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1%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample entries are commented out.
2
3->''"A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping,\
4Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted,\
5because her children are no more."''
6-->-- '''[[Literature/BookOfJeremiah Jeremiah 31:15]]''', ''Literature/TheBible''
7
8[[AC:For the proper reading experience, play the music from [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQsrrSzwfmU this video]] while reading on.]]
9
10It's not OminousLatinChanting, it's not the CherubicChoir, but somewhere in between, close to the EtherealChoir. A solitary, usually wordless wail (possibly to simulate wind or grieving), usually done by either a woman or, for extra poignancy points, a child (usually a boy soprano). The best time to include this trope is during the aftermath of something really dramatic ā€” a battle, natural disaster, etc. Basically, any event where vanilla OLC would just fall short in the sadness department.
11
12Often fills out a MomentOfSilence. Kin to the LonelyPianoPiece. This is also what can come to mind when you hear the word "{{Opera}}".
13
14You get ''extra'' extra poignancy points for cutting out all sound during the epic event, go into SlowMotion, and having the One Woman Wail play over it.
15
16Note that this is ''explicitly'' part of the soundtrack, though a DiegeticSwitch is allowed. [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant If you're looking for]] a single character, male or female, screaming in anguish, try SkywardScream or perhaps ScreamingWoman.
17
18'''Clean-up note:''' Wordless singing that isn't the otherworldly, often anguished, and even startling wail is not this trope, it's {{Scatting}}. Feel free to move examples which would be more at home over there. MelismaticVocals are a different sort of wailing noise representing actual words being stretched over a rack and tortured.
19
20Subtrope of SimpleScoreOfSadness.
21
22----
23!!Examples:
24
25[[foldercontrol]]
26
27[[folder:Advertising]]
28* The Volkswagen Jetta [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXOrbo6DX9U "Big Day"]] commercial.
29* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USeoyat4yos This]] Nina Ricci Perfume ad.
30* Parodied in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2hSlna9c08 this]] Hyundai ad.
31* An [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQMD4XudxoE eerie trailer]] for ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'' had this.
32* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W21X_EHeqo8 This gun violence PSA]] from 2003 used one.
33[[/folder]]
34
35[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
36* In ''Manga/AhMyGoddess'' it occurs when Keiichi's wish for the [[MagicalGirlfriend goddess Belldandy to stay by his side forever]] is granted.
37* During Misuzu's final moments in ''Anime/{{AIR}}'', the acapella intro of the song "Aozora" starts playing. It evolves into a full-blown song after a while, but it serves its purpose as a One-Woman Wail at that point very well, immensely heightening the impact of an already very sad scene.
38* Features in a few tracks on the ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' soundtrack (like the tracks "Attack on Titan" and "Bauklƶtze").
39* ''Anime/Berserk1997'' features a piece known only as "Guts", or "Guts's Theme", which features a wordless, high-pitched lament in its main vocal line. Interestingly, though the vocal sounds female, it is actually performed by the ''male'' composer, Music/SusumuHirasawa, who is renowned for his high tenor vocal range. While it still definitely fits the trope in terms of aesthetics, technically speaking, it's a ''One-Man Wail''.
40* Used in ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' when Ulquiorra releases his Zanpakuto.
41* Appears frequently in ''Anime/BloodPlus'', where the aria "Diva" is sung by Elin Carlson.
42* In ''Anime/DigimonDataSquad'', the [[SuperMode Burst Mode]] evolution theme is an orchestral piece accompanied by a wail.
43* ''Anime/DragonBallZKai'': When Goku [[spoiler:dies in front of his friends]], the BGM changes to a wail as the episode draws to a close. And also after when [[spoiler:Yamcha is killed by a Saibaiman's sacrifice]], also before that [[spoiler:Tenshinhan it's going to do the Kikoho and sacrifice their life, in the same moment that Kamisama is predicting their own death]], when [[spoiler:The Saichoro dies, and by consequence, the namek Dragon Balls are turned in stone before the third wish]], when [[spoiler:Vegeta is dying by the hands of Freezer]], and in a filler scene when [[spoiler:Goku is having a nightmare during their combat with Freezer, now using the 50% of their maximum power]].
44* "Lilium", ''Manga/ElfenLied'''s opening theme, is ''both'' this trope and OminousLatinChanting by being a one-woman Latin wail. When it's used during scenes, it sounds like it's sung by a bunch of monks instead.
45* Prominently featured in Anemone's theme from ''Anime/EurekaSeven''.
46* ''Anime/{{Flag}}'''s opening puts a wail over photographs of war and the childhood of the protagonist. It's actually pretty good.
47* The song "Dante" from ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist2003'' features a uniquely low female voice echoing Dante's {{leitmotif}}.
48* The opening theme to ''Anime/Gatekeepers21''. The second half flips the themes, and this is moved to the ending credits, while the catchy JPop song "Ima, Egao ga Areba" in the ending credits plays to a new OP sequence.
49* ''Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex'', where almost ALL the opening themes are sung by a Russian singer named Origa. The first theme, "Inner Universe" even takes the next step and features Latin vocals from boy soprano Ben Del Maestro.
50* ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'':
51** Kira Yamato's personal battle theme in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny'', "Kira Just as He Pleases" features the One-Woman Wail, in direct contrast to Shinn Asuka's theme, which has OminousLatinChanting.
52** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcufqjuOsYE "Innovator"]] from the second season of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00''.
53** Most pieces of music pertaining to the ELS in ''Anime/Gundam00AWakeningOfTheTrailblazer'' make heavy use of this, to the point that it's their {{Leitmotif}}.
54** ''Anime/TurnAGundam'': [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2f5rgTkA0I "Black History"]] plays when Black History is revealed. It's a funeral dirge during the final battle, underlining the severity of the catastrophe that set up the premise of the series and is now on the verge of repeating.
55* The ending credits to ''Manga/GunslingerGirl'' has this in Italian, with a second voice occasionally speaking without tone during interludes. The sequence shows a handgun lying on a cobblestone street as it rains and the credits scrolling up, heightening the tragic overtones of the series.
56* ''Anime/HellGirl'' uses these to evoke a lot of different moods and emotions. "Ake ni Somaru", for example, features both a woman ''and'' a [[CreepyChildrenSinging child]], mixed with creepy trance music. It did a damn good job of turning mundane, peaceful scenes (like a cityscape at sunset) into spooky panoramas while seeming to kick the characters while they're [[DespairEventHorizon down]]. "Mangetsu," by contrast, is a heartwarming theme that plays over some of the few genuinely happy moments in the series. "Kumo To Rouba To Shoujo," meanwhile, is used to evoke feelings of sadness and sympathy both for the VictimOfTheWeek and for Ai and her minions. And that's just from the first season's soundtrack.
57* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' uses this in a few select tracks throughout the series.
58** ''[[Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureBattleTendency Battle Tendency]]'': The main theme for Kars starts off with this, and as the beat drops, it glitches out -- which leads into the threatening dubstep-orchestral fusion melody of Kars' theme, [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IMnDxrG1jGg&t=2m19s Avalon]].
59** ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureGoldenWind Golden Wind]]'': This occurs with a heavenly wail as [[spoiler:Bucciarati]] is ascending to the afterlife, with Giorno watching from afar.
60** ''[[Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStoneOcean Stone Ocean]]'': This is used exceptionally well in a few tracks, such as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gR6oUg7KTs New Moon Gravity]], which is then remixed in [[spoiler: Made in Heaven]]'s theme, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JA-7JRuLso Clock Works]]. We also get this trope in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cb-qq8lSGYQ the theme used in the climax for the penultimate episode]], and is last used in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJJj8LzNcPg the track that plays]] [[spoiler: after the universe is restored due to Pucci's defeat in his own crafted universe]].
61* The track [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ScJ94qITwA "Cage of Fate, Circle of Destiny"]] from ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha''. Used in scenes such as the final confrontation with [[BigBad Precia]].
62* ''Manga/MobPsycho100'': In the third season, [[spoiler:Dimple]] stays behind to destroy the divine tree while he sends Mob home, accompanied by a melancholy wail.
63* In ''Anime/MyOtome'', "Materialise" starts with this before getting joined by a choir and techno music. It gets played when one or more of the heroes is about to unleash some major ass-kicking on the enemy. Which makes sense, since the title is the [[ByThePowerOfGreyskull command word to activate the Otomes' Dresses.]]
64* The track that accompanied the opening scenes of the ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi ~Ala Alba~'' OAD's first episode, where Ku:Nel confirmed that Nagi was alive and could possibly be found in the Magicl World and Negi and crew proclaim their intent to search for him there.
65* The "Introjection" track from (disc III of) the ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' soundtrack.
66* The non-chorus parts of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCs7RjDSCYM "Karma"]], the first opening to the ''VisualNovel/PhantomOfInferno'' {{OVA}} ''Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~''.
67* ''Anime/PokemonTheFirstMovie'' has an epic one being delivered during the big battle where the PokƩmon fight their clones. Unfortunately, in the dub it was replaced by the [[SoundtrackDissonance awkwardly-sounding]] "Brother, My Brother". The wail was retained in the dub for [[Anime/MewtwoStrikesBackEvolution the 2019 remake]], however.
68* ''Manga/{{Pretear}}'' has a creepy wail (accompanied with either clanging piano or doomy sounding kettle drums, depending on the version) titled "Nikushimi no Hate" that's a {{leitmotif}} for the DarkMagicalGirl. It's one of the best (and creepiest) songs on the entire soundtrack.
69* ''Anime/RevolutionaryGirlUtena'' has this twice the first with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9K6zcNcDPc "Bara No Tameiki"]] which is Anthy's theme and then again later with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9Ee8CF7ecI "Poison"]] which uses elements with of Anthy's theme used especially after [[spoiler: the dark reveal of the relationship between Anthy and Akio]].
70* The ''Anime/SailorMoon S'' anime featured one of these every time [[spoiler: Hotaru manifested her powers as Mistress Nine]]. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4LjdiW9V4M Here it is.]]
71* ''Anime/SaintSeiya'' had ''two'' different songs with this. One was sung by none other than famous theme song singer Horie Mitsuko, who'd later join the cast as Princess Hilda.
72* Spoofed in ''Manga/SayonaraZetsubouSensei'': the track that would normally serve as a wail tends to play during faux-dramatic scenes and sometimes at completely random times, such as during the sponsor message. It's also often cut short when the shot suddenly changes.
73* Used hauntingly throughout ''Literature/{{Shiki}}'''s soundtrack, but especially in its main theme, aptly name "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ln_WmuqBT9Y SHI-KI]]".
74* There are a couple of songs in ''Manga/SoulEater'' that fall under this category -- usually the darker sounding negative ones played during parts dealing with evil magic users in the show. Particularly notable are [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zs6TckpsQ9g&feature=related Kindertotenlied]] (translating roughly as "Song of the Dead Children") and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Df_V6lLnIc&feature=related Peace be with you]].
75* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iP-Jv2c-yU "Autumn of Life"]] during the final confrontation with Kagato in ''Anime/TenchiUniverse''.
76* The track "''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VT6LFOIofRE&feature=related Libera Me From Hell]]''" from ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'', instantly identifiable by being an integral part of all the most badass scenes of the second arc. [[GenreMashup And for being a fusion]] of {{opera}} with OminousLatinChanting (the words actually are a ''Latin prayer'') and ''[[HipHop Rap]]'' (although the rap part is skipped the second and third time it plays).
77** The Latin lyrics used thereof are derived from two songs used in a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Requiem_Mass Requiem Mass,a]] to note:
78** The first Latin line, from the ''Introit'':
79--->Requiem Ʀternam dona eis, Domine...
80** The second line (The first full Latin stanza) from ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libera_Me Libera Me,]]'' albeit with a bit of variation:
81--->LĆ­bera me, DĆ³mine, de morte Ʀterna\
82in die illa tremƩnda, in die illa\
83Quando cœli movĆ©ndi sunt et terra.\
84Dum vƩneris iudicƔre\
85sĒ½culum per ignem.\
86Tremens factus sum ego, et tĆ­meo,\
87dum discĆŗssio vĆ©nerit,\
88at que ventĆŗra ira.
89** The second full stanza, although mistaken for [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dies_Irae Dies Irae,]] is actually an altered continuation thereof:
90--->Dies illa, dies irƦ,\
91calamitatis et miseriƦ,\
92Dies illa, dies magna\
93et amara valde, et amara valde.
94** The final line, after going back from the ''Introit'', is the last half of the final verse, before going back to the first half of the first stanza:
95--->Et lux perpetua luceat eis.\
96Libera me, Domine...
97* ''Anime/TigerAndBunny'' scores Barnaby's flashbacks of his parents' murder with an ominous operatic wail.
98* Much of the score to ''Manga/TsubasaReservoirChronicle'' feature vocalist Eri Ito. The noted examples include, "A Song of Storm and Fire", "Voices Silently Sing", "Ship of Fools" and "Sacrifice", to name a few.
99* A great example is from ''Anime/UchuuSenkanYamato''. Almost every movie and TV series opening starts with a voice-over narration accompanied by a magnificent wail ''The Infinity of Space''. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWT4vOrQJ08 Example from the Space Battleship Concert 1984.]]
100[[/folder]]
101
102[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
103* ''Franchise/{{Frozen}}'':
104** ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'': Used over the end of ''For the First Time in Forever (Reprise)'' after Anna is struck in the heart by Elsa's ice magic. [[TraumaCongaLine It really drives home how screwed she is.]] Oddly, the wail is absent in the soundtrack version of the song.
105** ''WesternAnimation/FrozenII'' has this for the Voice of the Mountain in "Into the Unknown", courtesy of Norwegian singer Music/{{Aurora|Singer}}.
106* The animated adaptation of ''Literature/{{Harmony|2008}}'' features a One-Woman Wail in its final soundtrack: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLlTEzb575A "Harmony"]], the moment where [[spoiler: people are robbed of their consciences to create an utopia]].
107* Used to great effect in ''WesternAnimation/ThePrinceOfEgypt'': "Deliver Us" and several other tracks feature vocals by Ofra Haza, who also voices Moses' mother, Yocheved.
108* Mocked in ''Film/TeamAmericaWorldPolice'', during the scene after the dam bursts and everyone drowns.
109* In ''WesternAnimation/TheRedTurtle'', [[https://youtu.be/UM2TToB0lrs?t=959 "She Is Dead"]] plays first plays during the red-turtle-floating vision, then when the man and the woman get romantically involved for the first time and also at the end when the turtle leaves the beach.
110* ''WesternAnimation/SleepingBeauty'': During the scene where Maleficent lures Aurora to the top of the tower to prick her finger on a spindle and fulfill her curse, if you listen closely to the background music, a woman's voice can be heard calling ominously, "Aurrrroraaaa...". Flora hears this, which alerts her to Maleficent's presence.
111[[/folder]]
112
113[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
114* In the opening sequence of ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan'', a boy soprano sings mournfully over the score as Peter Parker is handed over by his parents to his Uncle Ben and Aunt May.
115* ''Film/Apollo13'' features Annie Lennox of the Eurythmics wailing away as the titular ship disappears into radio silence behind the far side of the Moon and Marilyn Lovell finally breaks down crying. She sings several other times, but usually with accompaniment.
116* ''Apocalypse: The Second World War'' uses this trope (accompanied with the rest of the orchestra) as part of its credits theme, over video clips of [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII the war]].
117%% * ''Film/{{Avatar}}'':
118%% ** Used when [[spoiler: the marines destroy Hometree]].
119%% ** Also used in the beginning of the movie, when Jake remembers [[spoiler: his taking the contract after the death of his brother]].
120* Used in the climax of ''Film/{{Gravity}}'' as Dr. Stone [[spoiler: re-enters Earth's atmosphere in the Shenzou]].
121%% * The main theme of ''Film/BlackHawkDown'' features vocals by a tenor, a male variation.
122* ''Film/BladeRunner'' has this. It was a great effect with the blue light filtering in from overhead.
123* ''Film/BlownAway'' opens with "Prince's Day", a wail-like reprise of the Irish song "Though Dark Are Our Sorrow" rearranged by Music/AlanSilvestri and sung by a soprano boy (instead of a woman) with an ethereal choir in the background. Thomas Moore originally wrote the lyrics.
124* Heard for a while in ''Film/{{Borat}}'', after Azamat leaves.
125** This same piece of music, ''Ederlezi'', was first used in Creator/EmirKusturica's ''Time of the Gypsies'' during Perhan's dream on the river.
126* Chika Fujino's score for ''Film/BoysLove'' repeatedly features a string heavy piece with a soaring soprano part (sung in Latin, of course) particularly during the film's [[BittersweetEnding bittersweet climax]].
127* Several cues in the score for Creator/FrancisFordCoppola's ''Film/BramStokersDracula'' featured an especially ghostly female vocalist.
128** A One Woman Wail provides an "eerie vampire sadness" motif in ''Film/{{Dracula 2000}}'' as well.
129* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvilAUufaVQ&NR=1 Inama Nushif]] from ''Children of Dune'', which plays over the [[BirthDeathJuxtaposition Cleansing of the House montage]] towards the end of the first film. For added points, it's in [[BilingualBonus Fremen]]
130* There's a bit in the end credits music of ''Film/{{Cloverfield}}''.
131* The trope is used many times in the movie ''Film/{{Crash}}'' (the one without Creator/JamesSpader or fetishism) to make some scenes more moving.
132* Not surprisingly, the Music/GraemeRevell score for ''Film/TheCrow'' has a lot of this going on.
133* This happens in ''Film/TheDayAfterTomorrow'', as the camera lovingly [[SceneryGorn pans over scenes of meteorological destruction]].
134* Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse:
135** A serene version is the centerpiece of the song accompanying the first trailer for ''Film/ManOfSteel'' ([[RecycledTrailerMusic taken from]] ''Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheFellowshipOfTheRing'').
136** Features heavily in ''Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague'', accompanying every appearance of Wonder Woman and the Amazons. The English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing describe this as "ancient lamentation music".
137* Heard during the execution sequence in ''Film/DeadManWalking''.
138* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-yBvYG1_vI The main theme]] for ''Film/DeathWishVTheFaceOfDeath''.
139* ''Film/DropZone'' has one right after the hero's kid brother is shot and yanked out of the depressurized airplane cabin.
140* Occurs throughout numerous scenes in Creator/DenisVilleneuve's ''Film/{{Dune|2021}}'', with the destruction of the harvester by a SandWorm perhaps being the most notable. Other scenes, such as the departure from Caladan, have the instruments imitating the wail. It also shows up in the trailer for ''Film/DunePartTwo''.
141* ''The Field of the Dead'' from ''Film/AlexanderNevsky''.
142* ''Film/TheFifthElement'': [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJB5Rqc1m0Y The Diva's song]] starts with a melancholic chanting, but becomes more upbeat during Leeloo's fight against the Mangalore soldiers.
143* ''Film/{{Flash Gordon|1980}}'': The scene in which Aura resurrects Flash after his execution is sung solo: by Music/FreddieMercury.
144* The soundtracks of ''Film/{{Gladiator}}'' is responsible for lending the trope much of its considerable current momentum. This kind of wailing, not always on soundtracks, constitutes some 75% of Music/LisaGerrard's career.
145* "Godzilla's Requiem" in ''Film/GodzillaVsDestoroyah'' plays with this, by having a whole choir sing alongside Akira Ifukube's Orchestra. This is especially striking, as the notes continue to be sung, even as Godzilla's death is played out in full.
146* Is a recurring theme throughout the soundtrack of ''Film/TheGrudge 2''.
147* Used at the start of ''Film/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallowsPart2'' as Snape [[spoiler: overlooks the soulless military camp that Hogwarts has become.]] For bonus points, it's "Lily's Theme". Later used twice more to great effect: the tracks are called [[spoiler:"Snape's Demise"]] and "The Resurrection Stone". While "Lily" and "Snape" are very mournful lamentations that complement each other, the warmer, more hopeful "Stone" plays as Harry prepares to join his loved ones in the Forbidden Forest, bringing the Marauders' strand of the story to its close.
148* ''Film/TheHungerGames'': One-woman wails are used several times throughout the series. Notable uses include the opening scenes of the first film, where ethereal vocalizations are heard as we are introduced to Katniss and her impoverished home in District 12, as well as the final film during the rebel siege of the Capitol.
149* The opening sequence of ''Film/IFrankenstein'' features this.
150* ''Film/TheInsider'': Lisa Gerrard of Music/DeadCanDance provides ephemeral wailing over soft synthesizer that sounds at times like it was lifted straight out of her single "The Host of Seraphim."
151* In ''[[Literature/TheMysteriousIsland Journey 2 The Mysterious Island]]'', there's a one-woman wail during the giant bee chase when Kaylani falls off the bee and plummets to the jungle floor below, until [[spoiler: she is caught by Sean astride his giant bee.]]
152* Used in ''Film/TheKarateKid2010'' during the cobra scene (and whenever it makes reference to it).
153* In ''Film/KingArthur2004'' with Clive Owen. While Bor's... wife? Wife-to-be? is singing what appears to be a Sarmatian song, her voice gradually fades out as the scene cuts to the other knights, who are mouthing the words.
154* Appears in-universe and to chilling effect (though there was more than one woman performing it) while the Harif army in ''Film/LawrenceOfArabia'' is setting out to cross the Nefud and attack Al-Aquaba. The shot from the top of the cliff with the mourning women drowning out the stirring battle songs from below.
