The Ballad of the Witches' Road

Last updated

All tracks are written by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez

"The Ballad of the Witches' Road (Sacred Chant Version)"
Agatha All Along "Ballad of the Witches' Road" poster.jpeg
Promotional graphic
Single by Kathryn Hahn, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn, Patti LuPone, Debra Jo Rupp and Agatha All Along cast
ReleasedSeptember 19, 2024 (2024-09-19)
Length3:18
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Kristen Anderson-Lopez
  • Robert Lopez
Music videos
"Sacred Chant Version" on YouTube
Versions of "The Ballad of the Witches' Road"
No.TitleInitially releasedLength
1."The Ballad of the Witches' Road (True Crime Version)" (featuring Matthew Mayfield)September 19, 2024 (2024-09-19)1:43
2."The Ballad of the Witches' Road (Sacred Chant Version)" (featuring Kathryn Hahn, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn, Patti LuPone and Debra Jo Rupp)September 19, 2024 (2024-09-19)3:18
3."The Ballad of the Witches' Road (Lorna Wu's Version)" (featuring Seomoon Tak)October 3, 2024 (2024-10-03)4:41
4."The Ballad of the Witches' Road (Cover Version)" (featuring Kathryn Hahn, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn, Patti LuPone, Aubrey Plaza and Joe Locke)October 3, 2024 (2024-10-03)4:40
5."The Ballad of the Witches' Road (Score Version)"October 11, 2024 (2024-10-11)1:42
6."The Ballad of the Witches' Road (Nicky's Version)"October 31, 2024 (2024-10-31)0:49
7."The Ballad of the Witches' Road (Agatha Through Time Version)" (featuring Kathryn Hahn, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn, and Patti LuPone)October 31, 2024 (2024-10-31)2:36
8."The Ballad of the Witches' Road (Pop Version)" (featuring Japanese Breakfast)October 17, 2024 (2024-10-17)4:41
Total length:24:10

"True Crime Version"

The "True Crime Version" was featured in the first episode of Agatha All Along titled "Seekest Thou the Road". It was the theme song for the fictionalized crime noir television series titled Agnes of Westview, in which the witch Agatha Harkness was trapped by Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch in the town of Westview, New Jersey, at the end of the miniseries WandaVision (2021). [16] [17]

"Sacred Chant Version"

The "Sacred Chant Version" was featured in the second episode of Agatha All Along titled "Circle Sewn with Fate / Unlock Thy Hidden Gate". It was sung by Harkness and her newly-recruited coven, during which Billy Maximoff unknowingly created the Witches' Road, accessible via a door in Agatha's basement in her home in Westview. [18]

"Lorna Wu's Version"

The "Lorna Wu's Version" was featured in the fourth episode of Agatha All Along titled "If I Can't Reach You / Let My Song Teach You". It was sung by the character Lorna Wu, mother of Alice Wu-Gulliver, a member of Harkness' coven, and revealed to be a protection spell created by Wu to shield Wu-Gulliver from a generational curse. [19] [20]

"Cover Version"

The "Cover Version" was featured in "If I Can't Reach You / Let My Song Teach You". It was sung by Harkness' coven, during Wu-Gulliver's trial as a cover of Lorna Wu's version in the hopes of protecting themselves from the Wu family generational curse. [19] [21]

"Score Version"

The "Score Version" was featured in "Circle Sewn with Fate / Unlock Thy Hidden Gate" and was composed by Christophe Beck and Michael Paraskevas. The score plays in the final scene as the coven walks down the path of the Witches' Road after entering the door and narrowly escaping the Salem Seven. [18] [22]

"Nicky's Version"

The "Nicky's Version" was featured in the finale of Agatha All Along titled "Maiden Mother Crone". It was the initial version of the song, as developed by Harkness and her son Nicholas Scratch in the 1750s which started the legend of the Witches' Road. [23]

"Agatha Through Time Version"

The "Agatha Through Time Version" was featured in "Maiden Mother Crone". It was the version of the song continued by Harkness after the death of her son, which she used to con other witches by leading them in singing the song as part of a ritual to open the door to the Witches' Road and proceeding to steal their powers, killing them in the process. Harkness eventually became the only known survivor of the fictional Witches' Road. [23] [24]

"Pop Version"

The "Pop Version", performed by Japanese Breakfast, was featured in the credits of "Maiden Mother Crone". [12]

Chart performance

The Sacred Chant Version debuted at number twenty-two on the Billboard Digital Song Sales chart for the week of October 5, 2024. [25]

Chart performance for the Sacred Chant Version
Chart (2024)Peak
position
UK Singles (OCC) [26] 45
US Digital Songs ( Billboard ) [27] 22

Reception

Critical Response

"The Ballad of the Witches' Road" was widely praised for its narrative significance, emotional depth, and the unexpected plot twist surrounding its origin. [28] [29] [30] [31] Vulture 's Caroline Framke described the "Sacred Chant Version" as "an earworm of a song" that was "undeniably effective to juxtapose the coven’s singalong with the arrival of the shrouded Salem 7", but noted it was not "as meme-ably catchy" as "Agatha All Along". [28] IGN critic Joshua Yehl called the "Cover Version" "wonderfully campy" and "great", and praised the lyrical elements that tied into Alice Wu-Gulliver's story. [29] Writing for Tell-Tale TV , Misael Duran found the "Agatha Through Time Version" to be a "major highlight" and "beautifully haunting", [30] while The Ringer 's Daniel Chin praised the plot twist regarding the origins of the song. [31]

Accolades

In 2025, "The Ballad of the Witches' Road (Sacred Chant Version)" won the Music Supervisors Guild Award for Best Song Written and/or Recorded for Television. [32]

See also

References

  1. "Songs from 'Agatha All Along' Episodes 1 & 2 Released | Film Music Reporter".
  2. "Songs from 'Agatha All Along' Episode 4 Released | Film Music Reporter".
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