composed by G.F. ROOT

Public Domain
ASHLEY AND SCARLETT 

THE SIEGE 



MELANIE AND SCARLETT TEND THE WOUNDED (1:21) FALL OF THE SOUTH 


SCARLETT'S PROMISE (3:37)
MELANIE AND ASHLEY
DIXIE
TRAMP, TRAMP, TRAMP 


TRAIN DEPOT (2:08)
DIXIE
MARYLAND, MY MARYLAND
OLD FOLKS AT HOME (SWANEE RIVER)

Composed by STEPHEN FOSTER

Public Domain
TAPS
BONNIE BLUE FLAG 
Scarlett had promised Ashley during his Christmas leave to look after Melanie, who is now about to give birth and cannot be moved. Scarlett then seeks out Doctor Meade, which brings her to the train depot, where seemingly thousands of wounded soldiers are sprawled on the ground as far as the eye can see. The camera pulls up and back, ending on the Confederate flag in the foreground of this tragic panorama. 


THE BIRTH OF MELANIE'S BABY 



MELANIE IN LABOR (:35)
SCARLETT
MELANIE
MELANIE AND ASHLEY 


RHETT RETURNS (2:59)
GOING HOME
TARA
MY OLD KENTUCKY HOME

Composed by STEPHEN FOSTER

Public Domain
MELANIE 

THE BURNING OF ATLANTA 



ESCAPE FROM ATLANTA(2:46)
THE ESCAPE
MARCHING THROUGH GEORGIA

Composed by H. C. WORK

Public Domain
DIXIE
BATTLE HYMN OF THE REPUBLIC

Composer Unknown

Public Domain 
Rhett rescues Scarlett, Melanie, Prissy, and Melanie's baby to take them away from Atlanta during the devastating fire and destruction of the city. 



SOLDIERS IN RETREAT (1:22)
DIXIE
CAVALIERS OF DIXIE
MELANIE
RHETT
SCARLETT 


RHETT AND SCARLETT ON McDONOUGH ROAD (3:13) RHETT
SCARLETT
McDONOUGH ROAD
TAPS
TARA 
Outside Atlanta, on McDonough Road, Rhett feels shame and remorse and decides to join the decimated Southern army for its last stand. He leaves the wagon with Scarlett and the others. 


RETURN TO TARA 



TWELVE OAKS IN RUIN/SCARLETT COMES HOME (4:40) SILHOUETTES
MELANIE AND ASHLEY
SCARLETT
TARA
GERALD O'HARA
MAMMY 


I'LL NEVER BE HUNGRY AGAIN! (6:06)
TARA
MARCHING THROUGH GEORGIA
GERALD O'HARA
DIXIE
MAMMY 
Desolate fields, charred buildings, mangled and trampled cotton--this is the Tara that Scarlett returns to. The "Scarlett Comes Home" music cue is somewhat different from the one used in the film, which under scored Scarlett discovering her mother is dead and incorporated, per Selznick's request, music written by Franz Waxman for a 1936 M-G-M picture, His Brother's Wife. The version on this CD represents Steiner's original intent. 

Desperately hungry, Scarlett goes into the fields, digs up a radish, chokes on it, and vows, "As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again!" Music up; fade out.



DISC TWO 

[TT 73:21] 

OPENING ACT II 



ALTERNATE ENTR'ACTE(1:48) 
The "Alternate Entr'acte" (not used in the film) was similar to the music treatment and mood in the preceding train depot sequence. For the "Entr'acte" eventually included Steiner drew upon "Dixie," "The Escape," and "Battle Hymn Of The Republic." 



BATTLE MONTAGE (2:55)
MAESTOSO TRAGICO
MARCHING THROUGH GEORGIA
TARA
GERALD O'HARA
MELANIE 


THE DESERTER (1:33)
THE YANKEE 


MELANIE AND SCARLETT (EXTENDED VERSION) (3:14) THE YANKEE
TARA
MELANIE 
At Tara, Scarlett has forced her two sisters and the remaining house servants to work in the fields picking cotton. After Scarlett kills a Yankee scavenger and, with the help of the recuperating Melanie, hides the body, the contents of his wallet provide them with some money for food. 