155** It's called "ululation", which is different from a wail and could also be interpreted as the women giving the men an encouraging send off.
156*** That's what it is when Native American women do it (well, that and to scare the enemy). Lakotah holy man Black Elk refers to it as the "tremolo". It's also a way of showing respect or honor and is done in many other world cultures.
157* ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' series has several moments like this:
158** A boy soprano cutting in at dramatic moments like Gandalf's escape from Orthanc and the Ents breaking Saruman's dam, and almost any other moment when nature shows resurgence.
159** Faramir's [[spoiler:apparent death]] is accompanied by a One Hobbit Mournful Solo [[IntersceneDiegetic that Pippin is singing elsewhere for Denethor]].
160** Female solos accompany several significant scenes:
161*** Gandalf's fall from the bridge of Khazad-dum.
162*** Leading a chorus of other singers during Gandalf's lament in LothlĆ³rien, and as Haldir and the other LĆ³rien elves are cut down at the Battle of Helm's Deep.
163*** The resurrecting dream Arwen sends to Aragorn after his tumble fighting the wargs.
164*** When Gollum recovers the One Ring.
165*** When the Eagles rescue Frodo and Sam at the end.
166*** In the extended version, Ɖowyn's lament at her cousin ThĆ©odred's funeral [[SourceMusic provides this]].
167* ''Film/TheMatrix'': while they're giving Neo acupuncture as part of his transition into the real world.
168* ''Film/MissionImpossibleII'' has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x11NURuaPwQ Injection]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dpn8f7iIgSY Mano a Mano.]]
169* The entire ending sequence of ''Film/TheMist'', starting after they escape the food mart and continuing to the DownerEnding.
170* One of these is delivered near the end of the "Shiver My Timbers" opening number in ''Film/MuppetTreasureIsland'', shortly before we're reminded that dead men tell no tales and Flint opens fire on his crew.
171* Music/EnnioMorricone likes this.
172** The "Jill's America" motif in the soundtrack to ''Film/OnceUponATimeInTheWest'': slow, arching very high and very low, and achingly beautiful. It first appears in the background when she arrives at her house and sees what should have been her new family, every member gunned down in cold blood.
173** In ''Film/TheGoodTheBadAndTheUgly'', the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PwpOmjAu1M "The Ecstasy of Gold."]] Not so much a One Woman Wail as a One Woman Orgasmic Scream, though.
174** The soundtrack for ''Film/AFistfulOfDynamite'' has this, while the chorus sings "Sean Sean".
175** ''Film/ExorcistIITheHeretic'' features some weird [[Music/YokoOno Yoko]]-esque keening in spots.
176** Done in the final part of ''Buona Fortuna, Jack'', which plays at the end of ''Film/MyNameIsNobody''.
177* [[IronicNurseryTune Mercedes' lullaby to Ofelia]] in ''Film/PansLabyrinth''.
178* ''Film/PassionInTheDesert'' features this heavily on the soundtrack.
179* ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanDeadMenTellNoTales'': The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xo3af_6_Jk teaser trailer]] ends with a haunting, melodic wail before the skull-and-crossbones logo is shown.
180* Lestat's song "Forsaken" (as sung by [[Music/{{Disturbed}} David Draiman]]) in ''Film/QueenOfTheDamned'' features this.
181* ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk:'' The Ark's theme has it at certain points. When it shows up, really bad things start happening to people.
182* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jj8_ZBeb-2E Battle Adagio]] from ''Franchise/{{Rambo}}''.
183* In ''Film/TheRedViolin'', a woman humming, called "Anna's Theme" on the soundtrack, introduces the titular violin. In a subtle transition, the woman's hum becomes the sound of [[strike: Joshua Bell]] the violin. And if you pay attention, during the credits the violin's score returns -- and then fades back into Anna's humming.
184* Gavin Hood's jaunt through [[CrapsackWorld real-life]] [[ColdBloodedTorture attrocity]], ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rendition_%28film%29 Rendition]]'' features a lot of ''one-woman wailing'' since much of the movie is poignant.
185* ''Film/RepoTheGeneticOpera''. There is a short burst of this at the start of 'AtTheOperaTonight', and the choir backing up 'We Started This Op'ra Sh*t'.
186* Certain versions of "Lux Aeterna" from ''Film/RequiemForADream'' have this.
187* Used in ''Film/RobRoy''. As Archibald Cunningham murders Alan [=MacDonald=], setting the plot in motion, Rob and his clan listen to a woman (Karen Matheson of Capercaillie) sing a mournful solo performance. The film cuts between the two scenes with the song playing over both.
188* A MoodWhiplash moment in the Kevin Bacon comedy ''She's Having My Baby'': Kevin Bacon's wife is in labor, and he's in the hospital, psyching himself up to coach her. Before he can enter the delivery room, a nurse pushes him back, informing him that, due to complications in the delivery, they have to perform a potentially dangerous cesarean section on his wife. As it dawns on him that he may lose both his wife and unborn child, the soundtrack shifts to Kate Bush wailing the first notes of "This Woman's Work".
189* ''Franchise/StarWars'': ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'' has an extremely [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4JsA4jF7yo eerie one]] as Anakin is sitting in his quarters and fighting with himself as to whether he should save Padme by protecting Palpatine. At the same time, Padme senses that something is wrong with him and goes to her window to look outside. Without realizing it, they are looking at each other from miles away as they're sharing the same fears. Cue chilling wail, with no other sound.
190* ''Film/TheSumOfAllFears'' has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stwJTgJitIk The Mission.]]
191* ''Film/Titanic1997'' uses this quite a bit, with the vocals of Sissel KyrkjebĆø being beautifully interwoven throughout the score to invoke nostalgia and memories for the entire film.
192* Music/BrianTyler's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quh3SHw0ruI&t=2m26s "Into Eternity"]] from the ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld'' OST (played during [[spoiler: Frigga's funeral]]) uses this.
193** Mocked in ''Film/ThorRagnarok'', where an a capella version of "Into Eternity" is sung by a small choir during a deliberately {{Narm}}-tastic recreation of [[spoiler:Loki's apparent death]] from ''Dark World'' in an Asgardian play.
194* ''Film/TheTreeOfLife'' features an epic 15-minute TheWorldIsJustAwesome scene full of SceneryPorn with a haunting operatic voice over scenes taking the viewer from the creation of the universe to the birth of the main character.
195* Like many tropes, this one is parodied in ''Film/TropicThunder''.
196* ''Film/TopGun'' has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--vb55LG3eM "Memories,"]] which plays when Maverick consoles Goose's wife and son [[spoiler: after he dies in a training accident halfway through.]]
197[[/folder]]
198
199[[folder:Folklore]]
200* In [[Myth/CelticMythology Irish and Scottish folklore]], the banshee (or [[OurBansheesAreLouder bean-sidhe]]) is a [[TheFairFolk fairy-woman]] and often guardian spirit of the old Gaelic families who can [[PortentOfDoom foretell death]] in "her" family; she [[HowlOfSorrow wails]] and [[DeathWail cries]] through the night to warn the family that one of them will soon die; if the family hears her crying three nights in a row, they know that they should begin planning a funeral. As she can foretell death in the family that she protects, the banshee is also grieving for the family as well as warning them of impending death. When many mnĆ”-sĆ­dhe (fairy-women) are heard wailing at once, it foretells the death of a major political or religious figure.
201* Much of Latin America believes in the legend of [[LaLlorona La Llorona]], the spirit of a woman who died after she drowned her children and cannot enter Heaven until she has found them; she is heard crying "Ā”Ay, mis hijos!" ("Oh, my children!") as she searches for them. Those who hear her crying supposedly are doomed to die soon.
202[[/folder]]
203
204[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
205%%* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTDZrBZVH-8 Here's another example]] from a re-enactment of Princess Diana's death.
206* Used to great effect when Jack Bauer raids the warehouse where the Drazens (who Jack believes to have killed his daughter Kim) are hiding out near the end of the first season of ''Series/TwentyFour''.
207* A big feature of the revamped theme tune of the second season of ''Series/{{The 100}}''.
208* Parodied in the latest season of ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'', in which the wail turns out to just be a very overworked rendition of the word 'coincidence'.
209** Also used when Jack kills [[spoiler: Curtis Manning]].
210* ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'' examples include "A Call to Arms" and "The Storm and the Dead", the start of the main theme and in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqJ56yZLIaM "Lords of Kobol."]]
211* Used in "Slayer's Elegy" from the ''[[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer Buffy]]'' episode "The Wish" when [[CrapsackWorld absolutely everything is going wrong]].
212* Used in ''Series/TheColbertReport'' during the segment [[http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/314131/june-30-2010/mysteries-of-the-ancient-unknown---king-tut-s-penis Mysteries of the Ancient Unknown: King Tut's Penis,"]] with some accompanying eyebrow twitches. Also used the first time he talks about the revolts in Egypt.
213* The opening credits for the CBS detective series ''Series/ColdCase'' features a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSDwnYrhX0c rather ghostly]] female wail.
214* Parodied in the ''Series/{{Community}}'' episode "Messianic Myths and Ancient Peoples." A female vocalist ululates Abed's name for a sort of joking Biblical epic effect many times throughout the episode, then in the "dramatic" ending, the singer eerily wails Shirley's name.
215** Also parodied in "Advanced Dungeons and Dragons" when Brutopolis is cruelly slain by Pierce the Insensative (read: Chang's character is killed by Pierce's character, and has to hand in his character sheet).
216* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
217** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS5E3TheIceWarriors "The Ice Warriors"]] has a weird score, especially by Classic series standards, consisting of a wailing operatic soprano over dissonant orchestra stabbing. It's very Sixties. And terrifying.
218** The series has its resident wailist, Melanie Pappenheim, notable for contributing wordless vocals for tracks such as the old Doctor's theme, "Doomsday", "Martha's Theme", and "The Doctor Forever".
219** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E3PlanetOfTheOod "Planet of the Ood"]] has a lot of this to represent the songs of the Ood.
220** The Creator/StevenMoffat era seems to have switched over to Yamit Mamo, who sang "The Stowaway" and "My Angel Put the Devil in Me", for the wailing, as heard in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KH5qYqgqD3I "The Mad Man with a Box."]]
221** And in Season Six [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zx6dnwGbVIU we have one]] for the, as a fan described it, "having my brain explode" moments.
222** The Thirteenth Doctor's [[https://youtu.be/-gNz_6HeaW4 theme]] starts off as this trope before the soloist escalates it into a full-throated ''yell''.
223* ''Series/{{Dollhouse}}'''s main theme carts out this trope.
224* The beginning of the ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' episode "Heart of Gold". That one is an old Punjabi wedding song called "Madhaniyan", [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5rvdZCTZB8&feature=related if anyone cares to listen.]]
