CD soundtrack to the "Catcher in the Rye movie that never was"

I Don't Want To Grow Up- The Ramones

Click Here to Listen to "I Don’t Wanna Grow Up"
Click Here to View Lyrics for "I Don’t Wanna Grow Up"

This song represents Holden's resistnace to maturity. Not only does he try to resist growing up himself. He doesn't want his younger sister to face the adult world either. This song would fit in perfectly in the scene where Holden says, "While I was sitting down, I saw something that drove me crazy. Somebody'd written 'Fuck you' on the wall. It drove me damn near crazy. I thought how Phoebe and all the other little kids would see it, and how they'd wonder what the hell it meant, and then finally some dirty kid would tell them- all cockeyed, naturally- what it meant, and how they'd all think about it and maybe even worry about it for a couple of days. I kept wanting to kill whoever'd written it. I figured it was some perverty bum that'd sneaked in the school late at night to take a leak or something and then wrote it on the wall. I kept picturing myself catching him at it, and how I'd smash his head on the stone steps till hew as good and goddam dead and bloody." (201). This shows how Holden refuses to accept the fact that his sister, as well as him, is entering the adult world. I think the title and the chorus of the song represent that theme very well.


Lyin' Eyes- The Eagles

Click Here to Listen to "Lyin' Eyes"
Click Here to View Lyrics for "Lyin' Eyes"

This song represents the constant theme of lying throughout the book. It would go very well around the scene in chapter three where Holden says, "I'm the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life. It's awful. If I'm on my way to the store to buy a magazine, even, and somebody asks me where I'm going, I'm liable to say I'm going to the opera. It's terrible." (16). This song would go well here because it covers the common theme of lying. For instance, some lyrics of the song say, " You can't hide your lyin' eyes. And your smile is a thin disguise." This shows the idea of a liar, which is a good adjective to portrait the character of Holden. This song could also be placed in the scene where Holden lies to a mother about her son at school because it is also a good representation of Holden's inability to tell the truth.


Afraid To Change- David Celia

Click Here to Listen to "Afraid To Change"
Click Here to View Lyrics for "Afraid To Change"

This song by David Celia represents Holden's resistance to change. This song would fit perfectly during the scene in the Museum of Natural History. During this scene, Holden says, "The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was. Nobody’d move. Nobody’d be different. The only thing that would be different would be you." (118). This quote expresses Holden's fear of change. which is adressed in Celia's song lyrics. Celia wrote, " Don't be agraid to change. Afraid to change. Don't be afraid to change". This song expresses important ideas that Holden needs to learn. He needs to be able to overcome his fear of change.