- For the official score composed by Garry Schyman, see I Am Rapture - Rapture is Me.
BioShock's licensed soundtrack helped contribute to the immersive atmosphere of the game with real world licensed music reminiscent of Rapture's time period. Most of them came from the mid-Twentieth Century and cast a feeling of the past in the ruins of the fallen utopia. Several other songs have been licensed without appearing in-game, though some are still present in the game's files, and two more were added for the release of the game on PlayStation 3 systems. Also, three modern tracks were recorded by Moby and Oscar the Punk for The BioShock EP album included in BioShock's Limited Collector's Edition released in August 21, 2007.
Appearing in-game
The following are the songs and music played while exploring distinct locations in BioShock.
| Song title | Artist | Year | Location(s) in game |
|---|---|---|---|
| "La Mer" | Django Reinhardt | 1949 |
|
| "If I Didn't Care" | The Ink Spots | 1939 |
|
| "The Party's Over Now" | Noël Coward | 1959[1] |
|
| "The Best Things in Life are Free" | The Ink Spots | 1947 |
|
| "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams" | Bing Crosby | 1931 |
|
| "It Had to be You" | Django Reinhardt | 1938 |
|
| "God Bless the Child" | Billie Holiday | 1941 |
|
| "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" | Bing Crosby | 1933 |
|
| "Bei Mir Bist du Schön" | The Andrews Sisters | 1937 |
|
| "Jitterbug Waltz" | Django Reinhardt | 1942 |
|
| "Night and Day" | Billie Holiday | 1939 |
|
| "Liza (All the Clouds'll Roll Away)" | Django Reinhardt | 1946 |
|
| "Twentieth Century Blues" | Noël Coward | 1959 | |
| "Beyond the Sea" | Bobby Darin | 1959 |
|
| "Waltz of the Flowers" | Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky | 1892 |
|
| "(How Much is) That Doggie in the Window?" | Patti Page | 1966[2] |
|
| "It's Bad for Me" | Rosemary Clooney | 1955 |
|
| "Please Be Kind" | Django Reinhardt | 1938 |
|
| "Papa Loves Mambo" | Perry Como | 1954 |
|
| "You're the Top" | Cole Porter with Vince Giordano & his Nighthawks | 2004[3] |
|
| "Danny Boy" | Mario Lanza | 1952 |
|
Bobby Darin: Beyond The Sea
Additional Licensed Songs
Only short snippets of the following songs are heard during gameplay.
| Song title | Artist | Year | Location(s) in game |
|---|---|---|---|
| "And All the While I'm Loving You" | Essential Jazz Masters | production music |
|
| "Wild Ride" | The Faux Frenchmen | 2007 |
|
| "The Ballroom Waltz" | Cliff Eidelman | 1997 |
Note: the filename is labeled as "academyaward" and Major Nelson's list states the artist as Stanley Black, but research has shown that these are not the same songs |
The following songs are found in their entirety in the game's PC files but are not known to play in-game.
| Song title | Artist | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Just Walking in the Rain" | Johnnie Ray | 1956 |
|
| "World Weary" | Noël Coward | 1928 |
|
These song names are found in the PC files, but they are not playable. Several versions of the songs may exist. The most popular have been chosen to be representative.
| Song title | Artist | Year |
|---|---|---|
| "Rosalie" | Artie Shaw and his Orchestra | 1939 |
| "I Loves You, Porgy" | Billie Holiday | 1948 |
| "Jive at Five" | Count Basie Orchestra | 1937 |
| "Lil' Darling" | Count Basie Orchestra | 1958 |
| "Too Young" | Nat King Cole | 1951 |
Several more songs that appear to have been licensed for the game but do not appear in the final version or in any of the game files.[4]
| Song title | Artist | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Avalon" | Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli | 1935 | - |
| "Let's Fly Away" | Lee Wiley | 1940 | - |
| "Just One of Those Things" | Lee Morgan | 1957 | - |
| "This is a Changing World" | Noël Coward | 1946 | - |
| "You're Getting to be a Habit with Me" | Bing Crosby and Harry Edison | ? | Crosby and Edison have recorded their own takes on this standard. It is not known if there exists a recording where they've performed together |
| "Academy Award" | Stanley Black | production music | Previously mistaken as being the "Ballroom Waltz" |
PlayStation 3 Exclusives
| Song title | Artist | Year | Location(s) in game |
|---|---|---|---|
| "You're Getting to be a Habit With Me" | Buddy Rich (drums) and Harry "Sweets" Edison (trumpet) | 1955 | loading screen |
| "Dream" | Pied Pipers | 1946 | end credits; BioShock 2 "Sea of Dreams" teaser |
| "Getting Closer" | Bill Brown | production music | BioShock PS3 Trailer |
The BioShock EP
CD Sleeve front cover.
This album was recorded by Moby and Oscar the Punk for the Limited Collector's Edition of BioShock. The first two songs are remixes of original ones present in-game, while the third, composed by Paul Patterson, uses various sounds and voices from the game.
- Beyond the Sea - 03:15
- God Bless the Child - 03:58
- Wild Little Sisters - 03:56
References
- ↑ The game uses the short version from the 1959 album Noel Coward in New York. Coward did however, record a full-length version in the 30s.
- ↑ The game does not use the original 1952 hit recording which featured Patti Page singing with overdubbed vocals of herself. It is a re-recorded version made by Page in 1966 that instead has her solo voice accompanied by an orchestra.
- ↑ The song uses Cole Porter's original 1934 vocals, but overdubbs the piano with additional strings and drums from the CD It's De Lovely - The Authentic Cole Porter Collection
- ↑ "BioShock Music list" post by Major Nelson on his blog.