225* ''Series/GameofThrones'' features this in a few pieces, perhaps most poignantly in the end of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8Cn8shOG7I "The Iron Throne,"]] which plays over [[spoiler:Daenerys's death scene, as Drogon flies away over the sea with her body.]]
226* ''Series/GeneralAndI'''s first episode starts an eerie, mournful wail.
227* Lampshaded in an episode of ''Series/HerculesTheLegendaryJourneys'', where the singing is heard while Herc is mourning the death of his second wife, and the singer turns out to be [[Series/XenaWarriorPrincess Xena]].
228** The funeral song that Xena sang in multiple episodes of the franchise was actually a pre-existing song called "Burial" written and performed by Lucy Lawless.
229%%* Used often on ''Series/{{Heroes}}''.
230* The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NY0rlYxA0bE opening theme]] for ''Series/TheLastKingdom'', performed by EivĆør PĆ”lsdĆ³ttir.
231* Promos for various cop shows, especially ''Franchise/LawAndOrder'', use a wordless Arabic-style women's vocal when this week's episode is going to feature Muslims in some way.
232* ''Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'': The OneWomanWail is heard while the orcs are chasing Arondir, Theo and Bronwyn through the woods, belongs to Disa, which is a plea to rocks to let the miners get out alive.
233* Parodied in ''Series/MadTV1995'' where they invite a woman supposedly responsible for providing the wailing and demonstrate how it makes everything more dramatic. The host asked her what language that's suppose to be but she replies that she doesn't know.
234* played with in the ''Series/ModernFamily'', in the episode Family Portrait, where Cameron is singing Ave Maria in a wedding, while Mitchell is trying to kill a pigeon who got into their house.
235* ''Series/OnceUponATime'' uses one in the episode "Shattered Sight" as [[spoiler: Ingrid the Snow Queen makes a last minute HeroicSacrifice to [[RedemptionEqualsDeath redeem herself]]. She is then reunited with her sisters [[TogetherInDeath in the afterlife]].]]
236* In ''Over There'', the wail would usually play in the Iraqi side-story.
237* Used in the fifth episode of ''The Philanthropist'' when [[spoiler:a bomb goes off in Kosovo and kills four people.]]
238* ''Series/PrincessSilver'': An eerie wail plays during Rong Le and Rong Qi's farewell.
239* Heard in the background every so often on ''Series/{{Rome}}''.
240* The ''Series/SilentWitness'' theme tune, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oupRSgld_5I Silencium]] by Jane Sheldon.
241* Subverted in ''Series/SpartacusBloodAndSand''. This plays after Spartacus and Crixus think they've defeated TheDreaded Theokoles in the arena. But it turns out it's just a HopeSpot, and Theokoles jumps up to let the real battle begin.
242* Included in the theme music for ''Series/StargateAtlantis'' (otherwise an InstrumentalThemeTune).
243* The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theme_from_Star_Trek theme song]] for ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries''.
244* ''Series/StarTrekPicard'': In "[[Recap/StarTrekPicardS1E04AbsoluteCandor Absolute Candor]]", when Elnor and Picard meet again for the first time in fourteen years, there's the sound of a woman wailing. It's towards the end of the piece entitled [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fs0EKJeZzhU&t=1m55s "Picard Goes Back."]]
245* ''{{Series/Survivor}}'' used this during its ''Pearl Islands'' and ''All-Stars'' seasons; the former when Sandra and Lil were leaving the camp for the last time, and the latter when Jenna chose to take herself out of the game to be with her terminally ill mother.
246* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQsrrSzwfmU Gray's Theme]] from ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'' is a rather heart-wrenching one. It first appears in "Adam" when Jack recalls losing his brother as a child.
247* ''Series/TheWestWing'':
248** "Take This Sabbath Day", a VerySpecialEpisode about the death penalty, has the female cantor at Toby's synagogue practicing "Hashkiveinu" as he discusses the issue with his rabbi. The song is also played over the montage at the end of the episode.
249--->'''Toby:''' You know what I think? I think you knew I was coming back here. And I think you put her there on purpose.\
250'''Rabbi Glassman:''' She's our communications director.
251** "7A WF 83429", which deals with the aftermath of the President's daughter being kidnapped, used Dead Can Dance's "Sanvean (I'm Your Shadow)" over a montage showing thousands of floral tributes left at the White House Fence, evoking memories of Princess Diana [[spoiler:although Zoey has not died and will eventually be found]].
252* ''Series/TheXFiles'' had bunches of these, though the most notable was probably Scully's theme from Season 8.
253[[/folder]]
254
255[[folder:Music]]
256* Music/AmonDuulII has a lot of this on their first album, ''Phallus Dei,'' courtesy of singer Renate Knaup.
257* One of music's [[UrExample Ur Examples]] is surely Blind Willie Johnson's "Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground." Supposedly a musical interpretation of [[EveryoneIsJesusInPurgatory Christ's suffering on the cross]], it was considered such a powerful expression of human loneliness that it was chosen to be [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyager_Golden_Record sent into space.]]
258* Music/PinkFloyd, ''Music/TheDarkSideOfTheMoon'', "[[WentToTheGreatXInTheSky The Great Gig in the Sky]]".
259* Music/LisaHannigan, especially in the background on "Ora" and "Swan".
260* The soprano solo in Ralph Vaughan Williams's "Sinfonia Antartica", who alternates with a wordless wailing female chorus accompanied by a wind machine. (The symphony is derived from the film score for ''Scott of the Antarctic''.)
261** Ralph Vaughan Williams's "Pastoral" symphony features another wordless soprano (or tenor or, if neither is available, clarinet) solo at the beginning and end of the fourth movement.
262* Music/YokoOno is known for this. Example: "Don't Worry, Kyoko (Mummy's Only Looking for Her Hand in the Snow)". Particularly the version on her release with Music/JohnLennon, ''Some Time in New York City/Live Jam''. It's also the main reason why Lennon's first two solo albums ''Music/UnfinishedMusicNo1TwoVirgins'' and side 1 of ''Music/UnfinishedMusicNo2LifeWithTheLions'' are such a SensoryAbuse.
263* The opening guitar solo from Asia's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40nYZbX0uCM "Don't Cry"]] was written to sound exactly like this.
264* ''Music/TenaciousD'' does a one-''man'' wail in "Tribute": "Nay, we are but men! Rock!", not to mention the various "Ah"s from "Master Exploder".
265* Ethereal Wave is subgenre of GothRock which [[LighterAndSofter combines a more soothing sound with the sound of Goth Rock]] with many songs in the genre having these types of vocals.
266* The Cat Empire do the male version of this all the time, making use of Harry James Angus' magnificent falsetto.
267* Ian Gillan also does the one-man wail in Music/DeepPurple's "Child in Time", especially the live version.
268* Some early Music/JudasPriest songs had Rob Halford doing the male version of this, most notably the incredibly powerful falsetto passages in "Run of the Mill" and "Dreamer Deceiver".
269* "Helena's Theme" In Kamelot's album ''Epica''. [[spoiler:After the previous track, in which the protagonist tells Helena he's [[TitleDrop Lost and Damned]]. She softly sings her lament while walking by a river, then she throws herself into it, an unborn child in her womb.]]
270* ''Fortress Europe'' by Asian Dub Foundation.
271* Music/DeadCanDance: Lisa Gerrard provides wailing vocals in a few songs, sometimes in a fictional language for added exoticism. "The Host of Seraphim" is perhaps their most successful and popular usage of the trope.
272* The Music/CocteauTwins and Elizabeth Fraser.
273* Vas and Nyiaz, both featuring Azam Ali, who also has her own soul career, and also contributed to ''VideoGame/SyphonFilter: Logan's Shadow''.
274* Tiesto's "A Tear in the Open" uses a Gaelic [[StandardSnippet stock vocal snippet]] based on a Scottish folk song, which was also used in the ''VideoGame/TombRaiderLegend'' soundtrack.
275* Inverted: Music/OzzyOsbourne does a one-man wail in the song "Black Rain".
276* Used by various GothicRock bands such as Music/WithinTemptation (''What Have You Done'', ''The Cross'' and the haunting live performance of ''Memories'') and Music/LacunaCoil (''Our Truth'' - twice).
277* Henryk GĆ³recki's "Symphony of Sorrowful Songs", although not a straight example as the Wail is in Polish and sung in a rather traditional operatic style, as opposed to the more recent examples that have an "exotic" flavor to them.
278* Natalie Merchant's "My Skin".
279* In Havergal Brian's Symphony No. 1 "The Gothic," the extended ACappella opening of the fifth movement trails off into a wordless, unaccompanied soprano solo.
280* Music/MichaelJackson's "Little Susie" starts with sad chanting, and then moves on to a small girl (presumably the titular Susie) singing wordlessly accompanied only by a music box.
281* Blixa Bargeld does this often. Music/NickCave once described Blixa's wailing as "a sound you would expect to hear from strangled cats or dying children."
282* Ayreon's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siM9NBGdWT8 "Ride the Comet."]]
283* A signature of Music/{{Enya}}.
284* Music/KateBush and her various devotees, most obviously Music/ToriAmos, Music/SarahBrightman and Music/SarahMcLachlan... the latter of whom used a classic example of this trope in the song "Silence" with...
285* Delerium, a side project by Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber of Music/FrontLineAssembly, who employ this trope to the point of [[RefugeInAudacity excess]]. Featuring a series of female back-up singers (including their label-mate, a pre-superstardom [=Sarah McLachlan=]), Delerium songs rarely employ more than a handful of words; the substance of the song comes from long wordless vocal interludes over techno-rock orchestrations. Originally an [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambient_techno#Ambient_techno ambient soundscape]] band, Delerium found commercial success with a more emotionally-oriented techno-pop approach - the keystone of which involves this trope.
286* Conjure One a side project of Rhys Fulber, records albums that are virtually indistinguishable from those released under the name Delerium... especially in their (over)use of this trope.
287* The late Israeli pop icon and Series/EurovisionSongContest representative, Ofra Haza, provided one in "Temple of Love" by Music/TheSistersOfMercy.
288* Music/{{Orbital}}: "Belfast", "Halcyon (& On & On)", "Are We Here", "Dwr Budr", "Nothing Left" (both featuring Alison Goldfrapp), and "One Perfect Sunrise" (featuring Lisa Gerrard).
289** Paul Hartnoll's solo project 8:58 continues the trend with "The Past Now", featuring Lisa Knapp.
290* Hybrid featuring Kirsty Hawkshaw - Just For Today, which also samples the vocal from the aforementioned "Belfast" at one point.
291* Blue Amazon: "The Javelin", "Paradise Regime", etc.
292* Juno Reactor's "Pistolero", "Giant", "Mona Lisa Overdrive", and "Navras", all featuring Taz Alexander, and maybe others. The latter two also use OminousLatinChanting.
