History Main / CutSong

* ''[[VideoGame/GoldenEye1997 GoldenEye]]'' on the Nintendo 64 has a DummiedOut BGM composed for the Jungle stage, which lacks music except for the battle with Xenia. Also, like ''VideoGame/PerfectDark'' mentioned below, several levels have unused alert/action themes (due to only two music/ambience cues being allowed for each level), although a few of them can be heard in multiplayer.

* ''[[VideoGame/GoldenEye1997 GoldenEye]]'' on the Nintendo 64 has a DummiedOut BGM composed for the Jungle stage, which lacks music except for the battle with Xenia. Also, like ''VideoGame/PerfectDark'' mentioned below, several levels have unused alert/action themes, although a few of them can be heard in multiplayer.

* ''Franchise/FireEmblem'': ''VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn'' has many songs in its disc that went unused and likely replaced by other songs. Some songs that are remixes of songs from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance'' like "On Black Wings" (Naesala's theme), Memory of Mom (Mist's theme), and Victory is Near, were also never used in the game. One of the most infamous cut songs is a remix of Alm's Theme #2 from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGaiden'', which implies that the game was going to have Trial Maps like its predecessor as it used a remix version of a song in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar''. [[https://serenesforest.net/music/radiant-dawn-game-rip/ See the soundtrack page]] in Serenesforest.net to listen to them. [[spoiler:Interestingly, one of the songs (Victory Theme 01) is repurposed in the English version of the game where Micaiah destroys the Blood Pact as it was a scene that only appeared in the localization and not the original.]]

* ''VideoGame/TheAddamsFamily: Fester's Quest'' has an unused song that appears to be either an alternate boss theme or a BGM for the UFO, which in the released game uses the boss theme as its BGM.

* ''[[VideoGame/GoldenEye1997 GoldenEye]]'' on the Nintendo 64 has a DummiedOut music that appears to have been composed for the Jungle stage, which lacks music except for the battle with Xenia. Also, like ''VideoGame/PerfectDark'' mentioned below, several levels have unused alert/action themes, although a few of them can be heard in multiplayer.

* ''[[VideoGame/GoldenEye1997 GoldenEye]]'' on the Nintendo 64 has a DummiedOut music that appears to have been composed for the Jungle stage, which lacks music except for the battle with Xenia. Also, like ''VideoGame/PerfectDark'' mentioned below, several levels have unused alert/action themes.

* Handel's ''Messiah'' had many numbers abridged, rewritten, or transposed for different UsefulNotes/VoiceTypes, but a few were entirely replaced for the first few performances, though few alterations were made to Charles Jennens' text:

* Music/OrdenOgan made the decision to cut the song [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMW3FuE38Fk "December"]] from their 2021 album ''Final Days'', a themed album about TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. The song, written and recorded in 2019, describes a biological weapon releasing from a lab in "the east" which wipes out most of humanity while fake news hampers the response. This proved [[LifeImitatesArt uncomfortably similar to conspiracy theories]] about the real-world UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic, so "December" was dropped from the original release of the album out of respect for victims. They ended up releasing it a year later as part of the "Orden Ogan and Friends" rerelease.[[/folder]]

* "The Game" is not sung in the film version of ''Theatre/DamnYankees'', though its tune recurs instrumentally. It would have been tricky to {{Bowdlerise}} the lyrics to be in line with UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode, though pacing was another likely reason the song was cut.

* A non movie-musical example: ''Film/WilliamShakespearesRomeoAndJuliet'' originally involved a song called "Come What May". Creator/BazLuhrmann was able to salvage it for use in his next film, ''Film/MoulinRouge'', but could not be nominated for a Best Original Song [[UsefulNotes/AcademyAward Oscar]] because it was not [[ExactWords written specifically for the film in which it appeared]].

** The UsefulNotes/PC88 version of ''VideoGame/YsIAncientYsVanishedOmen'' contains numerous DummiedOut songs, which can be heard via a hidden SoundTest. "Theme of Adol" was used as the opening theme of the UsefulNotes/TurboGrafx16 CD version, and several other songs such as "Chase of Shadow", "Dreaming", "Battle Ground", "Over Drive", "Fair Wind", etc. were used in the PC remakes of ''Ys I'' and ''[[VideoGame/YsIIAncientYsVanishedTheFinalChapter II]]''

** Similarly, "Butterfly (Upswing Mix)" was cut from the first US UsefulNotes/PlayStation ''DDR'' mix, with some of its data being left in, although it later appeared in ''DDR Extreme 2'', and the original mix was in ''Ultramix 3'' and ''X 2''. Other deleted songs included "That's The Way", "Kung Fu Fighting", and "Strictly Business", [[NoExportForYou which never appeared in any US mixes]].

