“Our Town,” written by Randy Newman, was nominated for an Academy Award after appearing in Pixar’s Cars.
The song plays during a reflective sequence about Radiator Springs and its changing fortunes. Its lyrics focus on memory, community, and the passage of time, matching the film’s broader theme of a forgotten town finding renewed purpose.
Randy Newman wrote both the music and lyrics for “Our Town.” The song received a nomination for Best Original Song at the 79th Academy Awards, held in 2007. It did not win; the award went to “I Need to Wake Up” from An Inconvenient Truth.
Cars includes several other recognizable songs, including “Life Is a Highway,” performed by Rascal Flatts, and “Real Gone,” performed by Sheryl Crow. Those tracks are associated with the film’s soundtrack, but they are not the Academy Award-nominated Newman song.