THE WAR ENDS 



IT'S OVER! (EXTENDED VERSION) (3:04)
GERALD O'HARA
DIXIE
WHEN JOHNNY COMES MARCHING HOME
MARCHING THROUGH GEORGIA
MAMMY
DIXIE
TARA 


FRANK KENNEDY ASKS FOR SUELLEN'S HAND (EXTENDED VERSION) (3:07) TRUE LOVE
MELANIE AND ASHLEY
TARA 
Frank Kennedy, Scarlett's sister Suellen's suitor, has returned from the war and has approached Scarlett, who is now the head of Tara following her father's mental breakdown, to ask for Suellen's hand. Scarlett gives her consent. This original Steiner music, "True Love," has an unmistakable Stephen Foster aura. Immediately afterward, up the driveway, a solitary soldier walks from the road toward the house. Melanie recognizes the figure as Ashley. Her arms outstretched, Melanie dashes closer to the approaching figure returning from the war. Scarlett also starts to run down the steps, but is stopped by Mammy's grip. "He's her husband, ain't he?" Fade out. 



PADDOCK SCENE (5:26)
WHEN JOHNNY COMES MARCHING HOME
TARA
ASHLEY
ASHLEY AND SCARLETT
MELANIE
MARCHING THROUGH GEORGIA
YANKEE DOODLE

Composer Unknown

Public Domain 


GERALD'S DEATH (EXTENDED VERSION) (2:26)
GERALD O'HARA
TARA 
Some time later, Ashley is splitting rails in the paddock at Tara when Scarlett goes to him for advice about tax money owed on Tara. Ashley has no solution, but admits that he loves Scarlett, even though he will never leave Melanie. 


RETURN TO ATLANTA/RECONSTRUCTION 



OLD FOLKS AT HOME (SWANEE RIVER) (:17) 


THE NEW STORE (:52)
NEW STORE
SCARLETT
THE GOSSIPS 
During the rigors of the Reconstruction, Scarlett again meets Frank Kennedy, now engaged to her sister Suellen, and learns that he has begun to make money running a store and a lumber mill in Atlanta. Using a full battery of lies and wiles, she marries him and pays the taxes on Tara with his savings. Scarlett gives Ashley a job--still hopelessly in love with him. 



SCARLETT IN SHANTYTOWN (2:30)
THE ATTACK
SCARLETT 


ASHLEY AND DR. MEADE/FRANK'S DEATH (1:57)
VIGILANTES
MASSA'S IN DE COLD, COLD GROUND
BELLE WATLING
ASHLEY AND MELANIE
MELANIE 


BELLE WATLING AND MELANIE(2:42)
BELLE WATLING
MELANIE 
Belle Watling is the gaudy prostitute with flaming red hair and a heart of gold who is a genuinely good friend of Rhett Butler. Her theme is warm and compassionate. Celesta and vibraphone articulate the melodic line. Then Belle secretly pays a call on Melanie. 



SCARLETT GETS TIPSY (:45)
SCARLETT 
Scarlett drinks heavily after her husband Frank's death, which is a result of his avenging an attack on her by scavengers. 


SCARLETT AND RHETT'S MARRIAGE 



NEW ORLEANS HONEYMOON (:30)
STARS OF THE SUMMER NIGHT

Composed by I.B. WOODBURY

Public Domain 


CAN-CAN (:34) 


SCARLETT'S NEW WARDROBE(:47)
DRESS SHOP
MAMMY 
After Frank's death, Scarlett marries Rhett. The "Can-Can," a Steiner pastiche of Offenbach, occurs during Scarlett and Rhett's honeymoon in a New Orleans café, where Creole dancing girls are entertaining. 