* At least nine of Aubrey Hodges' {{ambient}} tracks composed for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation version of ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' didn't make it into the game, but eventually saw release on the [[https://aubreyhodges.bandcamp.com/album/doom-playstation-official-soundtrack-20th-anniversary-extended-edition 20th Anniversary Extended Edition soundtrack]].

* ''Theatre/CloserThanEver'' gradually developed out of a file of urban-themed songs Richard Maltby, Jr. and David Shire added to for yeras. The first of these was "The Bear, the Tiger, the Hamster and the Mole," which was cut from the workshop of ''Baby'' when the authors realized that nothing else could be done with any character who would sing that. Other songs written for ''Baby'' that found a home in ''Closer Than Ever'' (most with revised lyrics) were "Like a Baby" (replaced in the second act of ''Baby'' by "With You"), "I Wouldn't Go Back" (part of the original ending which was revised during previews), "Patterns" (included on the original cast album of ''Baby'' and the published script but not performed during the Broadway run) and "Fathers of Fathers."

* Promo copies of [[Music/StoneTemplePilots Scott Weiland's]] solo debut ''12 Bar Blues'' included the song "Lazy Divey" - the track was most likely cut from the album at the last minute for copyright reasons, as the refrain is an adaptation of 1940s novelty song "Mairzy Doats". It would eventually appear as a bonus track to a 2023 remaster of the album.

* Promo copies of [[Music/StoneTemplePilots Scott Weiland's]] solo debut ''12 Bar Blues'' included the song "Lazy Divey" - the track was most likely cut from the album at the last minute for copyright reasons, as the refrain is an adaptation of 1940s novelty song "Mairzy Doats".

-->-- '''[[VideoGame/{{Touhou}} ZUN]]''', on [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkL8UKsMFWY "Magic Shop of Raspberry"]]

* The earliest VideoGame/{{Touhou}}-games (PC-98) had several unused tracks. One of the most popular is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkL8UKsMFWY Magical Shop of Raspberry]], one of ZUN's personal favourites.
** The fangame ''Marine Benefit'' adds [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qw_KxY2PO8w The Flower of the Forgotten Kaikeidou]]. Originally intended for the game's Omniverse spell cards (which are akin to Imperishable Night's last words), the in-game Omniverse instead plays the respective characters' themes for their spell cards instead. A strange decision in itself, but it's particularly JustForFun/{{egregious}} with Miyo Amazu, who is a one-shot midboss and therefore doesn't ''have'' a theme in the first place.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

** ''Just Dance 4'': "So Good" by Music/{{BoB}}, "Respect" by Music/ArethaFranklin

* The Creator/MarxBrothers film ''Film/ADayAtTheRaces'' is another instance: "A Message from the Man in the Moon", which was to have been sung in the film by Allan Jones, remained only in the instrumental party music and a couple of lines sung by Groucho Marx in the movie's RepriseMedley finale.

* ''Theatre/{{Parade}}'' lost several songs following its Broadway production. Britt Craig's big introductory number "Big News" is cut from most major productions, while retaining the reprise version "Real Big News". Similarly, Craig's brief opener at the beginning of Act 2, "It Goes On and On", is nearly always cut and replaced with a short choral piece led by Tom Watson. Newt Lee's Testimony and its reprise in Act 2 are also frequently cut and replaced with Minnie Mcknight's Testimony. Finally, in terms of other cuts and replacements, the song "People of Atlanta" and the character of Fiddlin' John are often cut and replaced by Watson's song "Hammer of Justice", while Judge Roan's song "Letter to the Governer" is usually replaced by "The Glory", a duet for Roan and Hugh Dorsey.

* The soundtrack for ''Anime/CowboyBebop: Knocking on Heaven's Door'' (TheMovie) has a song called "No Reply". It's a beautiful ballad that details how a man commits suicide by jumping to his death, and only in mid-fall, after it is too late to go back, does he realize that the woman he loved was the entire reason for his existence. Every other song on the soundtrack plays in the movie, including numerous unreleased songs, but not that one. It is a rather obvious case of LyricalDissonance, but that never stopped other songs on the soundtracks from playing at various points in the series where the lyrics or tone of the song didn't quite fit into the scene.

