Taylor Swift
has released a new song, "Safe and Sound" from the upcoming
film
The Hunger Games, on iTunes overnight, announcing its arrival in a surprise series of announcements late Thursday
night (Dec. 22) via Twitter. Swift co-wrote the song with Joy Williams and John Paul White of
the
Civil Wars (who also perform on the track) and award-winning singer, songwriter and producer T Bone Burnett. The song
is the first single from the soundtrack of the film which opens in theaters on March 23. Directed by Gary Ross, the futuristic
film centers around a boy and girl selected from 12 districts to fight to the death on live television. The cast includes
Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Stanley Tucci and Donald Sutherland, among others. Burnett
has supervised the soundtracks to several notable films, including
O Brother, Where Art Thou,
Walk the Line
and
Crazy Heart. Swift's recording of "Safe and Sound" quickly topped the iTunes sales chart on Friday.
