"All Star" by Smash Mouth is not only considered the Signature Song of the entire Shrek franchise and its Memetic Mutation (being a meme in its own right) but a great one because it captures his humorous and grandiose nature. "Somebody once told me the world is gonna roll me..."
"It Is You (I Have Loved)" is one of the most beautiful romance songs of all time. It's an Award-Bait Song based on the series' main theme (and, if the lyrics are anything to go by, Fiona's character arc). The Morrano cover from Shrek Retold is even better, adding bohemian indie-rock vibes while keeping the romantic award-bait tone of the original.
"Bad Reputation" captures the spirit of Shrek defeating all of Lord Farquaad's knights nicely because of the rocking beats.
"I'm On My Way" by The Proclaimers is incredibly catchy and upbeat for the scene where Shrek and Donkey set out on their journey to rescue Fiona, and the Scottish accents fit all too well, to the point where you could imagine it taking place from Shrek's perspective.
John Cale's cover of "Hallelujah" is fondly remembered for its beautiful and graceful way of swaying the audience.
The franchise's main theme, Fairytale, a hauntingly beautiful leitmotif that still manages to fit with the series' tongue-in-cheek tone. Added bonus for that basically becoming the unofficial opening song of all the Dreamworks films to come after - whenever they do their Dreamworks Logo Gag, expect to hear some variation of it. Its use in the Sequel Hook of Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is considered a Most Wonderful Sound to many.
Jason Wade’s "You Belong to Me" is laidback, gentle, and romantic. It’s perfect for Shrek and Fiona’s dinner where they realize they have even more in common than they thought as they enjoy the former’s cooking. As Fiona quickly becomes enthusiastic about coming back to the swamp to spend time with Shrek, he gets nervous as he seems to subconsciously realize he has a real chance at love for the first time. It’s a short, sweet, and heartfelt song that perfectly sums up what both Shrek and Fiona are realizing about each other - “you belong to me.”
Both covers of "I'm a Believer" (Eddie Murphy's in the movie, Smash Mouth's on the soundtrack) are awesome, but Donkey belting it out at the end of the first movie with a crowd of fairy tales backing him up deserves special mention. For a typical kid watching this movie back in the summer of 2001, that whole sequence was the epitome of cool.
Aside from the overly high note, Fiona singing with the bird is nice to hear, especially with the music that plays with it. It almost sounds like something out of Disney and makes you wish the song wasn't cut so short.
The "Shrek in the Swamp Karaoke Dance Party" that played after the movie on the original VHS and DVD releases of the movienote Though on both said DVD and in future releases, it was on the "Extras" and "Dreamworks Kids" menus. is a ridiculously fun and catchy medley of popular songs all sung by the different characters, with several feeling very fitting to them. For many who owned the first installment in their movie collections as kids, this was one of the definitive bonus features from their childhood.
"Eating Alone" could serve as the leitmotif for Shrek and Donkey's friendship. It first plays when Shrek is eating alone, while Donkey sits on the porch waiting to be let inside. It later gets a brief reprise when Shrek and Donkey are stargazing together after Shrek vents about his loneliness. It comes back in the sequel when Donkey comforts Shrek after the apparent failure of the Happily Ever After potion.
is one of the most beautiful romance songs of all time. It's an Award-Bait Song based on the series' main theme (and, if the lyrics are anything to go by, Fiona's character arc). The Morrano cover