Stranger Things Season 5 All Songs: How They Use Music as a Narrative Weapon

Stranger Things Season 5 All Songs: From the moment the synth-heavy strains of the Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein score first pulsed through our speakers, Stranger Things established that music would be more than just background noise. It is the show’s emotional heartbeat, its nostalgic anchor, and a powerful narrative device in its own right. As the saga draws to a close in Stranger Things Season 5, the series demonstrates a masterful understanding of this principle. The final season doesn’t attempt to merely replicate the cultural phenomenon of Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill”; instead, it constructs a sophisticated emotional and thematic map where every song is a carefully placed landmark, framing a character’s crisis, a location’s aura, or a pivotal shift in the story.

Stranger Things Season 5 All Songs: How They Use Music as a Narrative Weapon

The musical selection for this final chapter is a journey through four decades—the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s—transforming the soundtrack into a parallel narrative. This secret code offers a deeper reading of the ending. This isn’t a nostalgia playlist; it’s a curated audio diary of the apocalypse. Let’s pull on our headphones, rewind the cassette, and explore what it sounds like, where it sounds, and, most importantly, why it matters.

Episode 1: Echoes of the Past and Fragile Normality

The premiere episode, “The Crawl,” uses music to re-establish our connection to these characters while subtly signaling how they’ve changed and what horrors await.

“Should I Stay or Should I Go” by The Clash (Performed by Noah Schnapp)

• The Scene: We find a solitary Will Byers in the reconstructed ruins of Castle Byers, humming and softly singing this iconic punk anthem to himself.
• Why It Matters: The choice is profoundly resonant. This was the song his brother, Jonathan, taught him to cling to in Season 1—a lifeline during his captivity in the Upside Down. Here, the original recording is absent; all we hear is Will’s trembling, a cappella voice. This is a powerful statement: Will is no longer the boy who needed a physical cassette for comfort. He has internalized his trauma, and the song has become a fragile mantra, a ghost of his past self. The fact that a Demogorgon attacks before he can find solace in the chorus brutally underscores that the past is not just a memory; it is an active, present danger.

“Rockin’ Robin” by The Jackson Five

• The Scene: The first full, diegetic song of the season bursts from the speakers of Hawkette Radio, courtesy of an energetic Robin Buckley.
• Why It Matters: The song’s bright, unadulterated joy feels almost jarring against the backdrop of a quarantined, dying Hawkins. This deliberate dissonance is classic Stranger Things. The upbeat Motown track creates a mirage of normality, a desperate attempt by the characters to maintain a shred of their old lives. Its purpose is to make the interruption—the static, the panic, the return of the supernatural—all the more devastating. It reminds us that the comfort of the familiar is the first casualty in a war against the unknown.

“Upside Down” by Diana Ross

• The Scene: Robin and Steve use the song’s metadata and lyrics as a coded communication channel to coordinate with the rest of the group.
• Why It Matters: This is a meta-narrative masterstroke. The series takes a 1980 hit literally titled “Upside Down,” with lyrics about reversed roles and topsy-turvy realities, and weaponizes it. It’s not just a clever code; it’s a thematic echo. As the characters discuss the song’s “reversed bassline,” they are simultaneously planning their next incursion into the inverted dimension. The music becomes the message, both literally and figuratively, blurring the line between the pop culture of our world and the life-or-death stakes of theirs.

“Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” by Kate Bush

• The Scene: Will hands the now-iconic cassette tape to Lucas at the hospital, a tangible link to their comatose friend, Max.
• Why It Matters: The series wisely avoids overusing its greatest musical hit. Its first appearance is quiet, somber, and heavy with grief. It’s no longer Max’s anthem of escape; it is a ghost haunting the living. The song functions as a bridge between seasons, a painful reminder of a battle lost and a friend suspended between life and death. It establishes that “Running Up That Hill” will not be a one-season wonder in the Stranger Things universe, but a persistent, evolving leitmotif with unfinished business.

Episode 2: Domestic Bliss Shattered

“The Vanishing of Holly Wheeler” uses music to build an atmosphere of domestic tranquility, only to shatter it with brutal efficiency.

“Fernando” by ABBA

• The Scene: Karen Wheeler attempts to create a sanctuary of normalcy with a relaxing bubble bath, a glass of wine, and the soothing sounds of Swedish pop.
• Why It Matters: This sequence is one of the most chilling uses of contrast in the entire season. ABBA’s melancholic yet beautiful ballad about soldiers remembering a past battle creates a false sense of security and peace. Karen’s quiet humming along is the picture of suburban calm. And then, the volume of the music drowns out Holly’s scream. The Demogorgon’s attack is rendered all the more violent and terrifying because it invades this perfectly constructed, melodic safe space. The song becomes the sound of ignorance right before the world breaks.