* ''Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex'' has four opening songs: "Inner Universe", "Get9", "Rise", and "[=CHRisTmas in the SiLent ForeSt=]" and four individual animations to accompany each song. 4 openings for a 52 episode series, changing every 13 episodes-- something not uncommon to see in anime. The US release of the series only uses "Inner Universe" for the first season, and "Rise" for the 2nd. While "[=CHRisTmas in the SiLent ForeSt=]" is played at the end of the final episode, "Get9" is nowhere to be heard. The special features on the [=DVDs=] didn't even include those openings to be viewed by the audience, so [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes the only place you can see them is online]]. On top of that, the [[NoExportForYou Japan-exclusive]] ''Smooth in the Shell" OST includes 49 minutes of music that may or may not be heard at some point in the series. [[EpicRocking The entire OST is one large song file]]. No breaks, and no names for each song segment. One of the songs heard is a full length rap song that is never heard anywhere in the series.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTheMovie2017'''s original opening theme, "Equestria", was swapped out at the last minute for a pony version of "[[Music/TheGoGos We Got the Beat]]", but still made it onto the soundtrack album, and its instrumental appears in the credits suite.

* ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'' has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrM07OhoTY4 an unused alternate version of "Sail Barge Assault"]], which was salvaged in the radio adaptation of ''ROTJ'' and two levels of ''[[VideoGame/RebelAssault Rebel Assault II]]''. There's also an unused piece of {{source music}} by Joseph Williams, said to sound like elevator music, that has never been released to the public, due to the loss of the master tapes. "Lapti Nek" and "Yub Nub" became cut songs in the Special Edition, being replaced by "Jedi Rocks" and "Victory Celebration", respectively.

* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'', Each of the main characters has their own {{leitmotif}}, but Wakka's curiously never plays at any point... except the Sphere Theater, which is basically a glorified SoundTest.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhSNmb-4Qr0 An 8-bit rendition of Marble Zone]] is present in ''Sonic 1'' for the Game Gear.

** ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog3'' had a different soundtrack prior to Michael Jackson's involvement. A remastered version of this soundtrack was reused for the original PC port and the ''Sonic Origins'' CompilationRerelease due to legal issues.

* In ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'' a number of songs which never made it into the game made it onto the soundtrack regardless, possibly because they didn't want to waste any tracks just because they ran out of room in the game. The ports to mobile and the Nintendo Swtich did eventually find space for the cut songs to be used but several songs that came out in the interim between the original and mobile port were only available in a microtransactions shop, essentially relegated to the same status as the formerly cut songs.
* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn'' has many songs in its disc that went unused and likely replaced by other songs. Some songs that are remixes of songs from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance'' like "On Black Wings" (Naesala's theme), Memory of Mom (Mist's theme), and Victory is Near, were also never used in the game. One of the most infamous cut songs is a remix of Alm's Theme #2 from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGaiden'', which implies that the game was going to have Trial Maps like its predecessor as it used a remix version of a song in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar''. [[https://serenesforest.net/music/radiant-dawn-game-rip/ See the soundtrack page]] in Serenesforest.net to listen to them. [[spoiler:Interestingly, one of the songs (Victory Theme 01) is repurposed in the English version of the game where Micaiah destroys the Blood Pact as it was a scene that only appeared in the localization and not the original.]]

* ''VideoGame/BanjoKazooie''. There are four unused songs still in the game data, including [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJbFHSyAOvQ&feature=related two]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RML_Dv2wdp4&feature=related versions]] of the Click Clock Wood theme, and something called [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWq2ItI3i4U "Mumbo's Raindance"]]. The most notorious, however, is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFzz52Eimzs&feature=related "Advent"]], mainly because it sounds totally unlike anything else in the game. Some theorized that it was for the cut level Fungus Forest, but in fact, it's actually left over from ''very'' early in development, when the game was still called ''Project Dream'', and the song was meant to be used for a map screen.

** The ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4'' website contained voice clips from each of the characters. One of Sunny's was her humming the ''Metal Gear Solid'' main theme. Thanks to the plagiarism scandal, she sings a different melody in the final game.

* ''VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire'' have some hidden tracks that are remixes of tracks from ''[[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Pokémon Gold and Silver]]''. The UpdatedRerelease of the former pair, ''Emerald'', has the entire ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen]]'' soundtrack, with most except the cave music and the "Pokémon caught" music being unused. ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue'' has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8Eu1VX5lz0 an unused track]] hidden within its coding, not on the GBS itself strangely.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyII'' had a dummied out BGM (which was supposed to be a dungeon theme) "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOMhFHi4hAY&feature=related Dungeon]]" which was still in the game code. Six years later, this very song was enhanced for ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' as the BGM for the town of Jidoor during the World of Ruin. There were also a removed "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlTAP3RM42c& Airship]]" theme (presumably removed for being too cheery in a rather depressing game), "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfftlpFUTM8&feature=related Shop]]" theme, and "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7Vd6DFLgLs Battle Scene 3]]".
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' had a pair of unused town themes. "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sthdrFFZBOk Town 2]]", "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ljz53aoGrXU Town 3]]".