293* "Healesville Sanctuary" and "First Strike" by Signum.
294* Music/{{BT}} features this in "Quark", "Firewater", and "Mercury and Solace".
295* Music/DaveMatthewsBand: "The Last Stop".
296* Music/LinkinPark (circa 1999, when they were known as "Hybrid Theory"): "Carousel".
297* Music/MikeOldfield uses this occasionally.
298** In "Red Dawn" from ''Tubular Bells II''.
299** In "The Inner Child" from ''Tubular Bells III''.
300* Rhapsody (of Fire)'s "Queen of the Dark Horizons" uses this.
301* Luca Turelli's Rhapsody does this in "Dark Age of Atlantis."
302* Music/SarahMcLachlan.
303* Found in [[http://www.wired.com/listening_post/2008/04/a-scientific-at The Most Unwanted Song.]]
304* Music/{{Vocaloid}} KAITO's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdIz5lHxYOw "Sayang"]]: The beginning and ending's wail obviously sung "Sayang", but it's officially a One Man Wail in the middle. Another KAITO song, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeWXZw07oR8 "Pane dhiria,"]] features this as one of the background vocals.
305* Music/AmandaPalmer likes this on tracks like Slide and Deliah
306* Rapsody's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-blfPCOeLQ0 "Prince Igor"]] features frequent switches to an impressive wail from SisselKyrkjebo, wherein she sings an excerpt from the original ''Prince Igor''.
307* "Persia" by The Art of Trance uses a Middle-Eastern wail.
308* Music/{{Swans}}' former vocalist Jarboe was prone to this. "Blood On Your Hands" comes to mind, as does the ''Swans Are Dead'' version of "I Crawled", in which [[spoiler:it eventually mutates into a MetalScream.
309* Music/RozaRymbaeva, especially in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGll0KmTW2w "Alia."]]
310* Music/NinaHagen's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcKhFZj0nFY "NatutrƤne."]] The song starts out as a very positive, poetic description of a German city. Then she mentions how much seeing a loved one outside makes her want to cry, and how the little bits of nature around the city touch her heart, and she starts to ''warble''.
311* Music/TheTigerLillies do this occasionally, despite being an all-male band -- the lead singer is a perfect falsetto. Their song "Maria", a 9-minute wail about a woman who is slaughtered by a madman, is the most prominent example.
312* Music/TarjaTurunen naturally is rather fond of this. Music/{{Nightwish|Band}} tunes "Astral Romance," "Angels Falls First," "Swanheart," "The Siren" and especially [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cb2dlQFN5-c "Passion and the Opera"]] use it, and most of her solo works as well.
313* Current Music/{{Nightwish|Band}} singer Music/FloorJansen lent her name to the fandom term "Floorgasm" after she joined the band, applying in particular to the closing aria of her take on [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYjIlHWBAVo "Ghost Love Score"]] (originally written for Tarja).
314* Much of Music/IcedEarth 's recent Set Abominae-based material has made use of both this and OminousLatinChanting. Most blatant one is probably [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=to8-U75pJBE "Awakening."]]
315* The third movement of Music/LeonardBernstein's "Jeremiah" Symphony has a mezzo-soprano singing extracts from the Lamentations of Jeremiah in Hebrew.
316* Another rare male example occurs in Music/{{Rush|Band}}'s "2112", at roughly 1:45 [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzpDOB2JYKc here.]] Of course, if any man can do such a wail, it's Geddy Lee.
317* The deeply unsettling [[https://youtube.com/watch?v=yfqXEk-Lg20 Doom. A Sigh]] by Kronos Quartet features field recordings of two Romanian women singing laments for the dead; the first seems to be actually weeping as she sings, and the poor quality of the recordings gives it all an otherworldly feel.
318* On the Music/{{ABBA}} song [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HnOFwqpLRQ "The Day Before You Came,"]] Agnetha Falskog sings the verses with lyrics about a romantic affair and then Frida Lyngstad(who is a trained opera singer) sings a long mournful wail.
319* Music/EmilieAutumn likes this, and it's most notable in "Shalott" and "God Help Me". Usually preceded by a MadnessMantra.
320* Deborah Sasson's "Carmen (Danger in Her Eyes)" samples "[[StandardSnippet Habanera]]" from Bizet's ''Carmen''.
321* Music/{{PJ Harvey}} does this in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWghMNiJVsY "The Mountain."]]
322* Present in Music/DiamandaGalas' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWbchljYtCA "skotose me (kill me)."]]
323* Another one-man wail inversion occurs in Music/SimonAndGarfunkel's live rendition of "For Emily, Wherever I May Find Her".
324* Music/{{Namgar}} uses these both in her own songs (often reinterpretations of traditional Buryat-Mongol songs) and in her vocal work on the soundtrack for ''Inspector Putilin'' and ''Prince of the Wind''.
325* Canadian goth-synthpop band Austra uses this trope regularly.
326* Traditional music has many great examples. Here's Yo-Yo Ma and Mongolian singer Khongorzul introducing [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15kVupa7vVk a Long Song]]. The name refers not to how long it takes to sing the song, but rather the long distances over which the song may be heard, as it is an ancient method of communication.
327* Music/ElectricWizard employs this in "Ivixor B/Phase Inducer".
328* The intros of Music/FunkerVogt's "Hard Way" and "Our Life".
329* Solarstone uses these in "4ever", "Ultraviolet", "Zeitgeist", "The Last Defeat (Part 2)", which also uses EtherealChoir at its climax, "Nothing but Chemistry Here", and "Shield Pt 1".
330* The verse of Music/TheCruxshadows' "Cassandra" has a vocodered background wail, alongside [[PlayingTheHeartStrings electric violin]].
331* Music/DreamTheater uses this in the intro to ''Through Her Eyes'' from their ConceptAlbum ''Scenes From a Memory''.
332* Music/LindseyStirling in her music video for ''Assassin's Creed 3'', when she's not rocking out on her violin.
333* Music/{{Vangelis}} uses this on the ''Heaven and Hell'' concept LP. On the ''Hell'' side, a chorus of the damned souls in Hell (who are being whipped by demons) morphs into a classic One Woman Wail, loaded with pain and sorrow and regret.
334* Music/WithinTemptation uses a two women wail in their song Paradise (What about Us). It also features Music/TarjaTurunen as the second wailing woman.
335* The Frozen Autumn's "Fragments of Memories", which was their first song to feature the female vocalist Arianna, also known as Froxeanne.
336* Bronski Beat's "Smalltown Boy" has a male falsetto wail, courtesy of Jimmy Somerville. Ditto "Why?"
337* Music/{{Front 242}} used this trope in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UmBo_srI6E "Modern Angel,"]] and its reprise, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlaYLXgfHd8 "Happiness(More Angels)."]]
338* Void Vision uses this vocal style in "Everything is Fine", "To The Sea", and "Slow Dawn".
339* Music/DeltaRae occasionally use this - one of the most striking is Brittany's singing in "Scared."
340* The song "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egqDPipqIAg Ah Yeah]]" by KoreanPopMusic group Music/{{EXID}} features one by member Solji to kick off the song's climax.
341* Many songs by Music/{{Grimes}}, such as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LmBM0mTafI "Laughing and Not Being Normal."]]
342* Most of Xeno & Oaklander's female vocals are this trope or {{scatting}}.
343* [[Music/{{Scooter}} Ratty]]'s [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhB2qOSId4A "Sunrise (Here I Am)."]]
344* ''Music/{{Sabaton}}'': The soundtrack version of their ConceptAlbum about UsefulNotes/WorldWarI remixes the songs into epic and often forlorn orchestral pieces featuring a mixture of choir and this trope in songs such as "[[UsefulNotes/TELawrence Seven Pillars of Wisdom]]" and "The End of the War to End All Wars" lamenting the tragedy of the war.
345* Black Rain's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YW2rdME8op8 "Profusion"]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iT-PEugVdrA "Profusion II,"]] both featuring Zoe Zanias. Ditto most of Zanias's solo material, being [[ExaggeratedTrope taken to a head]] on ''Ecdysis'', whose vocals are entirely wordless wailing.
346* Watergate's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyfTRjsF6p4 "Heart of Asia,"]] the trance version of [[Music/YellowMagicOrchestra Ryuichi Sakamoto]]'s theme song to ''Film/MerryChristmasMrLawrence'', has a wailing woman vocal that wasn't present in the original. This carries over to the SpeedyTechnoRemake [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRwletqQSQw "Tokyo Rush"]] by Brisk, Vagabond and Uraken.
347* Mono Inc.'s Katha Mia performs One Woman Wails on many of the songs that have her backup singing, [[SopranoAndGravel complementing lead singer Martin Engler's deep baritone vocals.]] For example, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocbLw49Or44 "Children of the Dark."]]
348* The Scandinavian music tradition of kulning/kaukning almost ''is'' this trope -- as a result of originally being a form of herding call, they are wordless songs sung by a single person (usually a woman) with aspects that make them carry far (many that overlap with 'and sounds haunting'). It also incorporates tones traditionally associated with sad music.
349* The Gaels of Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man have a currently defunct [[DeathWail keening]] tradition, the practice of ritualized singing and wailing for the dead. "Keening" is derived from the Gaelic verb ''caoin'', meaning "to weep, to mourn/lament" and the verb ''caoineadh'' ("weeping") also refers to a musical style, a lament for the dead. A keening-woman would be hired by the family of the deceased to lead the community through their grief, with the keening occurring at the graveyard and the keening-woman (or ''bean-chaointe'' in Gaelic) would sing and wail a semi-improvised lament with the rest of the mourners joining at least during the chorus, the whole performance often punctuated with sobs. It was a way of helping the family and the community through their grief as well as a means of ensuring that the soul of the departed with reach Heaven, [[Myth/CelticMythology The Otherworld]], or wherever spirits seek to go. the wealthier the family of the deceased, the more keening-women that they would hire. The ''caoineadh'' usually consisted of stock elements (the illustrious ancestry of the deceased, their good qualities, and the heavy hearts of their surviving family and friends) and was often half-improvised, complete with beating your hands and tearing at your hair. [[http://www.keeningwake.com/keening-tradition/ The tradition of keening-women is described here, plus a few surviving recordings.]]
350* The keening-woman is the human counterpart of the ''[[OurBansheesAreLouder banshee]]'' (or ''bean-sidhe'', if you speak Gaelic). ''Bean-sidhe'' (plural, ''mnĆ”-sidhe'') means "woman of the fairy folk", a guardian spirit of the ancient Gaelic families. She visits "her" family's home in the evening and [[PortentOfDoom wails and sobs through the night to warn the family that one of them will soon die]]. if the family [[RuleOfThree hears her crying three nights in a row]], they know that they should begin planning a funeral. They wail of the banshee might be dreaded, but the banshee herself is only a messenger and she means no harm. If many ''mnĆ”-sidhe'' could be heard wailing in chorus, it was a warning that somebody of great political or religious importance would soon die.