SCARLETT'S NIGHTMARE (2:24)
NIGHTMARE
TARA
SCARLETT
RHETT
BRIDAL CHORUS

From Lohengrin

Composed by ROBERT WAGNER

Public Domain
MAMMY 


BONNIE'S BIRTH (1:20)
SCARLETT
RHETT 
In New Orleans, Scarlett has a recurring nightmare during which she is cold and hungry and seeking something in the mist--but not finding it. She asks Rhett to take her to see Tara again, and later he offers to help her restore the plantation to the way it was before the war. Eventually they have a baby girl and name her Bonnie. 


CONFLICT 



TWENTY INCHES! (4:43)
DRESSING SCENE
MAMMY
ASHLEY
RHETT
BONNIE
BELLE WATLING 
Still longing for Ashley and desiring to have an 18-1/2" waist rather than 20", Scarlett tells Rhett that she no longer wants him to share her bedroom and doesn't want any more children. 



THE LUMBER MILL (2:11)
DEEP RIVER

Composer Unknown

Public Domain
SCARLETT
ASHLEY



AFTER THE PARTY (2:52)
FOR HE'S A JOLLY GOOD FELLOW

Composer Unknown

Public Domain
MELANIE
SCARLETT
THE HANDS
BONNIE
ASHLEY 
Following a surprise birthday party for Ashley, Scarlett and Rhett have a violent quarrel. Steiner's "The Hands" music cue refers to Rhett, in a drunken state, pressing his hands around Scarlett's head saying that he would like to remove Ashley from her mind forever. Then Rhett picks up Scarlett and carries her upstairs to the bedroom. 


LONDON NIGHT SCENE 



LONDON (2:35)
BONNIE BLUE FLAG
LONDON BRIDGE IS FALLING DOWN

Composer Unknown

Public Domain
RHETT
BONNIE 
Rhett leaves for an extended trip to London and takes their young child, Bonnie, with him. Beginning with the London interlude, Rhett's theme undergoes a transformation into a tender, sad, and haunting music treatment. 


RHETT AND BONNIE RETURN 



RHETT AND SCARLETT'S FIGHT (3:31)
THE ACCIDENT
BONNIE
MAMMY
RHETT 


THE DEATH OF BONNIE (2:27)
RHETT
BONNIE
SCARLETT
GERALD O'HARA 
Scarlett and Rhett have a series of misunderstandings. She has a miscarriage after an altercation with Rhett, and then Bonnie is killed in an accident while riding her pony--echoing Gerald O'Hara's death. 


TRAGEDY 



MELANIE AND MAMMY (3:49)
BONNIE
SCARLETT
THE LOCKED DOOR

Composed by WILLIAM AXT

Published by Loewe's Inc.
MELANIE
ASHLEY 
Steiner's music underscores a scene between Melanie and Mammy, when the latter tearfully tells of the terrible affects on Scarlett and Rhett of losing Bonnie. 



THE DEATH OF MELANIE (5:19)
MELANIE
ASHLEY
SCARLETT
MELANIE AND ASHLEY 
The tragedies multiply. Melanie dies and here Steiner's treatment of his "Melanie" theme is exceptionally moving. Scarlett has one last scene with Ashley, who says Melanie was the only dream he ever had that "didn't die in the face of reality." Scarlett now sees him as a tired, weak, middle-aged man with no particular glamour. 


FINALE 



SCARLETT IN THE MIST/RHETT LEAVES (5:54)
BONNIE
MELANIE
SCARLETT
RHETT 


FLASHBACK/FINALE (1:20)
GERALD O'HARA
TARA 
Scarlett realizes it is Rhett she really loves. But it is too late. He won't put himself in jeopardy after losing to Ashley for years and then losing Bonnie. As he leaves, Scarlett cries out, "What shall I do? Where shall I go?" And Rhett gives his classic answer: "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." 

Scarlett is momentarily stunned and defeated, but she gains renewed strength in deciding that her salvation is in Tara--the only thing that really matters, the only thing that lasts, and the one thing she loves more than any other. She vows, "I'll go home--and I'll think of some way to get him back. After all, tomorrow is another day!" The "Tara" theme and coda, accompanied by a full choir, majestically carry the final scene to the fade out.

--Annotations by Rudy Behlmer