Songs from 'When Marnie Was There': theme song and insert songs
A special feature on the theme song and insert songs from the film “When Marnie Was There,” directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, who also helmed “The Secret World of Arrietty.”
It tells the story of the protagonist, Anna Sasaki, and the mysterious girl Marnie, who come to cherish each other after their fateful meeting.
Their delicate relationship—at times fragile, at times colliding—shows how they grow stronger at heart, resonating with both adults and children.
Enjoy both the film and the music to your heart’s content!
Songs from When Marnie Was There: Theme and Insert Songs (1–10)
Hisako's Story (1)Takatoki Muramatsu
In When Marnie Was There, Hisako, who appears as a street painter, is also an indispensable character in telling the story.
This piece was used as the background music for the unforgettable, tear-jerking scene where Marnie’s past and personality are recounted.
Overlapping with Marnie’s tragic history, the music enriches the episode’s emotional depth.
Every time I listen to this piece, I feel as if I can hear Hisako’s gentle, storytelling voice.
While cutting a tomatoTakatoki Muramatsu
The wetlands of Kushiro in Hokkaido, which Anna visited to recuperate from asthma, were a place rich in nature and filled with kind people.
Staying with the Oiwa family, who welcomed her, Anna learned many things.
Moving from a dark apartment room to living with the Oiwas, she reflects on her past, and the way her personality and expressions gradually change is reflected in this simply titled song as well.
Fine On The OutsidePriscilla Ahn
The theme song for the 2014 film When Marnie Was There.
Priscilla Ahn had long been a huge Studio Ghibli fan, and her love for Japanese music—evident in projects like her album covering J-pop—led to her being selected to perform the theme.
Her husky voice, the sound of the acoustic guitar, and the relaxed tempo gently wrap around you.
Two people on a boatTakatoki Muramatsu
The “Wet Marsh House” stands where, when the tide comes in, the path is swallowed by the sea.
The mansion where Marnie and Anna met and formed a bond is like a magical place that, as time passes, leaves you unable to return.
This arrangement of “Marnie,” used in the scene on the small boat that connected the two, is also a wonderful theme song—gentle and unhurried, yet imbued with a sense of mystery.
MarnieTakatoki Muramatsu
Titled “Marnie,” this piece serves as the main theme of the work and is reused in various scenes.
Within the story, the aspects of Marnie that remain largely unexplained are part of what makes this piece so beautiful, and the music has an aura that makes it a perfect theme song for her.
Even the flute’s breaths seem to narrate the world of the story.
I Am Not AlonePriscilla Ahn
Until now, it had been customary for Studio Ghibli film theme songs to be performed by Japanese artists with Japanese lyrics.
However, this time it drew attention because it was created by American singer-songwriter Priscilla Ahn.
Her delicate vocals and simple guitar, which fit perfectly with the world of When Marnie Was There, suit the story beautifully and add greater depth to the ending theme.
Shimecchi ManorTakatoki Muramatsu
In the story, there’s a Western-style mansion that people stopped living in after it came to be called the “Damp House.” This Damp House is the most striking setting in the work, and this is its theme song—a piece for that eerie and mysterious building.
The soaring strings, the high piano, and the low marimba harmonies evoke the house’s ethereal presence, making it a quintessentially “Marnie” track.