In Pixar's Cars, the song nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song was “Our Town.”
Randy Newman wrote “Our Town,” and James Taylor performed it for the film's soundtrack. The song accompanies the closing credits and reflects the history, decline, and renewed spirit of Radiator Springs. Its lyrics emphasize how a once-busy community can be changed by time and by the growth of modern highways.
At the 79th Academy Awards, “Our Town” was nominated alongside songs from films including An Inconvenient Truth, Dreamgirls, and Borat. It did not win; the award went to “I Need to Wake Up” from An Inconvenient Truth.
Cars also features songs such as “Life Is a Highway” and “Real Gone,” but those were not the film's Academy Award-nominated song. “Our Town” is distinct from the movie's other music because its nomination recognized it in the Best Original Song category.