When the Harry Potter story was adpated for film in 2001, it featured a rich soundtrack composed by the legendary John Williams, with the main theme becoming as iconic and representative to the Harry Potter franchise as Williams’ fanfare for Superman or Star Wars. But did you know a rock icon took it upon himself to write and compose his own Harry Potter song with the intent of having it be a part of the Harry Potter soundtrack?
Bruce Springsteen, apparently inspired by the original story in the series (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone), wrote a song titled “I’ll Stand By You.” The song comes off as a message from Potter’s parents, according to Bruce superfan Andrew Sims of Hypable. You can listen to the unreleased track below and draw your own conclusions if you wish. The song is making the rounds on the Internet now after being released by a dedicated Springsteen collector.
https://soundcloud.com/sims89-1/12-ill-stand-by-you-always-2001-demo
So why did this song never see the light of day? For starters, music artists are known to have a good collection of unreleased tracks, so the thought of a Springsteen song never getting released on an album or as a single is not unfathomable. The story goes Springsteen offered this song to original Harry Potter director Chris Columbus, but the song was rejected by Warner Brothers. Harry Poter stuck with a more traditional orchestral soundtrack.
Springsteen’s track couldn’t even get on a side album of music inspired by the film. That’s rough.
[Hypable/Photo: Bill Ebbesen]
