The Ecstasy of Gold

See also: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (soundtrack)

"The Ecstasy of Gold" (Italian: "L'estasi dell'oro") is a musical composition by Ennio Morricone, part of his score for the 1966 Sergio Leone film The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. It is played while Tuco (Eli Wallach) is frantically searching a cemetery for the grave that holds $200,000 in gold coins (equivalent to $6,000,000 in 2024). Sung by Edda Dell'Orso, it stands as one of the best known of Morricone's themes and one of the most iconic pieces of cinematic score in history.^{[citation needed]}

"The Ecstasy of Gold"
Song by Ennio Morricone
from the album The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Released	1966
Genre	Film score, western
Length	3:22
Songwriter(s)	Ennio Morricone

Appearances in other media

By other musicians

• An instrumental metal cover by Metallica appears on the 2007 Morricone tribute album We All Love Ennio Morricone. It reached #21 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock charts^[1] and was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of Best Rock Instrumental Performance.^[2] The band has used the original soundtrack recording to open up their concerts since 1983.^[3]
• Jay-Z sampled the beat in his song "Blueprint 2" on his 2002 album The Blueprint²: The Gift & the Curse.^[4]
• The main melody and vocals are sampled in the 2022 glitch hop song "Ecstasy of Soul" by electronic artists Zeds Dead and GRiZ. The song peaked at #19 on the US Dance/Electronic Songs chart.^[5]

In film

• The song was used in the 2015 film The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water.