“Mr. Sandman” by The Chordettes

• The Scene: The episode’s closing moments reveal the terrifying truth: Holly’s imaginary friend, Mr. Whatsit, is the human face of Henry Creel.
• Why It Matters: The use of this sweet, innocent 1950s harmony is pure psychological horror. The Chordettes’ plea for a “dream” lover is perverted into a lullaby for a nightmare. The song’s association with wholesome Americana and simpler times makes the revelation of the monster lurking beneath it all the more disturbing. It’s a direct auditory parallel to Vecna’s new strategy: hiding his monstrous intent behind a friendly, familiar facade.

Episode 3: Ironic Bliss and Desperate Triumph

“The Turnbow Trap” explores the twisted reality of Vecna’s domain and a fleeting moment of human ingenuity.

“I Think We’re Alone Now” by Tiffany

• The Scene: Inside the mentally constructed “Camazotz,” a pristine version of the Creel House, Holly Wheeler listens to this 1987 pop hit on a cassette given to her by Henry.
• Why It Matters: The irony is thick and deeply unsettling. The song’s lyrics celebrate the freedom and thrill of being alone with a loved one, but here, that “alone-ness” is a prison. The cheerful synth-pop is a tool of manipulation, a gift designed to build trust and mask the horrific reality of her situation. The scene is drenched in an eerie, false sweetness, showing how Vecna uses the aesthetics of innocence to disarm and control.

“Oh Yeah” by Yello

• The Scene: In a moment of desperation, Dustin has a eureka moment, realizing they can use Steve’s car for a crucial part of their plan.
• Why It Matters: Famously featured in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, this quirky, infectious track is synonymous with teenage rebellion and triumph. Its use here is a brilliant injection of classic Stranger Things energy. It momentarily cuts through the gloom, scoring a small, impromptu victory and reminding us of the kids’ resourcefulness. It’s a musical wink that says, “Even at the end of the world, we can still have a cool moment.”

Episode 4: War Movies and Mental Prisons

“Sorcerer” raises the stakes, and the music follows suit, evoking classic cinema and the fragile nature of memory.

“The Great Escape” by Elmer Bernstein

• The Scene: As Robin lays out a complex plan to infiltrate the military base, the triumphant, marching theme from the 1963 war film scores the sequence.
• Why It Matters: This is a clear statement of intent from the Duffer Brothers. By using the theme from The Great Escape, they are consciously framing their final season within the tropes of a POW war movie. Our heroes are the prisoners, Hawkins is the camp, and this is their most daring breakout attempt yet. The music lends a sense of grand, cinematic scale and classic heroism to their mission, elevating it from a simple plan to an epic operation.

“Sh-Boom (Life Could Be a Dream)” by The Chords

• The Scene: Max, trapped within Vecna’s mind, navigates a memory of a 1959 Hawkins High School dance.
• Why It Matters: The upbeat, doo-wop perfection of “Sh-Boom” creates a veneer of idyllic, American nostalgia. It’s the sound of a past that never truly was, a memory curated by a villain. The cheerful melody is a mask, hiding the rot and malevolence at the core of Henry Creel’s origin story. It makes the scene feel off-kilter and sinister, a beautiful dream from which you cannot wake up.

“Running Up That Hill” – The Final Reprise

• The Scene: Deep within the mindscape, Max hears the distant, fading strains of her song as Lucas plays it in her hospital room. She uses it as a rope to climb towards a fleeting portal to freedom, but the tape ends, and the connection is severed.
• Why It Matters: This is the ultimate evolution of the song’s role. It is no longer just a shield or a memory; it is a tangible, yet fragile, lifeline. Its failure here is one of the season’s most heartbreaking moments. It confirms that the easy solutions of the past are gone. The “heartbeat” of Season 4 falters, proving that old weapons may not be enough to win the final war, setting the stage for a new kind of battle in Volume 2.

The soundtrack of Stranger Things Season 5 is a character in its own right—a guide, a manipulator, a comfort, and a warning. It proves that in the fight for the soul of Hawkins, the most powerful weapons aren’t always psychic blasts or shotguns, but sometimes, the right song at the wrong time.