* ''VideoGame/EarthBound1994'' has [[http://youtu.be/ULxMlnSh7O4 this]], a frankly rather ''chilling'' rendition of the cave/dungeon theme from [[VideoGame/EarthBoundBeginnings the prequel]], that never appears anywhere in the final game. Strangely, it's present in the Game Boy Advance remake as well, though still unused.

* In the sound test for ''VideoGame/KirbysDreamLand2'', there's a [[https://youtu.be/UV0tpp4W-Lo frantic-sounding song]] that doesn't play anywhere in-game. 20 years later, this song would be reworked into the Cave music for ''VideoGame/KirbyTripleDeluxe''.

[[folder:Visual Novels]]
* The Sound Test of ''VisualNovel/{{Yarudora}} series vol.2: VisualNovel/KisetsuODakishimete'' contains an unused track, Track n°17; given its place in the Sound Test (right between the beginning of Scene 18 and [[spoiler: the confrontation scene]]), that fast-paced track was probably meant to be played during the very short scene in-between, where the protagonist hurriedly rides back to his home. Track n°16, the BGM playing at the beginning of Scene 18, is prolonged to that short scene instead.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]

* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7f7qDT07Mw Scarf Dance]]" is an unused melody from ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' meant for a deleted scene of Sokka dancing in "The Headband".

* The [[Film/MammaMia film version]] of ''Theatre/MammaMia'' cut out "The Name of the Game" (shown as a deleted scene at the DVD), which was in the actual Broadway show. It also scrapped out of the original script three songs: "Under Attack", "One of Us" and "Knowing Me, Knowing You", the last one being replaced with "When All Is Said and Done".

* ''Theatre/{{Matilda}}'' loses five songs on its [[Film/RoaldDahlsMatildaTheMusical transition to celluloid]], primarily the ones that don't advance the plot ("Pathetic", "Loud", "This Little Girl", "Telly" and the reprises of "When I Grow Up" and "Naughty").

** The stage version originally had "Summer Night City" (itself the musical's working title) sung just after the prologue. It was cut after the London production's first previews, supposedly because the scene took things too fast by introducing nearly the entire cast all at once. After its removal, the characters were introduced gradually throughout the first act. This also resulted in switching the placement of "Money, Money, Money" and "Honey, Honey", as Sophie's friends were now introduced a scene before Donna's. The song survives instrumentally as scene change music after "The Winner Takes It All", as well as in the form of distorted lyrics heard during the entr'acte.

* "Hey Bulldog" by Music/TheBeatles was originally written for ''WesternAnimation/YellowSubmarine'', but ended up being cut (at least from US prints - it was included in BBC screenings) and was only released on the soundtrack album, despite being [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGrEZH7j1bQ insanely good]]. The song was added back for the 30th anniversary version of the film.

* "When Messiah Comes" is perhaps the best-known Cut Song from ''Theatre/FiddlerOnTheRoof''. It was to have been sung by Tevye in the final scene, but its gallows humor tone didn't go over with preview audiences. One of the other removals, the rejected opening number "We Haven't Missed a Sabbath Yet", has lyrics for a tune that ultimately remained in the score only as set change music.

* Anthony Newley’s notorious autobiographical X-rated musical ''Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness'' had "Oh, What a Son of a Bitch I Am", which appears on the soundtrack album but was cut from the film.

[[folder:Theme Parks]]
* ''Ride/CountryBearJamboree'': When the Walt Disney World version was renovated in 2012, "Pretty Little Devilish Mary" and "Fractured Folk Song" were deleted for time along with much of the dialog between segments.
* ''Ride/JourneyIntoImagination'':
** Before settling on "One Little Spark" by Music/TheShermanBrothers, the ride's theme song was originally a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojrqyUEr-F0 very different track]] written by Bob Moline (who has written several songs for Epcot attractions, such as "Golden Dreams" for ''The American Adventure'' and "Energy (You Make the World Go Round)" for ''Universe of Energy'').
** "One Little Spark" itself had one and a half verses cut from the original ride's soundtrack [[note]]though said cut lyrics are included in the 1994 song book ''A Souvenir Disney Songbook - Favorite Songs from Disneyland & Walt Disney World''[[/note]]. The half verse that was kept was heard just before lightning flashes in the opening scene.
* "Sooner or Later" from Disneyland's version of Ride/SplashMountain, originally heard during the rabbit warren segment, was replaced by "Burrow's Lament", a DarkReprise of "Laughing Place". In turn, the Walt Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland versions of the ride skip the vocal part of "Burrow's Lament" and only use the alternate instrumental version, when Bre'r Rabbit is being tortured on the final conveyor belt lift. The instrumental of "Sooner or Later" can still be heard in the queue.
[[/folder]]