351* The vocals in [[https://youtu.be/QkHBHOpNU1k "Isabella's Dream"]] by Anders Enger Jensen are entirely wordless one-woman wails.
352* [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0XpYwFKYIec "U"]] by Grum features a heavily electronically-modified wail at various points of the song.
353* "Nocturne" by Irish-Norwegian duo Secret Garden (later covered by Music/CelticWoman), which won the 1995 Series/EurovisionSongContest.
354* Interface's ''Where All Roads Lead'' album has this in its outtro track, "Hiraeth".
355* Music/Apollo440:
356** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9B5Taw0msEs ā€œChristianeā€]] combines this with vaguely foreign-sounding, wordless vocals.
357** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgQrc4M1Nl4 ā€œHigh On Your Own Supplyā€]] has one as a bridge, after the first chorus.
358** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2B4aD8MwQVQ ā€œStealth Mass in F#mā€]] uses sad-sounding, ethereal one-woman wails for much of the song.
359* "Moonshine" by Project Medusa vs. Exor plays up this trope most strongly in the two [[https://youtu.be/EISdc568U18 Exor]] [[https://youtu.be/cERONwFgAPI mixes]].
360* Gearwhore's aptly-named "[[https://youtu.be/Ah2y1uI8nF0 Ghost By Day]]" is a DrumNBass track employing banshee-like wailing vocals.
361* A large portion of [[https://youtube.com/channel/UCMmRJT3Bis4dA-lLh5Ugxlw?si=y10pbATTSj_zeMmH Dead Astronauts]]' female vocals are ethereal wails, especially after Florence Bullock took over the position from Hayley Stewart.
362[[/folder]]
363
364[[folder:Theatre]]
365* Music/BernardHerrmann's opera ''Wuthering Heights'' ends with an eerie soprano voice resembling Cathy's, accompanied mostly by the sound of the wind, calling out to Heathcliff.
366* Creator/CirqueDuSoleil:
367** The Songbird's numbers in ''Theatre/{{Saltimbanco}}''.
368** The "Aftermath" interlude in ''KA''.
369** "Le reveur" in ''Theatre/{{Varekai}}''.
370** The suspended poles ("Enchanted Reunion") and Chinese pole ("Creature of Light") acts in ''Theatre/{{Amaluna}}''
371** "Distorted" in ''Theatre/LaNouba''.
372** ''Theatre/{{Volta}}'' most prominently has this in "Man Craft", "Battle of the Man", the climax of "The Bee and the Wind", and the coda of "Inside Me".
373* ''Theatre/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'' has Christine do this near the end of the titular song.
374* Music/RichardStrauss's opera ''Daphne'' ends with Daphne transformed into a laurel tree and her now-wordless voice singing through the branches.
375* The stage musical of ''Theatre/TheLittleMermaid'' has a one-woman wail version of "Part of Your World" as a DreamMelody.
376[[/folder]]
377
378[[folder:Theme Parks]]
379* Prominently used in the soundtrack of the [[Ride/DisneyThemeParks Disneyland Paris]] version of ''Ride/TheHauntedMansion'', ''Phantom Manor'', with the voice being that of the Bride character.
380[[/folder]]
381
382[[folder:Video Games]]
383* ''VideoGame/AceCombat'':
384** The BGM for ''VideoGame/AceCombatZeroTheBelkanWar''[='s=] final mission, [[http://youtu.be/vGjwXI0n5-I?t=1m2s "Zero,"]] includes about 50 seconds of wailing... before heading into a remix of the BGM from the final mission of ''VideoGame/AceCombat5TheUnsungWar''.
385** Also from 5, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkO6J8ABXhM "Grabacr,"]] starting at about 3:20.
386** ''VideoGame/AceCombatJointAssault'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbqSeihre6w pulls one of these as well.]]
387** As does ''VideoGame/AceCombatAssaultHorizon'' with "Mrs. Krista Yoslav" (which plays during the FinalBattle). A bit confusing, [[CultureChopSuey the lyrics are in Russian but the tune is distinctly Middle-Eastern]].
388** ''VideoGame/AceCombat7SkiesUnknown'' features a truly epic rendition in the form of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kVdCaczLE8 Daredevil,]] which plays during the final battle with the [[spoiler:second [[AirborneAircraftCarrier Arsenal Bird]].]]
389* ''VideoGame/ANNOMutationem'': [[BloodKnight Absalom]]'s boss theme features a prominent pitch of a chorus wail occurring mixed with the ambient music.
390* ''VideoGame/AxiomVerge'' and ''VideoGame/AxiomVerge2'' feature multiple tracks with wailing, fitting the lonely feeling of the games' many isolated areas. Sometimes there's even a ''chorus'' of wailing.
391* Appears prominently in the soundtrack for ''VideoGame/BatenKaitos'', particularly as things get darker around the second disc. Probably the most memorable use is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XX-_-lH6YwA "Ruinous Commander,"]] the FinalBoss theme from ''Origins''.
392* ''VideoGame/Bayonetta2'' features one during the boss theme [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MmuICdEuI8 "Alraune Whisperer of Insanity,"]] which fits in eerily well amongst the OminousLatinChanting.
393* The soundtrack for Xen in ''VideoGame/BlackMesa'' makes heavy use of this. One of the best examples is the haunting opening track [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8S22AEtiLsI Transcendent]], perfectly setting the tone for the beautiful, dreamlike, alien place that is Xen.
394* ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'' features this as the {{Leitmotif}} for Nu -13-. ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uUokBy_pTk Awakening The Chaos]]''.
395* ''VideoGame/Borderlands2'' features one briefly in the ambient soundtrack for Thousand Cuts.
396* ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'':
397** The "Enchanted Banquet" boss music in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight'', appropriately enough used only when fighting female bosses.
398*** There's also "Prayer", the song used on the menu screen.
399** ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaLamentOfInnocence'' gives us [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yko8bREz-tE this.]]
400* One of the GLA's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsWgJSEBzLQ tracks]] in ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerGenerals'' has this at the start.
401* ''VideoGame/{{Commandos}} 2: Men of Courage'' has a couple of such themes. For example, Savo island's undersea areas are set to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gg_OqdVo0kA this.]]
402* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pZyKzpwwzo "Critical Moment of Contra"]] from ''VideoGame/ContraShatteredSoldier''.
403* ''VideoGame/CrimsonEchoes'': The song played during the battle with Antaeus Porre features this.
404* The ''VideoGame/DanceDanceRevolution'' songs "L'amour et la liberte" and "Tears".
405* ''VideoGame/{{Darius}}'':
406** ''Darius Gaiden'':
407*** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJ1dMULckK0 This clip]]. It doesn't help that in that clip it is heard just as the boss appears. Not only this is the final stage music, the bosses in ''Darius Gaiden'' are NintendoHard in and of themselves. Even the uploader admitted that he'd die if the boss pulls the disappear-into-the-background trick again; yeah, TheComputerIsACheatingBastard. For bonus score? This particular boss resembled the very first boss, giving a very nasty surprise to any unprepared players.
408*** That same warbling voice [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlvfFfvzkf8 echoes in the game's many different endings]], most of which are either tremendously nihilistic or just downright weird, kinda like the music.
409** ''Darius Burst'':
410*** We have [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRzXwf5akfE "The World of Spirit."]]
411*** "Another Chronicle" gives us this in a similar vein as with ''Darius Gaiden''. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3t3PEJpBiA Zones A, D, and H's BGMs are this trope in spades.]]
412*** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6XDpA0JdDo "Hello 31337"]] (pronounced "Hello [[LeetLingo Elite]]"), the boss theme used for the Great Thing FinalBoss series, which features a voice constantly chanting something along the lines of "HA!" in the background, as if [[EvilLaugh laughing at you]].
413* In ''VideoGame/DarkChronicle'', Emperor Griffon's [[{{Leitmotif}} battle theme]], "Sun", features a dramatic wail set against a male choir of OminousLatinChanting, representing [[spoiler: Sirus' [[LoveMakesYouCrazy longing for Alexandra]] as well as [[OmnicidalManiac his psychotic hatred towards humanity]].]]
414* ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' has a few boss themes that fit the mold. There is also "Daughters of Chaos", which plays at the bonfire kept by Quelaag's sister--probably the most tragic of all {{Tragic Monster}}s in the game.
415* In ''VideoGame/DeadIsland'', the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbZAUcpAhHg background music]] for the church safehouse has a theme based on this trope.
416* ''VideoGame/{{DEFCON}}'' has this in the main background music. Extra points for not being a woman singing in a sad voice, but actually crying. Which is very fitting, considering that the point of the game is to bomb as many of your enemies' cities with nukes as possible.
417* While the soundtrack of the original ''VideoGame/DeusEx'' is [[CyberPunkIsTechno almost entirely techno]] - the second game, ''[[VideoGame/DeusExInvisibleWar Invisible War]]'' features a One Woman Wail remix of the original game's theme. The soundtrack of [[VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution Human Revolution]], on the other hand, has a wail in almost every track.
418* The ''VideoGame/DiabloIII'' cinematic trailer unveiled in June 2008 features such a wail.
419* ''Franchise/DragonAge'' series:
420** ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' loves this trope, with wailing at the title credits and during the Battle of Ostagar. Leliana will sing in camp if you have high enough approval rating with her.
421** Our Lady makes a brief reappearance in the main theme for ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', but she's mostly replaced in favor of some very plaintive strings.
422* In ''VideoGame/Drakengard3'', whenever Zero taps into her [[MagicMusic Intoner]] powers, she sings along to the background music. This is also featured in all the Intoner boss fights, with the voices turning into jumbled murmuring (not unlike a fast rap verse) when Intoner Mode is activated.
423* The main theme of ''VideoGame/DungeonsAndDragons Tactics'', also used in the map screen.
424* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ML4IFnCHpU The first level of]] ''VideoGame/{{Einhander}}''.
425** At 1:05, you can hear the same vocal sample that was used in ''VideoGame/SanFranciscoRush'''s "Rave Rush" music.
426** The final battle theme, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTWi_wJXGPI "Zero Gravity."]]
427* The track [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACS11BtxedA Frostfall]] in ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'' contains one.
428* In ''VideoGame/EndlessLegend'', both themes associated with the [[DraconicHumanoid Drakken]] feature One Woman Wails: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrfWHlXY5_I An Ancient Wail]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Brxl_XzhLKw Wisdom of Dark Ages]].
429%%* "Anima Ataraxia", the theme of the TrueFinalBoss from ''VideoGame/FateExtraCCC''.
430* ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'':
431** In the 2012 {{updated rerelease}}, the new version of Shirou's {{leitmotif}} that plays whenever he does something momentous is accompanied by this. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2gzroX4bAU Have a listen.]]
