Martin Scorsese’s use of popular music in Goodfellas – Film Analysis

By Robert Seebach

Goodfellas was released by Warner Bros. in 1990. It was directed by Martin Scorsese and stars Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco and Paul Sorvino. The screenplay was written by Martin Scorsese and Nicholas Pileggi based upon Pileggi’s 1985 book Wiseguy.

Goodfellas follows the lives of three anti-heroes who are members of an organized crime family. The film focuses on Henry Hill and his progression as a member of a Mob crew. Henry narrates the story. His wife, Karen also narrates. Scorsese’s use of music acts as yet another narrator in the film.

Martin Scorsese is on record stating the importance of music within his films. For Scorsese, music is never simply background music. Rather, music serves a direct purpose. It enhances the storytelling. Scorsese grew up during the pre-television era. Scorsese states in a recorded interview with The Narrative Art, “Music was played when we were living on the Lower East Side, particularly in the summer, the windows were open, we’d see things in the streets – fights – or people dancing or something. And there’d be music coming from different windows, different places, whether it was rock and roll, swing, or opera, or anything like that; so that my life was scored with music that I never heard in film. So I said, if I ever make a film, I’d put this song against that.” (Scorsese, 00:1:03 – 00:01:27)

Goodfellas is a perfect example of this. This storytelling through music begins immediately as we hear Tony Bennett’s “Rags to riches” playing over the title credits. The mood and lyrics of this song inform the audience about Henry Hill’s character. Henry’s acceptance into the Mob allows him to go “from rags to riches.” Scorsese uses music to describe Henry’s trajectory throughout the film.

The music used during Henry’s childhood is period appropriate music which is either upbeat or romantic. There is an innocence to the music of this time period of the 1950s. Henry views the Mob in terms of a better life; he romanticizes it and the music used throughout these scenes reflects this. As an adolescent Henry begins spending more time around the mobsters, skipping school in order to work for them parking cars, selling bootleg cartons of cigarettes, and making sandwiches for wiseguys. They become his surrogate family. The nostalgic, upbeat music of the ’50s and ’60s symbolizes Henry’s outlook on life. Henry’s home life is mundane and his father physically abuses him. Henry is now a part of the romantic, powerful family of mobsters he used to idolize from his bedroom window.

An example of this is when Henry meets Jimmy Conway for the first time. The song played during this scene is another 1950s upbeat song titled “Speedo”, performed by The Cadillacs. Henry is enraptured meeting Jimmy. The song choice here reflects an elevating cadence from previous scenes, mirroring Henry’s elevating involvement in the world of wiseguys.

When we see Henry as an adult, Scorsese uses classic rock and roll songs. This type of music from the 1960s and 1970s symbolizes rebellion, decadence, and a carefree attitude. This of course mirrors Henry’s lifestyle during this period in the film. The Rolling Stones’s “Gimme Shelter” initiates Henry’s drug abuse. There are scenes of Henry as and adult which still utilize more innocent, romantic music. When henry first starts dating Karen, he takes her to the Copa Cabana. Scorsese uses The Crystals’ song “Then He Kissed Me” throughout the long shot of Henry escorting Karen in and through the Copa Cabana. This is Karen’s introduction into Henry’s world. Henry’s lifestyle seduces Karen. The romance is merely an interlude however and the carefree rock and roll lifestyle continues to grow.

Scorsese uses Cream’s “Sunshine of Your Love” to depict the exact moment Jimmy decides to kill Morrie. By using slow motion, along with the use of “Sunshine of Your Love” which is a brooding song, and with Deniro’s facial expressions, we the audience not only know what is going to happen, we feel it. It’s almost as though we experience the thought at the same time Jimmy does.

This occurs in an earlier scene in which Tommy kills Billy Bats in Henry’s restaurant. As Tommy returns to the restaurant Donovan’s ominous song “Atlantis” plays. The song begins slowly and builds to a more intense chorus as Billy Bats’s beating takes place.

If there is one scene I’d recommend someone to watch which exemplifies Martin Scorsese’s use of music in film, it would be the “Helicopter Chase/Last Day as a Wiseguy” scene near the end of Goodfellas. This is a perfect scene. And Scorsese’s use of music is what drives the scene.

This scene depicts a hectic, paranoid, drug-fueled day in the life of Henry Hill. The scene starts out with a time stamp consisting of the day, month, and year, as well as the exact time. The scene opens with “Jump into the Fire” by Harry Nilsson and Henry snorting Cocaine.

