Elegia (song)

"Elegia" is an instrumental composed and performed by the British pop group New Order. It was released on their third studio album, Low-Life (1985). The track was written and produced by Gillian Gilbert, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris and Bernard Sumner.

Elegia is an instrumental tribute to Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis, whom some of the members of New Order previously played in. Due to its sombre mood, it has been used in a variety of media, including Pretty in Pink, Stranger Things and The Crown. "Elegia" is Greek for elegy.

Background
"Elegia" was originally written for a film commissioned by i-D magazine and was inspired by Ennio Morricone's For A Few Dollars More score. The film was not completed, so the band saved the recording for their upcoming album.

"Elegia" was recorded at CTS Studios in Wembley in a single 24-hour session with the working title "Ben and Justin". It is in the key of A minor with a time signature of 12/8. The song uses the E-mu Emulator II for several sounds, including choir and strings.

17-minute version
The original recording of "Elegia" had a duration of 17:29 which was edited down to 4:56 for the album version on Low-Life. The full-length version was included on the limited five-disc version of the compilation album Retro, as well as the 2008 Collector's Edition of Low-Life. The full version was also released on vinyl in 2012 and again in 2022.

Use in media
Since the release of Low-Life in 1985, Elegia has been used in the following media productions:


 * The 1998 Academy Award-nominated short film More by Mark Osborne.
 * The 1986 film Pretty in Pink.
 * The CSI: Crime Scene Investigation episode "Compulsion".
 * An American Masters documentary about writer Truman Capote, first aired in September 1987.
 * The fifth episode of the first season of the Netflix series Stranger Things.
 * Comedian Sam Hyde used it for the trailer to his web series "Kickstarter TV".
 * "Rust" – a black-and-white music video by Nenko Genov.
 * The E3 2015 trailer of the video game Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.
 * The first episode of the show "Deadly Class (TV series)".
 * The Crown season 4 episode "The Heredity Principle".