Hope Floats may be one of the standout romantic films of the 90s, but it also has an amazing soundtrack. Sandra Bullock's first film she produced was a hit, centered around a woman named Birdee Pruitt. Birdee is living in Chicago with her husband and daughter when she gets publicly dumped on national television and is forced to take her daughter Bernice back to her small hometown of Smithville, Texas, for a fresh start. She re-establishes her relationship with her mother and even falls for a handsome man from her past, Justin Matisse. You'll laugh, you'll cry, and Harry Connick Jr will make you swoon. The movie truly has it all. Since Hope Floats was set and filmed in a small Texas town, it makes sense that the soundtrack would be full of country music.
Not only did the soundtrack, co-produced by the film's director Forest Whitaker, really add to the powerful story, but it was a success in its own right. It reached No. 1 on the country charts and for good reason. From country covers of popular songs to new hits written specifically for the film, these country songs stand the test of time and make this soundtrack one to revisit over and over.
"To Make You Feel My Love," Garth Brooks
Garth Brooks took Bob Dylan's song he wrote for his award-winning 1997 album Time Out of Mind and made it the perfect way to open this film's soundtrack. His country twist made the song very much his own, despite Dylan's well-known original version as well as Billy Joel's pop cover. Brooks' version, a No. 1 hit on the country charts, ended up landing two Grammy nominations for Best Male Country Vocal Performance and Best Country Song (for Dylan, since he wrote it). It's now one of the most recognizable songs from the film.
"In Need," Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Crow wrote and recorded this song specifically for the Hope Floats soundtrack. In her signature country-pop way, the song is an excellent addition with fitting lyrics all about love, taking chances on new romance, and needing another person. Seems to pretty much sum up Birdee's budding romance with Justin Matisse which is central to the movie's plot.
"Chances Are," Bob Seger and Martina McBride
Written by Bob Seger, this duet between Seger and Martina McBride is another song written specifically for this soundtrack. The lyrics are all about remembering a loved one and never forgetting them, so it's only fitting that the song was played in the film when Birdee dances with her father, who is suffering from Alzheimer's disease, when she visits him in his treatment center. Bernice watches them from the hallway, realizing her mother lost her father, just like she has. It's a really touching scene, and the song makes it even more powerful.
"All I Get," The Mavericks
Co-written by lead vocalist Raul Malo, "All I Get" appeared on the Hope Floats soundtrack as well as a bonus track on their 1998 album Trampoline. The lyrics feel like another great nod to Birdee and Justin's sweet love story as it continues to build steam throughout the movie — "Remember all that we once had / There is no need to feel so bad / If you should say that we were through / Then this is all I want from you."
"Paper Wings," Gillian Welch
Poor Bernice has a rough time fitting in when she first gets to Smithville, particularly when it comes to the bully at school, who is giving her a hard time. "Paper Wings" felt like the perfect song to play in the scene where the whole school is following Bernice home, waiting to see what will happen with her and the bully after she accidentally hit her in the face with a volleyball in P.E. class. The song was released on her 1996 album Revival in addition to this soundtrack. It almost feels like an unexpected choice to play such a soothing folk song during an elementary school fight scene, but it actually really works.
"What Makes You Stay," Deana Carter
We're rooting for Birdee and Justin pretty much since their first reunion, so it's extremely satisfying when they finally share a kiss for the first time. They stay out together all night, with Deana Carter's soothing vocals setting the scene in the background. If the following lyrics don't sum up what's going on internally for Birdee, I don't know what does — "What makes you stay when your world falls apart? / What makes you try one more time when it's not in your heart? / At the end of your rope, when you can't find any hope, / You still look at him and say, / "I just can't walk away."
"To Get Me to You," Lila McCann
Another beautiful country ballad on this soundtrack comes from Lila McCann, another sweet testament to Birdee and Justin's relationship. Birdee had a rough road from her public humiliation to coming back to her hometown she vowed to leave in the past, but was all of the struggle worth it to get her with the right person? "To Get Me To You" would argue all those things were necessary to get her where she belonged.
"Smile," Lyle Lovett
Can you believe this classic song dates all the way back to Charlie Chaplin's 1936 film Modern Times? Similar to Dylan's "To Make You Feel My Love," this song has been covered countless times over the years, notably by the likes of Nat King Cole and Michael Jackson. But Lyle Lovett's take on the old classic really is a standout, recorded specifically for Hope Floats. It was later included on Lovett's 2003 album Smile: Songs from the Movies, all songs he recorded for various films over the years. The song plays at the ideal time in the movie when Birdee starts finding herself again, taking photos of her mother out in the yard and around her cozy hometown. She finally has a reason to smile again.
"To Make You Feel My Love," Trisha Yearwood
Garth Brooks' future wife Trisha Yearwood's cover of "To Make You Feel My Love" may be the final song on the soundtrack, but it plays when Birdee is at an absolute low in the film. She had a bit too much to drink the night before, mourning the loss of her husband despite her exciting new romance with Justin, so she's looking a bit rough when she shows up at Bernice's school with the lunch she left at home. Bernice is embarrassed by the way she looks and ignores her, and Birdee has a painful walk back home through town in the rain, ending up at the treatment center where her father is being treated for dementia, looking for comfort.
READ MORE: Relive '90s Rom Com 'Hope Floats' on this Small Town Texas Road Trip
