Thursday, July 12, 2018

Streep performs three songs on soundtrack to "Mamma Mia!" sequel

The soundtrack for Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again will be released tomorrow (Friday) Meryl is listed three times on the recently revealed tracklist:

• When I Kissed the Teacher - Lily James, Jessica Keenan Wynn, Alexa Davies and Celia Imrie

• I Wonder (Departure) - Lily James, Jessica Keenan Wynn and Alexa Davies

• One of Us - Amanda Seyfried and Dominic Cooper

• Waterloo - Hugh Skinner and Lily James

• Why Did It Have to Be Me? - Josh Dylan, Lily James and Hugh Skinner

• I Have a Dream - Lily James

• Kisses of Fire - Panos Mouzourakis

• Andante, Andante - Lily James

• The Name of the Game - Lily James

• Knowing Me, Knowing You - Jeremy Irvine, Lily James, Pierce Brosnan and Amanda Seyfried

• Angel Eyes - Christine Baranski, Julie Walters and Amanda Seyfried

• Mamma Mia - Lily James, Jessica Keenan Wynn and Alexa Davies

• Dancing Queen - Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgard, Amanda Seyfried, Christine Baranski, Julie          Walters and Pierce Brosnan

• I've Been Waiting for You - Amanda Seyfried, Christine Baranski and Julie Walters

• Fernando - Cher and Andy Garcia

• My Love, My Life - Amanda Seyfried, Lily James and Meryl Streep

• Super Trouper - Cher, Meryl Streep, Christine Baranski, Julie Walters, Pierce Brosnan, Colin      Firth, Stellan Skarsgard, Andy Garcia, Amanda Seyfried, Dominic Cooper, Lily James, Jessica      Keenan Wynn and Alexa Davies

• The Day Before You Came - Meryl Streep

Lily James is obviously a large part of the picture, based solely how much she's represented in the recording. I'm particularly looking forward to hearing "My Love, My Life."  "The Day Before You Came" is likely Meryl's big moment in the film.

Earlier today there was also a new featurette where Meryl discusses her involvement:


The film opens next Friday, July 20.

13 comments:

  1. Yea she's dead. :(

    My favourite ABBA song and one of my favourite songs ever is The Day Before You Came. I'll cry. Interestingly, one of the (less romantic) interpretations of the lyrics is the female signing about the day before she died. You = death. Makes the song even more poignant in some ways.

    Really looking forward to Angel Eyes too. You can pretty much tell the thrust of storyline from the song order haha. All in all a great selection - I really think this will be a better movie than the first from a critical viewpoint in spite of limited Donna.

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  2. Golly Gosh, here is The Day Before You Came by Meryl:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7e1NCWWluKo

    Amazing interpretation and indeed her big moment! So wistful and emotion-laden. Like Sondheim said, Meryl has a wonderful gift of bringing out meaning and feeling in the lyrics.

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  3. I've listened to this 4 times now and I'm having horrible visions of this being used in a montage of flashbacks to Donna's death. The emotional backbone of the movie which will hit like a punch. All her friends caring for her in her last months. It is very powerful and lends itself to that sort of story.

    It's tone is so different from the other music; even the downbeat songs included. It could work incredibly well, Donna with all her family and friends. Done sensitively and respectfully it could be amazing.

    Just speculating. I'm mesmerised by the song. Again, I guess it would maybe be too much for the old fans who expect uplifting joy and fun but I can't help getting that vibe from Meryl's singing. It feels like a profound moment in the moment if the song is included in full. What do others think?

    Meryl would be unlikely to come back unless there was something new and interesting to draw her. Never thought I'd be so intrigued by this!

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  4. You can tell that she's dead judging by the order of the song list. The Day Before You Came is my second favourite song by Abba after The Winner Takes It All and I'm glad both have been sung by our gal. I think the movie is going to end on a nostalgic note with the cast bidding farewell to her. David.

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  5. David, in the order of the songs so you agree with me that this song narrates Donna's death. It is so out of place in tone nd music to be anything other than the movie's most serious note.

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  6. James, I would think she's dead and she will come back (as a vision or spirit in her daughter's mind) to sing a song with her daughter coupled with another vision of her young self - hence the song by Meryl, Lily and Amanda. Either that or she has gone away for a long while after breaking up with Pierce's character and to return to celebrate her daughter's pregnancy. The Day before you came may be the second last song to bid farewell to Meryl's character but I think the movie will end on a happy note with everyone singing Super Trouper including Meryl's ghost to reconcile with her mother (Cher) and the entire cast. Just a speculation. David.

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  7. The Day Before You Came is confusing. It talks about her having this same routine since she finished school, and we obviously know that this had not been her routine since before she had Sophie. Hadn't she settled on the island before she'd given birth? So surely the song must be retrospective, about her life before she went to live on the island? Although then she sings about House of Cards which I think came out after the last film - so by that reference the song is indeed sung after the last film was set. Either way from my point of view, the context of this song is confusing. I really hope she has not died.

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  8. The lyrics of the song really mean life really never began before this moments day. It doesn't have to be literal. It's more about sleepwalking through life until something changes it. Or even more broadly, not appreciating something until something happened to take it away.

    I'm fine with the character being killed off if it's well written and gives the movie some emotional heft. Unlikely there will be a 3rd so it makes little difference to us seeing Donna in the future.

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  9. I agree with your commentents regarding the lryics. However the lyrics of the songs in the first film seem to be quite accurate to the plot. I had always thought this song was about depression, but I cannnot see this being sung to represent Donna's death when she is talking of her city life. It does not fit the picture we have of Donna after the last film at all. It pictures her before it all happened, I think.

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  10. True but I can see it fitting with Donna and Sam talking about how sorry it was to lose so much time together before they reunited. Sam feeling guilty how he'd messed up then Donna singing about her life before they did marry and how it's been amazing since in spite of her being ill now.

    The tone is too sad though for it to not be bittersweet. I see a great montage of scenes. You cab read so much from Meryl's tone and interpretation which is amazing!

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  11. James, I just heard Meryl's take on The Day Before You Came....wow it's heartbreaking. I didn't like the first movie but if Meryl's character is the thread that binds their loss together and provide the gravitas to an otherwise campy and carefree movie, it may be able to lift the story to another level and I think I may like it better. David

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  12. David, glad you hear your opinion. I've fallen so in love with the song I couldn't help expounding all my ideads here. I may be totally wrong! I agree with what you say, this song over the right scenes would be amazing. We've been led to believe Donna is dead and really from the scenes where Sophie meets Donna Cradling a baby it's pretty clear she's gone.

    I'm very curious, if that is the case, maybe screenwriters sent other versions where Donna was front and centre and Meryl refused. If I was a screenwriter I'd never have the balls to write out Meryl (and on of the movie's beigest draws) unless she refused to star first. Is the screenplay we're going to see a compromise?

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  13. James, I'm also rather surprised they wrote her out (assuming she's dead)...she's the main reason the first one got made anyway. I think I will tear up if she's on screen singing that song with the montage of her life. But then again, who knows? She may after all be alive...David

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