432** "This Illusion", the opening song, turns into this halfway through.
433* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0C6fZjY_ORk "Dust to Dust,"]] from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'', plays when you enter [[BleakLevel the ruined village of Oerba]]. Particularly powerful, since Oerba was Vanille and Fang's hometown, but is now nothing but decaying wreckage, crystal sands, and Cie'th. The music even overrides the battle theme, driving home the sorrow and desolation.
434* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' has a rare fusion of OminousLatinChanting and the One Woman Wail: before you fight one of the major story bosses, as he and your character have their dramatic discussion before fighting one another, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_6zdvxOF0E this piece]] will play: a One-Woman Wail that isn't sad or forlorn, but rather ominous and chilling. Once the fighting starts, though, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gc-0CI86qok it kicks right into]] OminousLatinChanting.
435* ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar2'' has this in With Sympathy, except that the wail slowly becomes more powerful towards the end.
436* ''VideoGame/GodOfWarPS4'' uses this to great effect throughout the soundtrack, such as in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3C14m1Dono "Memories of Mother."]]
437* In ''VideoGame/DotHackGU'' we have the [[http://youtu.be/9QwQfak6lyU Keel Mountain Range of Briona Gwydion,]] which is just one of several pieces like this.
438* ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'': Used in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EHt7k-vT1U "Ashes"]] from ''VideoGame/HaloReach'', alongside {{Lonely Piano| Piece}}, and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiyWOHqhUb4 "Atonement"]] from ''VideoGame/Halo4''.
439* ''VideoGame/HeartsOfIron III'''s song [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOiohuMkKD8 Letters From Home]] features this.
440* From ''VideoGame/{{Hellsinker}}'' we get the theme of the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9cEPUOV-GQ Apostles of the Seed.]] And soon thereafter we get [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lf0FxvSlHu0 Segment 7,]] the theme of Rex Cavalier although it's more of a One-Man Wail.
441* The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuofG8a7EEk main theme]] of ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry''. It's the main theme because it sort of embodies the tragic insanity everyone, including most of the young girls [[spoiler:and the male lead]], fall under. It's most often used during scenes regarding the aftermath of the [[BadEnding Great Hinamizawa Gas Disaster]].
442* ''VideoGame/HollowKnight'' has a one-woman wail in the outside sections of the City of Tears, [[LeftTheBackgroundMusicOn whose melody is also sung by the ghost songstress Marissa]] in the Pleasure House. Some portions of "Daughter of Hallownest" (Hornet's remixed DLC theme) also fit.
443* ''VideoGame/HorizonZeroDawn'' uses the vocals of Julie Elven frequently and to great effect, most obviously in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_w9B7uwLZeI "Aloy's Theme"]] but in many other parts of the soundtrack as well.
444* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcxllvjUo2k "Grace and]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qhsBlzGjm4 Glory,"]] the final boss theme of both ''VideoGame/JetSetRadio'' games.
445* The ending song by Lisbeth Scott, "I Was Born for This", from ''VideoGame/Journey2012''.
446* A One-Woman Wail in ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising'' plays when Pit sees [[spoiler:the destroyed Skyworld, caused by the Chaos Kin possessing Palutena, for the first time. It later serves as a RecurringRiff throughout the rest of the Chaos Kin arc.]]
447* ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'': The gut-wrenching fight against [[spoiler:a darkness-corrupted Aqua]] has segments that involve a wordless "ah" vocalization from one woman, and segments that seem to be a duet between two of these.
448* ''VideoGame/KirbyAndTheForgottenLand'': One is featured in [[spoiler:Fecto Elfilis]]'s boss theme, Two Planets Approach the Roche Limit.
449* A number of the special Infected {{leitmotif}} in both ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'' games feature ominous wailing, especially the Witch's theme.
450* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
451** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'' has one in the nighttime Hyrule Field theme. Drove a few to nostalgic tears on realizing that it was the same synthesized voice that was used for Malon's singing in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]''.
452** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'' uses one in the "enemy encounter at sea" music.
453* ''[[VideoGame/LittleBigPlanet LittleBigPlanet 2]]'': Victoria's Laboratory Int Music with only the Melody playing.
454* ''VideoGame/LobotomyCorporation'' has this included in the [[DespairEventHorizon Third Warning music]].
455** ''VideoGame/LibraryOfRuina'' has a similar haunting wail during the third version of ''Furioso'', the theme that plays when you fight Roland during his Floor Realizations [[spoiler: as well as the [[MarathonBoss first three stages]] of his reception.]]
456* The opening animation for ''VideoGame/TheLostCrown'' has this.
457* From ''VideoGame/LostOdyssey'', [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFGrxKDrluI "Parting Forever,"]] which plays when [[spoiler: Lirum dies.]]
458* Some tracks of the game ''VideoGame/{{Malicious}}'' use it, such as the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Spr5f_DfuqQ eponymous music]] (very soothing by the way).
459* ''Franchise/MassEffect'':
460** An in-universe example happens in ''VideoGame/MassEffect1'', wherein defeating the geth in the Armstrong Cluster triggers a recording of a lone quarian woman wailing. This is also one of the first indications of their (for want of a better word) humanity.
461%% ** And in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', Samara's theme.
462* The beginning of "After The Drop" from ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonorFrontline'' has a boy soprano version of this. Halfway through the song, a full CherubicChoir joins in. Ditto for "Arnhem".
463* The game ''VideoGame/MedievalTotalWar'' uses this trope in every way it can.
464** ''VideoGame/RomeTotalWar'' has it as the theme for losing battles ''and'' battles ending in a draw, as opposed to the victorious-sounding OminousLatinChanting played during victories. It is fittingly entitled "Lost Souls".
465* ''VideoGame/MetalGear'':
466** The opening (and later, the ending) of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' features a One-Woman Wail... in Irish, which not even a native speaker can follow. (Ironically, if you look at the official translated lyrics, she's singing about how life is wonderful and how people aren't alone).
467** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' took it to a more obvious extreme by wrapping the trailers in a Hebrew One Woman Wail which is more emblematic of the trope. It's about how terrible war is. [[spoiler: A vocal-only version accompanies Snake's trip through the microwave hallway, as he damn near kills himself, and his allies do the same thing.]]
468*** ''Metal Gear Solid 4'' also [[spoiler:features a callback to the first game's One Woman Wail when Snake goes back to Shadow Moses Island.]]
469*** ''Metal Gear Solid 4'' also has the credits song "Here's To You", which probably counts as a one-woman wail if you don't speak English. The bulk of Japanese gamers probably don't have to sit and wonder who Nicola and Bart are.
470** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'' features the song "Sins of the Father" by Donna Burke, which has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZAHk0g-Nfk a more dramatic take]] on this trope, seen in gameplay when Snake [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKdgKU7hn-A smokes a Phantom Cigar]]:
471--->"''WOA''-'''''HAAAAAAAA!'''''"
472* The ending theme of ''VideoGame/Metro2033'' that plays if you get the good ending includes this alongside the music as Artyom sits atop the tower, looking out across the world.
473* ''[[VideoGame/MightAndMagic Might & Magic 7]]'' features this in heaps. The wailing is present almost everywhere, but the soundtracks for [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2IWkh62NJg Barrow Downs, Eofol,]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVqbnGWqf6c Deyja and the Bracada desert]] really lean on it. Perfect wasteland wandering motifs.
474* From the ''VideoGame/{{Myst}}'' series, ''VideoGame/{{Uru}}: Ages Beyond Myst'' and ''Uru Live'' (AKA ''Myst Online'') has a wail in Kadish's Gallery. Another such wail plays in Kadish's Vault.
475** The Kadish Vault theme was later used in the trailer for the movie ''Film/{{Munich}}''.
476* The main theme and related {{leitmotif}}s for ''VideoGame/NinetyNineNights'' features this technique.
477* ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'' with Bad Girl's theme, ''Pleather for Breakfast.''
478* The main menu theme of ''VideoGame/{{Operation Flashpoint|Codemasters}}: Dragon Rising'' starts with one of these, followed with throat singing and very US Army orchestral reprise (sounding very much like themes from ''America's Army'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'').
479* ''VideoGame/OriAndTheBlindForest'' has many examples sung by Aeralie Brighton, such as "Ori, Lost in the Storm", "The Spirit Tree", "Approaching the End", "Returning to the Spirit Tree", "The Sacrifice", and "Light of Nibel".
480* ''VideoGame/ParasiteEve'': While it has a few musical themes using this trope throughout the game, the most notable of these is Eve's [[{{Leitmotif}} battle theme]], "Influence of Deep", which features a One-Woman Wail being heard amidst techno music. It also has an instrumental segment played using an [[OminousPipeOrgan organ]] tossed in.
481* ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'':
482** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFIYXvsm09o&feature=channel_page The music in the Velvet Room]], variously translated as "Aria of the Soul" and "The Poem for Everyone's Souls". In the [[VideoGame/Persona1 first]] and [[VideoGame/Persona2 second]] games, it's justified by having the singer (Belladonna) actually standing at a mike in the Velvet Room. It's also used in the final boss battle of ''VideoGame/Persona3'', which makes sense given that the song's title can be translated as "The Battle for Everyone's Souls".
483** In ''VideoGame/Persona2'', a frightened woman's scream [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3By2_ycEaQc is repeated]] throughout [[GodOfEvil Nyarlathotep]]'s {{Leitmotif}}.
484* The music in ''VideoGame/PN03'''s intro cutscene, and by extension the final stage, features both male and female throat singing.
485* There is an incredibly haunting track on the second volume of the ''VideoGame/Portal2'' soundtrack called [[spoiler: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcBVf5Nq-To [=PotatOS's=] Lament]]]]. It's sung by [=GLaDOS=] after she's been [[spoiler: [[ItMakesSenseInContext turned into]] [[ForcedTransformation a potato]]]], and plays in the Act II title screen. The lyrics are in Latin (and make little to no sense when translated), but the DroneOfDread-music combined with the fact that you can ''[[NotSoStoic hear [=GLaDOS=]'s]] voice breaking'' at the end.
486* ''Franchise/PrinceOfPersia'':
487** ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaTheTwoThrones'' often has this as background music when navigating the ruined city of Babylon.
488** ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaTheSandsOfTime'' has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKwbptphnVU a track]] that consists entirely of this.
489* ''VideoGame/QuakeI'' has this in one of its CD music tracks, although strictly speaking it's a one-man scream. A man's yell/scream begins and continues for an unnaturally long time, fading in and out and occasionally becoming ragged. The effect is suitably disturbing for the player.
490* The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QYdOZ-b0Zw last level]] in ''VideoGame/RType Delta'' has a One Woman Wail as a soundtrack. Here's a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_nMfpgAvuU music-only submission.]]
491* ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'':
492** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RmFjWS04fw "Room of Lisa"]] from the ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil1'' remake.
493** "The Third Malformation of G" from ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2''.
494** ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilCodeVeronica'': Alexia's battle themes use this prominently for the "Berceuse" melody.
495** ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5'' also uses a track in its opening cutscene.
496* This is a favorite technique of ''VideoGame/ShadowHearts'' series composer Yoshitaka Hirota. Take for example [[https://youtu.be/baC0LiPbU4Y "Brain Hopper"]], a ''battle'' theme.
497%% ''Franchise/SilentHill'':
498%% ** "Lost Carol" from the ''VideoGame/SilentHill3'' soundtrack.
499%% ** Scarlet's boss theme from ''VideoGame/SilentHillHomecoming''.
500* ''VideoGame/{{Skullgirls}}'' uses this trope in the intro to the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4i58MUmXBuY opening theme of the game,]] and is also used in the FinalBoss theme: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8dSA37vN0Q "Skull Heart Arryhmia"]].
501* One song that plays often near the end of ''VisualNovel/{{Snatcher}}'' has a decent-for-its-time clip of a woman screaming between repetitions.
502* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'':
503** Another example definitely intended to be ominous rather than sad is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoImpEy9CZg the final boss theme]] of ''[[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehogCD Sonic CD]]''.
504** This is the part that's unique to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s457A6gAEtQ Amy's section of End of the World]] in ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006''. [[spoiler:It makes sense, considering the person she has feelings for just died.]]
505* The themes for the battles against Fienne, Thuris and [[spoiler:Drazil]] in ''VideoGame/SoulNomadAndTheWorldEaters''.
506* Notably in ''VideoGame/StarOceanTillTheEndOfTime'', the [[http://lamda.bluelaguna.net/so3music/33%20-%20Interval%20of%20Freezed%20Time.mp3 background music on the aptly named planet Styx.]]
507%%* The opening animation sequence of ''VideoGame/SuikodenII''.
508%%* The opening animation sequence of ''VideoGame/SuikodenIII''.
509* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'':
510** ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'': A brief One-Woman Wail occurs at the start of the FinalBoss first phase theme.
511** The ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2'' remix of the "Road to Bowser" music from ''VideoGame/SuperMario64''.
512* The Judecca's {{Leitmotif}} in ''VideoGame/SuperRobotSpirits'' is basically this, probably because Levi is the final boss of the game.
513* The ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosMelee'' remix of the ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' theme.
514* In ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'', the "ROBOTS!" song on the soundtrack features this near the end, as the voice wails along with the melody.
515* The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNtb2RSg2SY opening]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbAvc_MRy0A ending]] of ''[[VideoGame/ThunderForce Thunder Force VI]]''.
516* In ''VideoGame/{{Turgor}}'', the tracks called "The Adit" and "[[spoiler: Sister's Death]]"
517* ''VideoGame/TwilightWing'' has these in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhrbSVSbFBk "Emotion Eater"(Changeling Swamp)]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geg-Ylc_cmU "Gold Dusk"(Final Stage).]] The former samples the vocals from the ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' intro/ending theme.
518* The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trjbCckqV5w Snowy Roads]] music in ''VideoGame/TwistedMetal Black'' uses this. Also used, along with ForDoomTheBellTolls, on the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpKiB37jEhs&playnext=1&list=PLE0FD76BF8BB0D52E Freeway]] level.
519* ''VideoGame/{{Tyranny}}'' has ThemeAndVariationsSoundtrack based on one such wail. It runs through tracks like "Binder of Fate" and "Kyros", and shows up in-game in the game's climaxes, [[spoiler:such as during the breaking of Edicts and the deaths of Archons]].
520* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qdtTITD32s Reina Akikawa's theme]] in ''VideoGame/WanganMidnight R'', which can also be listened to in ''Maximum Tune 3'' by unlocking the [[CosmeticAward Wangan Midnight R soundtrack]].
521* ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}} III'' uses this when Arthas returns before killing his father, a One Boy Soprano Wail as he catches a rose petal and watches it wither in his hand, and a One-Woman Wail in The Ascencion cinematic at the end of ''The Frozen Throne''.
522** The Night Elves' defeat music also features one.
523* ''VideoGame/WorldOfGoo'':
524** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yb0s7UavHNU "The Burning Man,"]] which plays in a good amount of the dark, industrial levels of Chapter 3, consists largely of metallic screeching combined with ethereal choir. It effectively encapsulates [[NightmarishFactory the hell that the factory is]] in the game.
525** Its reprise, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxI873dOYG8 "Are You Coming Home, Love MOM,"]] that plays upon meeting the eponymous character, as well as [[spoiler:in the wreckage of the World Of Goo Corporation]], reuses the above's vocals to a much more relaxed, yet still somber melody.
526* In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', an obscure questline ends with you going to Undercity to give Lady Sylvanas a necklace she lost in battle, at which point she conjures a [[EtherealChoir choir of banshees]] and sings "[[http://www.wowwiki.com/Lament_of_the_Highborne Lament of the Highborne]]" as she recalls the fall of Silvermoon and her own death. The song replaces Undercity's normal BGM for its duration, and all players in the city will hear the ghostly dirge, which especially adds to the city's haunted feel for players who don't know about the quest. There ''are'' words, but they're entirely in Thallasian (the High/Blood Elf language).
527** The Wrathgrate Cinematic created for ''Wrath of the Lich King'' has one near the end, during [[spoiler:Highlord Bolvar Fordragon's death]].
528** The intro cinematic to Wrath of the Lich King also features this, using the Ascension theme from ''The Frozen Throne'' (see below), except this is a boy soprano, not a woman.
529* In the ''VideoGame/{{X}}'' series, the [[http://youtu.be/WXGnou1sOs4 BGM]] for the Boron capital sector Kingdom End-uses this with some reverb added. In this case, it's probably meant to be evocative of whale song, since the Boron are an aquatic species.
530* In ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1'', the song "Engage the Enemy" has a woman wail that plays in the 2 minutes mark. Since the first use of the song is [[spoiler: before Fiora's death]], this works with the heartwrenching nature of the song. The Switch version makes the wailing more emotional.
531[[/folder]]
532
533[[folder:Web Animation]]
534* ''WebAnimation/BrokenSaints'':
535** At the final part of Chapter 24 Act 4, contains a very powerful wail titled "Truth".
536** Apart from that, the tracks "Come Into The Dark", "The Eight Element", "Belief", "Kenoma", and "Qaf", used at various points in the series.
537* [[LonelyRichKid Weiss]]'s theme [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qROQOpei73Q Mirror Mirror]] from ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' features this.
538[[/folder]]
539
540[[folder:Web Videos]]
541* A rare male example: Red sings one in ''WebVideo/ThereWillBeBrawl'' while, across town, Peach is kidnapped. Later, [[spoiler: a recording of him does it again over Yoshi's murder and his own funeral.]]
542-->So, uh... was I any good?
543* Creator/DougWalker, calling it "The Poetic Singer", is [[PetPeeveTrope not]] [[http://channelawesome.com/dougs-top-10-worst-cliches a fan.]] [[note]]It's number 5 on the list, for those who don't want to watch the whole thing.[[/note]] He later parodied this trope in his ''Film/{{Avatar}}'' review.
544-->''Ear poison! It is EAR POISON!!''
545* [[http://snd.sc/yfqNKb "Lockdown"]] from ''WebVideo/SplinterCellExtinction''.
546* Creator/CleolindaJones refers to it as "Our Lady of Soundtrack Sorrow" during her ''Film/{{Troy}} [[http://cleolinda.livejournal.com/99710.html in 15 Minutes]]'' summary.
547* A Male version features in a Creator/FoilArmsAndHog sketch, ''Border Control Live''. Once Foil and Hog begin to mime a slow motion shootout, Arms starts belting out a pitch perfect [[SingingVoiceDissonance mournful chant]].
548* ''WebVideo/CriticalRole'': Used as background music for effect [[spoiler: when Vox Machina recover the body of Tiberius]].
549[[/folder]]
550
551[[folder:Western Animation]]
552* ''[[WesternAnimation/{{Arcane}} Arcane: League of Legends]]'': In Episode 3, Silco delivers a calm OpeningMonologue as he peacefully drowns in a large body of water while a One-Woman Wail plays on the soundtrack.
553* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'':
554** The Grand Finale features the Wail during the climax of the battle between Aang and Fire Lord Ozai.
555** Also happens during the last episode, when Sokka and Toph are about to die. Just before [[TheCavalry Suki]] arrives.
556* ''WesternAnimation/BigHero6TheSeries'': In "Big Chibi 6", After Hardlight creates dozens of Captain Cutie holograms, they begin attacking the heroes while accompanied by a One-Woman Wail using the word "Chibi" over and over.
557* ''WesternAnimation/CourageTheCowardlyDog'': Multiple:
558** This trope is used during a boat chase scene in "Human Habitrail" where Doctor Gerbil pursues Courage.
559** Also in the episode "Shadow of Courage", played whenever Muriel rushes over to whack Eustace with a rolling pin (because he's scaring/harming Courage).
560* ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'' incorporates a wail whenever Aelita uses her Creativity power. (Some viewers mistake it for Aelita actually doing the singing, but she sometimes speaks, vocalizes, or sings her own note at the same time, showing it isn't the case.)
561* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'': Parodied in "Sock Opera", where a woman singing "Ave Maria" plays over [[ItMakesSenseInContext a puppet show getting destroyed by fireworks]].
562* Parodied in the ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' Halloween episode "Druselsteinoween." When Ferb starts singing the song "Vampire Queens Love Pimpernels," there's an ethereal wail in the background... and as the song progresses, there's a brief moment where it turns out that BaljeetĀ is doing the wail.
563* ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'': Heard in a couple of brief moments in "Jack and the Spartans".
564* The ''WesternAnimation/SpaceGhostCoastToCoast'' theme song, which begins with a wail of parts of the original ''WesternAnimation/SpaceGhost'' theme.
565* Shows up in ''WesternAnimation/{{Squidbillies}}'' as the Sheriff attempts to [[SoundtrackDissonance resuscitate a pig who has died of a meth overdose.]]
566* During [[spoiler:Kanan's sacrifice]] in ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'', all audio is muted except for the music, with the Wail serving as the voice for the grieving characters.
567* Wordless ethereal female singing can be heard in "[[AwesomeMusic/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic The Ballad of the Crystal Ponies]]" from [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E1TheCrystalEmpirePart1 Season 3, Episode 1]] of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic''. Unusually for this trope (but more in line with what you'd expect from [[SugarBowl the franchise]]) it's very cheerful and uplifting (it's easier to listen to [[https://youtu.be/wr309LrPLoM?t=55 here]] (at 0:55) than in the full song proper).
568[[/folder]]

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