The songs in “The Last of Us” make the series adaptation of the video game of the same name an emotional experience. But which music can be heard when?
The fact that music plays more than a minor role in “The Last of Us” becomes clear by the end of the first episode at the latest: Joel (Pedro Pascal) communicates with Bill (Nick Offerman) and Frank (Murray Bartlett) via songs on the radio. A song from the ’60s means something like “nothing new to report,” a track from the ’70s means “there’s fresh merchandise,” and a track from the ’80s reports big trouble. We list all the songs of the new horror-drama series including timecode and plot.
The Last of Us Theme Song: The song from the game
If you’ve already played the video game “The Last of Us,” you might reminisce at the intro of the HBO series of the same name, because the title track is the same song. To be more precise, it is a composition by Gustavo Santaolalla, which was developed especially for the game. The sounds of the Argentinean musician could already be heard in the film world before “The Last of Us”. Santaolalla even won the Oscar twice for the film music for “Brokeback Mountain” and “Babel” (via IMDb).
You can find the song on Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer and Amazon Music, among others
Songs from The Last of Us: Episode 1 to 8
Are you tormented by an earworm from the latest “The Last of Us” episode, but you just can’t figure out what the song is called? You’ll find the answers in our overview:
| Consequence | Timecode | Song | The plot of the scene | Listen to the song |
| 1 | 00:04:52 | “Tomorrow” – Avril Lavigne | Sarah (Nico Parker) makes breakfast | Spotify |
| 1 | 00:05:37 | “White Flag” – Dido | Sarah and Joel have breakfast egg with bacon | Spotify |
| 1 | 00:10:20 | “I Can’t Believe You’re Back” – Jad Mhanna, Roy Abdallah and Carole Aoun Team | Sarah enters the store | Spotify |
| 1 | 01:09:35 | “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” – Wham! | Song is not heard, but Ellie names the lyrics to find out what Joel’s radio code means | Spotify |
| 1 | 01:15:45 | “Never Let Me Down Again” – Depeche Mode | Song starts on Joel’s radio at the end of the episode while no one is in the room | Spotify |
| 2 | 00:00:19 | “Hampa” – Ari Lasso | People sitting in a snack bar in Jakarta | Spotify |
| 2 | 00:49:11 | “Allowed to be Happy” – Gustavo Santaolalla | Ellie looks back at the explosion while Joel continues walking. She turns to him and looks after him melancholy. By the way: The song is from “The Last of Us Part II” | Spotify |
| 3 | 00:16:58 | “I’m Coming Home to Stay” – Fleetwood Mac | Bill plunders the city and builds a new, safe home for himself | Spotify |
| 3 | 00:20:05 | “White Room” – Cream | Four years later: Bill returns with new loot and listens to the music while working | Spotify |
| 3 | 00:28:20 | “Long Long Time” – Linda Ronstadt | Frank plays the song on the piano, Bill does the same | Spotify |
| 3 | 00:52:21 | “On The Nature of Daylight” – Max Richter Orchestra & Lorenz Dangel | Bill decides to fulfill Frank’s last wish and they experience one last day together. | Spotify |
| 3 | 00:58:41 | “Vanishing Grace (Childhood)” – Gustavo Santaolalla | Bill puts Frank to bed | Spotify |
| 3 | 01:07:03 | “Chains of Love” – Erasure | Ellie and Joel enter Bill’s basement | Spotify |
| 3 | 01:10:09 | “Long Long Time” – Linda Ronstadt | Ellie and Joel leave the premises in the car (you can hear the original song) | Spotify |
| 4 | 00:04:55 | “Alone and Forsaken” – Hank Williams | Ellie finds a cassette in the car, Joel plays it | Spotify |
| 4 | 00:42:15 | “True Faith” – Lotte Kestner | The credits are running | Spotify |
| 5 | 00:33:59 | “Soft Descent” – Gustavo Santaolalla | Ellie, Joel, Sam and Henry run across the street | Spotify |
| 5 | 00:55:28 | “Fuel to Fire” – Agnes Obel | Ellie and Joel continue on foot | Spotify |
| 6 | 00:41:43 | “All Gone (Partners)” – Gustavo Santaolalla | Joel and Ellie argue and Joel thinks back to Sarah | Spotify |
| 6 | 00:45:42 | “The Path (A New Beginning)” – Gustavo Santaolalla | Ellie and Joel ride towards the university | Spotify |
| 6 | 00:54:55 | “Never Let Me Down Again” – Jessica Mazin (piano cover) | Ellie is left with the wounded Joel, credits begin | Amazon Music |
| 7 | 00:03:04 | “All Or None” – Pearl Jam | Ellie’s Flashback: She runs in circles at the FEDRA Academy, the argument with a classmate escalates | Spotify |
| 7 | 00:20:47 | “Take On Me” – a-ha | Riley and Ellie try out the escalator at the mall | Spotify |
| 7 | 00:24:30 | “Just Like Heaven” – Rockabye Baby! | Ellie and Riley ride carousel | Spotify |
| 7 | 00:43:17 | “I Got You Babe” – Etta James | Ellie and Riley dance to the music in the horror business | Spotify |
| 7 | 00:50:03 | “Left Behind” – Gustavo Santaolalla | Ellie searches for needle and thread and treats Joel’s wound | Spotify |
| 8 | 00:46:43 | “Unbound” – Gustavo Santaolalla | Joel finds Ellie and they both leave the resort. | Spotify |
What does the song at the end of episode 1 mean?
In Joel’s apartment, Ellie comes across a note that explains the radio code with Bill and Frank. At first, Joel doesn’t want to tell Ellie what it means when a song from the 80s comes on the radio, so she lures him into a trap. When Joel wakes up from sleep, Ellie claims that “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” was heard. She can tell by Joel’s reaction that a song from the ’80s doesn’t bode well. When the two have already left Joel’s apartment, a song does indeed sound. It’s “Never Let Me Down Again” by Depeche Mode – a hit from 1987. So Bill and Frank are in trouble. But we won’t find out exactly what it’s all about until we stream it on WOW in the coming weeks.