If one listens to the lyrics of this song, they coincide with the actions and feelings of Henry’s character. As the song starts we see Henry snorting a line of Cocaine, getting ready to head over to Jimmy’s house in order to sell him some guns and silencers. The first two lines of the song are “You can climb a mountain/You can swim the sea.” (Nilsson, Harry, 01:53:21 – 01:54:02) These lyrics describe perfectly, the euphoric “I can do anything, I’m invincable” feeling Cocaine produces. This song is used as an anchor and is employed two other times throughout this scene. It’s utilized to mimic Henry’s Cocaine use, which by this point in the film has become a habit. We hear Muddy Waters sing “Manish Boy” when Henry is at his girlfriend’s apartment snorting lines of Cocaine and packing up the rest to take with him.

One reason I describe this as a perfect scene in terms of its use of music is that it isn’t just Scorsese’s choices of music, but the way in which it is edited. Camera movements coincide with the music. The abrupt cutting of Mick Jagger’s “Memo From Turner”, to The Who’s “Magic Bus, Live at Leeds”, coincides with Henry’s distraction while driving and nearly getting himself into an accident.

Another example is Henry and Karen driving to Karen’s parent’s house while the helicopter follows. Henry careens around a corner, driving erratically as The Rolling Stones’s “Monkey Man” plays. Before leaving Karen’s parent’s house, Henry surveys the sky for the helicopter. Henry concludes that the “coast is clear” and we hear “Manish Boy” by Muddy Water singing, “Everything, everything gonna be alright this morning.” (Waters, Muddy, 01:58:15 – 01:58:20) The music quickly changes to George Harrison’s “What is Life”, reminding the audience that what we are witnessing in this scene is Henry’s unstable life.

Editor Thelma Shoonmaker and Martin Scorsese brilliantly use short clips of various songs to not only mirror the sentiments of the main character, but to set the pace of the scene. Scorsese uses six songs throughout a scene in which the running time is approximately 10 minutes. Shoonmaker chops songs up into small portions, frantically skipping from one song to another. The scenes mirror the music. Periodic time stamps flash on the screen adding to the urgency. All of these elements working together produce a frantic, chaotic, paranoid feeling, which was exactly Scorsese’s intent. He wants the audience to feel the chaos which has becomes Henry’s life. Henry is spinning out of control.

Another notable use of popular music is the outro to “Layla” by Derick and the Dominos which plays over a montage of mob associates being found dead, having been “whacked” at the orders of Jimmy Conway. The outro to Layla has a melancholy, “this is the end of the road” feel to it, which is a perfect song to choose because at this point in the film Henry’s life with organized crime is coming to an end.

Scorsese also uses the lack of music as a tool. Once Henry is captured by DEA agents and his Mob lifestyle is over, the music ceases. In fact, there is no music for the final few minutes of the film while Henry goes through the transition of an exciting, decadent life to one of obscurity. The lack of music in these final scenes symbolizes how dull Henry’s life has become. The music is over.

There are many more examples of Scorsese’s brilliant use of popular music than the one’s I’ve mentioned here. I implore everyone who enjoys Scorsese’s films to review Goodfellas with a focus on how he uses popular music as a secondary narrator. No one utilizes music in film better than Martin Scorsese, especially in the “Helicoptor chase/Last day as a wiseguy” scene in Goodfellas, which is cinematic gold.

Works Cited

Bennett, Tony. “Rags to Riches.” 1953: Colombia 78: 40048, Adler, Richard, Ross, Jerry, Colombia Records, 1953.

The Cadillacs. “Speedoo.” The Fabulous Cadillacs, Navarro, Esther, Josie Records, 1955.

Cream. “Sunshine of Your Love.” Disraeli Gears, Brown, Pete, Atlantic Records, 1967.

The Crystals. “Then He Kissed Me.” And Then He Kissed Me (single), Spector, Phil, Greenwich, Ellie, Barry, Jeff, Philles (US, Canada), London (UK), 1963.

Derek and the Dominos. “Layla.” Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, Polydor Records, Atco Records, 1970.

Harrison, George. “What is Life.” All Things Must Pass, Apple Records, 1970.

Jagger, Mick. “Memo From Turner.” Performance, Richards, Keith, Decca Records, 1970

Leitch, Donovan. “Atlantis.” Barabajagal, Epic Record, 1969.

Nilsson, Harry. Nilsson Schmilsson, RCA Records, 1971.

The Rolling Stones. “Monkey Man.” Let It Bleed, Decca Records, 1969.

Goodfellas. Dir. Martin Scorsese. Warner Bros., 1990. Film.

The Narrative Art. “Martin Scorsese on Music and Film.” Online video/audio clip. YouTube. YouTube, 4 May 2018.

Muddy Waters, “Manish Boy.” Manish Boy (Single), London, Mel, Diddley, Bo, Chess, 1955

The Who. “Magic Bus.” Live At Leeds, Decca Records, 1970.