Stray, Gravity, and the songs of Wolf's Rain

An American rock singer opens it, a Japanese singer closes it, and both songs are in English. That was the design.

Wolf's Rain is bookended by two of the most loved theme songs in anime, both sung in English, both written for the show. The opening, "Stray", is performed by Steve Conte, the New York rock singer Kanno also used on Cowboy Bebop, with lyrics by Tim Jensen. It is the pack's song: restless, guitar-led, sung from inside the life of a stray animal who has stopped apologizing for it.

The ending, "Gravity", is performed by Maaya Sakamoto, composed by Kanno with lyrics by the unit Troy, Tim Jensen and Mayu Jensen. Sakamoto released it as her tenth single on February 21, 2003, on Victor Entertainment, while the series was still airing. Where "Stray" runs, "Gravity" kneels: a piano ballad about the pull that drags everything down and the wish to be held anyway. Anime News Network's soundtrack review called it the piece that best shows how much feeling Kanno can pack into a single work.

Two more songs carry the ending of the story. "Tell Me What the Rain Knows", sung by Sakamoto with lyrics by Chris Mosdell, is the closing theme of the final television episode and sits at the heart of the second soundtrack album. "Heaven's Not Enough", sung by Conte, belongs to the OVA episodes: the song the series saves for the actual end of the world. Around them, the albums hold a small United Nations of voices: Joyce singing in Portuguese on the Brazilian sessions, Raj Ramayya on "Strangers", Ilaria Graziano on "Flying to You" and "Valse de la Lune".

THE FOUR SONGS THAT MATTER MOST

Opening, ending, and the two closers

Stray

Opening theme. Steve Conte, lyrics by Tim Jensen. Track 1 of the first soundtrack album, and the show's thesis in five minutes.

Gravity

Ending theme. Maaya Sakamoto, lyrics by Troy. Released as a single on February 21, 2003; track 20 of the first album.

Tell Me What the Rain Knows

The final television episode's closing song. Maaya Sakamoto, lyrics by Chris Mosdell. On the second album.

Heaven's Not Enough

The OVA song. Steve Conte. Opens the second soundtrack album, which is where the ending lives in music as in picture.

Stray, Gravity, and the songs of Wolf's Rain

THE FOUR SONGS THAT MATTER MOST

THE FIRST WORD