Movie Music Monday – Shrek 2

Celebrating its 21st anniversary today is Shrek 2, which debuted in theaters May 19, 2004. It brought back our favorite characters from the first film and introduced us to some new ones.

The soundtrack included some great songs. Accidentally in Love by Counting Crows was written especially for the film. It also included Changes by David Bowie, Funky Town by Lipps Inc, and Holding Out for a Hero by Frou Frou. One of my favorites on the soundtrack is a cover of an old Buzzcocks tune.

Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve)? dates all the way back to 1977. Band member and songwriter, Pete Shelley, explained that the song was inspired by a line of movie dialogue. “We were on a roll. It was only six months since we’d finished the first album. Up in Manchester this was what we used to dream of… a whirlwind of tours, interviews, TV. We were living the life. One night in Edinburgh we were in a guest house TV lounge watching the musical Guys and Dolls. This line leaped out – ‘Have you ever fallen in love with someone you shouldn’t have?’ The next day the van stopped outside a post office and I wrote the lyrics there. I did have a certain person in mind, but I’ll save that for my kiss’n’tell. The music just seemed to follow, fully formed.”

A few folks have covered the song including the Fine Young Cannibals in 1986. For Shrek 2, it was Peter Yorn who did it.

Yorn has been recognized as one of his generation’s best songwriters. He is also a singer and musician. One of the things he is known for is playing the majority of instruments on all of his songs.

Fun Fact: Peter Yorn has collaborated twice with actress/singer Scarlett Johansson: first in 2009’s Break Up and again with 2018’s Apart.

In the film, Shrek, Donkey and Puss in Boots are in the Fairy Godmother’s lab trying to find a specific potion. Puss in Boots finds it, but has issues getting it out of the case. This leads to a mess and the Godmother’s security system going off. As the trio tries to escape, an abbreviated version of Yorn’s song plays.

Here is the full tune.

It definitely get’s your toes tapping ….