Associative themes in Victor Young's Score for Shane (1953)

This thesis examines the associative properties of themes from Victor Young’s score for the western Shane (1953). Although scholarship on music in westerns has explored melodic, harmonic, and orchestrational traits at the surface level, relatively little analysis has been devoted to the significance of phrase structures in associative melodies. Drawing on the formal schemas of music theorists Mark Richards and William Caplin, I consider how features of phrase structure reflect Young’s differing use of themes for signification and referentiality. For instance, Young’s Shane theme serves to signify the titular character in some iterations while also referencing an array of relationships with characters in others. Young distinguishes these competing roles through melodic segmentation and consistent alterations to orchestration and texture. Young’s modifications to the Shane theme, however, contrast with his management of phrase structure in themes for the young Joey and the film’s antagonists. Through close analysis of specific scenes from the film, I show how Young’s approach to crafting and employing these associative themes provides a deeper appreciation of how music in westerns articulates additional layers of meaning within narratives.