These are the most memorable songs used for The Walking Dead trailers throughout the years.
If you are anything like me, you often search to find the songs or songs used for The Walking Dead trailers right after watching them. More often than not I’m discovering new musical artists and groups that I otherwise might not have known about if it weren’t for the TV series trailers.
Usually, after I listen to the song my mind permanently makes the association of said song to the show from that point onward. These songs range in several musical genres like folk, alternative, and indie.
They are songs guaranteed to get stuck in your head with memorable lyrics and undeniably melodic tunes. But some songs stand out amongst the rest used throughout the glorious years The Walking Dead aired on AMC.
The following are the top 5 songs used in The Walking Dead trailers. These are listed in no particular order but be warned that there may be some spoilers ahead if you have not caught up on the show.
The Walking Dead Trailer Song: Black – Kari Kimmel
At about the halfway mark of The Walking Dead’s Season 3 trailer, we get this catchy tune that follows a steady beat with lyrics that fit the television series perfectly. By this point in the trailer, the scenes shift from several characters trying to hold on after having to constantly outrun walkers to who The Governor may really be behind his charms.
Will the group finally find a new home at the prison? What is the story behind Woodbury and The Governor?
The now infamous quote from the series, “Fight The Dead. Fear The Living,” feels more real than ever before alongside the dramatic, repetitive but effective lyrics of the song are a match made in apocalyptic heaven. Not to mention you’ll enjoy the goosebumps and chills.
This is one tune you’ll be singing for days on end.
The Walking Dead Trailer Song: Take What’s Mine – Future Royalty
If there was one song that could fit Season 9 perfectly, it was surely Future Royalty’s Take What’s Mine. Does the song reference Rick Grimes?
Negan? Or perhaps someone else entirely?
At this point on The Walking Dead characters are either out to help build a better world or out to take everything without a second thought. What better way to convey Ricks’ hard work of bringing everyone together after defeating Negan than with a song with such lyrics as “You don’t know what it’s like to walk a mile in my shoes. You don’t know what it’s like to rule kingdoms that bow to you,” and “Well, better men than you will come and try to take the power.”
Let’s face it Rick himself knows how fragile it all is. All it takes is one person to step out of line and all the work he had been doing would have been for nothing.
If only he knew where all his hard work would leave after his disappearance. Who said being the leader was easy?
The Walking Dead Trailer Song: Serpents – Sharon Van Etten
The Walking Dead Season 4 trailer channeled a major theme regarding “change”. At this point, the group had become accustomed to living in the prison believing it to be safe until one day it’s not.
Who will stay and who will leave? How can they keep everyone safe from outside dangers?
The song flows soothingly in both an eerie and calming tone while scenes jump around from the trials at the prison to large walker herds still roaming the outside world and eventually the radio transmission from Terminus. Following a catchy rhythm like Kari Kimmel’s Black, Serpents by Sharon Van Etten is a song you’ll not be able to get out of your head, especially when going on a long drive or completing everyday tasks.
The Walking Dead Trailer Song: The Parting Glass – Emily Kinney and Lauren Cohan
How can The Parting Glass not make this list? Everyone remembers when Beth and Maggie sing this sweet tune before a roaring fire amongst their friends and family during the beginning of the Season 3 trailer.
The Parting Glass may actually be a song dating back to the 1770s but the meaning behind it still holds up, even on a show where walkers roam making it hard for anyone to survive. Both Beth and Maggie sing the tune as the characters find the prison for the first time.
They look onto the prison with the hopes that it could become their home. The song doesn’t last the length of the trailer but it does last long enough for a message about hope and enjoying the company of friends to come across strongly.
It is at this point in the series the group had become a family, ready to protect and fight for each other without question. If you are ever having a bad day, lift your spirits by giving this song a listen.
The Walking Dead Trailer Song: Take It All – Ruelle
Solemn, bone-chilling, dark, and chaotic are just some of the words to describe The Walking Dead Season 7 trailer. Those same words can be used to describe Ruelle’s Take It All.
While the song is not used for very long in the just over the three-minute trailer, its use is nonetheless unbelievably effective. Especially considering the song starts just as the trailer shifts from the faces and voices of the characters at the lineup to scenes of Negan thrashing Lucille over his victim and choice warnings from the likes of Sherry and Dwight.
The tone leaves no room for hope for anyone in Negan’s path except for perhaps the introduction of King Ezekiel and his loyal tiger Shiva. The song is well worth a listen or two, or several.
Will you be watching the final season of The Walking Dead? Comment your answer below, I’d love to read them!
The Walking Dead Season 11 airs on AMC August 22, 2021.