Every Song In The Departed

Martin Scorsese’s The Departed was a return to form for the director, and it also delivered a memorable soundtrack stuffed with popular music. Released in 2006, the film saw Scorsese shift his sights from New York City to Boston, and it wove a tale of deceit and corruption within that city’s police force. Met with universal acclaim from critics (earning 91% on Rotten Tomatoes), the film gave Scorsese his first Best Director Oscar, with the movie itself winning a slew of awards. Like most of Scorsese’s best, The Departed‘s soundtrack was integral to the film’s storytelling and gave the viewer an insight into the inner world of the characters.

By showing both sides of the struggle between law and crime, The Departed had a much grander scale than Scorsese’s other gangster pictures, and the characters had more richness and emotional depth as well. Scorsese’s many needle drops in his movies quickly became a staple of his filmmaking style, and The Departed was a more streamlined soundtrack from the music aficionado director. Although he pulled from disparate genres like rock, rap, and even country, the precise use of the tunes elicited the largest emotional response possible. Far from being a soundtrack overstuffed with gratuitous popular music, The Departed‘s songs each had a purpose.

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Here’s every song in The Departed, in order:

• “Gimme Shelter” by The Rolling Stones
• “I’m Shipping Up To Boston” by Dropkick Murphys
• “Thief’s Theme” by Nas
• “One Way Out” by The Allman Brothers
• “Nobody But Me” by The Human Beinz
• “Let It Loose” by The Rolling Stones
• “Sweet Dreams (Of You)” by Patsy Cline
• “Well Well Well” by John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band
• “Bang Bang” by Joe Cuba
• “Sail On, Sailor” by The Beach Boys
• “Baby Blue” by Badfinger
• “Chi Mi Frena in Tal Momento” from Lucia di Lammermoor by Donzetti
• “Comfortably Numb (feat. Van Morrison & The Band)” by Roger Waters
• “Tweedle Dee” by LaVerne Baker
• “Sweet Dreams” by Roy Buchanan

When Each Song Plays In The Departed

“Gimme Shelter” by The Rolling Stones – Scorsese’s love affair with The Rolling Stones was well documented in his movies, and their classic tune played over the opening scene of the film when Frank met a young Colin Sullivan and began indoctrinating him into the ways of the Irish mob.

“I’m Shipping Up To Boston” by Dropkick Murphys – In one of the best music moments in The Departed, the Irish-American punk band underscored the scene in which Costigan was sent to jail in order to make his criminal record look more legitimate when he eventually went undercover.

“Thief’s Theme” by Nas – Showing that Scorsese was a connoisseur of all genres of music, the Nas track played during the scene immediately following Costigan and his cousin Sean’s drug deal. The song was heard playing on the car radio, which was the first time the film used diegetic sound.

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“One Way Out” by The Allman Brothers – Although The Departed was set in the Northeast, Scorsese went down South for the scene in which Costigan orders a cranberry juice and was insulted by one of Costello’s men. The blues-rock tune played underneath Costigan and French’s first major exchange in the film, as he explained the hierarchy in Costello’s gang.

“Nobody But Me” by Human Beinz – One of Leonardo DiCaprio’s best movies, The Departed allowed the actor to show his darker side in scenes like Costigan’s assault on two Providence mobsters in the store. The unusually upbeat song underscored the dark moment and was a clever contrast to the grizzly visuals presented on screen.

“Let It Loose” by The Rolling Stones – The second Rolling Stones song in only the first hour of the movie, the tune played behind the scene in which Costello and French interrogate Costigan about being a cop. The song played softly behind the violent scene in which the pair smashed Costigan’s injured arm, and it wasn’t meant to be as noticeable as other times Scorsese used The Rolling Stones music in his movies.

“Sweet Dreams (Of You)” by Patsy Cline – The song was actually used twice in the movie and the use of the word “dream” in the title had thematic value later. The first appearance of the song came in the scene where Costello and French discussed loyalty at Frank’s apartment, and the second came during the restaurant scene where Frank confronted the clergy members.

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“Well Well Well” by John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band – The wailing vocals of the John Lennon song could be heard underneath the scene at Frank’s apartment in which he discussed Lennon’s artistic abilities with Costigan. The cacophony of noise from the song was the perfect illustration of Costigan’s roiling emotional state during that moment.

“Bang Bang” by Joe Cuba Sextet – Martin Scorsese’s best movies often featured a wide variety of music, and the Latin jazz song was yet another genre added to The Departed‘s diverse soundtrack. The song was heard during the scene in which Costigan knocked out Jimmy Baggs’ teeth, and it continued into the next when Frank gave Costigan a cell phone which made him official.

“Sail On, Sailor” by The Beach Boys – Once the Patsy Cline song ended, The Beach Boys tune faded up beneath the small scene in which Frank Costello lambasted the clergy members who were eating at the restaurant.

“Baby Blue” by Badfinger – Perfectly accentuating the movie’s shocking twist, the song played while Costigan learned that Frank Costello was an FBI informant, and he went to visit Captain Queenan at his home.

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“Chi Mi Frena in Tal Momento” from Lucia di Lammermoor by Donzetti – Jack Nicholson has worked with great directors in his career, and his collaboration with Martin Scorsese yielded great results when he played Frank Costello. The arresting opera song from composer Donzetti played in the scene where Frank watched the show in the theater, and continued as he misused drugs with two women.

“Comfortably Numb (feat. Van Morrison & The Band)” by Roger Waters – Instead of using the original Pink Floyd version of the song, Scorsese opted to utilize the Live in Berlin track from former Floyd frontman Roger Waters. The song played as Costigan and Madolyn began their affair, and the song’s lyrics called back to Frank’s earlier line about not stopping “until you’re numb“.

“Tweedle Dee” by LaVerne Baker – The song played during the scene at the bar where Frank sends Costigan home and Delahunt jokingly said that Costigan was a cop.

“Sweet Dreams” by Roy Buchanan – The ending of The Departed saw Colin Sullivan finally get his just deserts from Dignam, and the use of the song “Sweet Dreams” immediately following his death scene was a brilliant piece of musical direction. The song played as the camera panned up from Sullivan’s body to reveal a rat that had skittered across the windowsill, and was thematically linked to the Patsy Cline song that was heard earlier.

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Where To Listen To The Departed Soundtrack

All the songs presented in The Departed were made available on the album The Departed (Music from the Motion Picture). Additionally, the film’s brilliant score composed by Howard Shore was released in The Departed (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack). Both albums were made available to stream on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, and Amazon Music.

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