History Main / MemoryRestoringMelody

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Anastasia}}'': Anya has lost all of her memories save for a melody that she doesn't know the origin of, along with the lyrics "Once Upon A December." [[spoiler: This song was sung to her by her grandmother, who Anya was separated from after the attack on the Tzar and his family. Once Anya realizes that she's the missing Anastasia Romanov, she tracks down and eventually reunites with her grandmother, who then sings the song to her again.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAsTheIslandPrincess'': Ro is a human girl that was raised by island animals since she was a child, who found her among debris from an unknown incident. She's lost all of her memories except for a vision of a storm at sea and a song that she knows only some of the lyrics to. [[spoiler: It's revealed at the end of the film that the storm Ro remembered was the day she fell off of a ship and drifted out to sea, only to be found by the island animals. The song was a lullaby that was sung to her by her mother, who happens to be the queen of a distant island. This discovery leads to Ro reuniting with her parents and reclaiming her title as princess, as well as finding out that her full name is Rosella.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}'': Mama Coco is a wheelchair-bound ScatterbrainedSenior and GrannyClassic whose (deteriorating) memories of Hector, the father who seemingly walked out on her as a kid and can barely remember, are the only thing keeping him alive in the Spirit World, which operates on a version of ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve. After traveling to the Spirit World and uncovering the truth behind Hector's disappearance and later death, great-grandson Miguel sings to Coco the ParentalLoveSong "Remember Me" Hector wrote for Coco when she was a girl before his untimely departure. This not only helps Coco remember her deceased father better but her living family members as well, who she had also begun to forget.

* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseTheMovie'': After Spinel and all three of the main Crystal Gems [[spoiler: get all their memories removed via the Rejuvenator]], the problem is fixed through various songs for each character. Amethyst gets "No Matter What," Pearl gets "Disobedient," [[spoiler: which doesn't work,]] and "Independent Together," [[spoiler: which does.]] Spinel gets "Drift Away," and Garnet gets "Isn't It Love?" when [[spoiler: Ruby and Sapphire fuse for the "first" time]] and "True Kinda Love" [[spoiler: to regain the rest of her memories and individuality.]]

** ''Series/PowerRangersRPM'': After Dillon realizes [[spoiler: Tenaya 7]] is his long-lost sister, he purposely invokes this by waiting for her out in the wastelands with his pocket watch, playing "The Farmer in the Dell" (the song she often whistles, which clued Dillon in to her true identity). Once she is drawn to him, Dillon plays the watch's second melody, which unconsciously unlocks her memories of her brother [[spoiler: and [[TomatoInTheMirror of being human]], before Venjix captured her and experimented on her.]]

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'': When Yuna, Rikku, and Paine decide to put on a concert to raise the spirits of everyone in Spira, Yuna immediately finds herself humming a tune that she doesn't know the origin of, but somehow knows by heart. When the time comes for the concert it turns out the song she was recalling-''1000 Words''-was written by the spirit within her Songstress dressphere. [[spoiler: Singing the song is what finally allows that spirit-a summoner named Lenne-to manifest again in the present and provide visions of her past and reveal the identity of the mysterious figure in the sphere Yuna found-her boyfriend and the villain of the game, Shuyin.]]

* In ''{{VideoGame/Xenogears}}'', TheHero Fei gets a pang of nostalgia he can't explain upon hearing a song from an ancient music box Citan dug up, prompting Citan to [[DiscussedTrope briefly mention]] this trope. [[spoiler: It's implied that the music box was made by Fei's previous incarnation Kim Kasim back in the Zeboim era, in anticipation for [[ArtificialHuman Emeralda]]'s completion/birth.]]

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[[folder: Western Animation]]

[[folder: Real Life]]

* ''WesternAnimation/ThePrinceOfEgypt'': As the Egyptian soldiers carry out a mass killing of Hebrew children, [[MosesInTheBulrushes baby Moses is taken by his mother to the river bank and sent adrift in a basket in hope of a better life.]] Before his mother lets go of him, she sings him one last lullaby, [[NoInfantileAmnesia which he still remembers]] after being HappilyAdopted and raised as an Egyptian prince. Upon their coincidental meeting, his biological sister Miriam tries to convince him that they're both siblings, but he brushes her off as being delusional. It isn't until she proves it by singing the lullaby that he realizes she's telling the truth, [[DisappointingHeritageReveal revealing his true heritage]] and causing him to spiral into a HeroicBSOD. Unlike other examples of this trope, this reveal happens relatively early on in the story.

* Probably one of the better known examples of this trope is [[https://youtu.be/IT_tW3EVDK8?si=oradnJnTHaRU2XWD Marta C. González]], a former ballerina with Alzheimer’s. Despite her debilitated state, when her carers played Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, she was instantly able to recall and re-enact the ballet moves she had mastered decades ago

A long time ago, Alice heard a particular song. She may not have thought anything of it at the time, but one day, she hears the song again. It could be a coincidence, or Bob could be playing it to [[InvokedTrope invoke]] this trope. Either way, the result is that Alice suddenly remembers what was happening the other time she heard the song.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

-->'''Peter:''' I need you to memorize this song. What you're about to go through [time travel] will radically change the part of your brain that perceives time. The radiation left over from the trip will eliminate memories because the time in your memories will clash with your biological time.
-->'''Eliza:''' Well, that means--
-->'''Peter:''' --that you're going to forget everything. That's where the music comes in. It's been observed that music helps Alzheimer's patients. The brain stores memories of music and memories of events in totally separate areas. It-- I don't need to explain it, you know what I'm talking about, so just listen.

* In ''{{VideoGame/Xenogears}}'', TheHero Fei gets a pang of nostalgia he can't explain upon hearing a song from an ancient music box Citan dug up, prompting Citan to [[DiscussedTrope briefly mention this trope.]] [[spoiler: It's implied that the music box was made by Fei's previous incarnation Kim Kasim back in the Zeboim era, in anticipation for [[ArtificialHuman Emeralda]]'s completion/birth.]]

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* ''Film/Bloodshot2020'': Invoked. Every time [[spoiler:Harting resets Ray to go and assassinate one of Harting's former co-workers]], Ray wakes up without memory of what happened to him until he hears Music/TalkingHeads' "Psycho Killer", and suddenly he remembers the event that killed him and who did ([[spoiler:or rather, the FakeMemories Harting implanted in Ray's mind]]) and goes off on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge.

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* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'': One episode reveals that Dax has a past life that was suppressed. The first thing she remembers from said past life was a song she (though back then it was he) composed.
* ''Series/StarTrekPicard'': In "The Bounty", Riker, Worf, and Raffi sneak onto Daystrom Station, where they encounter the holographic Professor Moriarty as part of its security system, which sets off oddly musical chimes. Riker, the musician, recognizes the song as [[spoiler:"Pop Goes The Weasel", the song Data was whistling when they first met in the TNG pilot episode "Encounter At Farpoint", deactivating Moriarty and the security systems, also uncovers another synth golem: Daystrom Android M-5-10, the last work of Altan Inigo Soong, which includes the personalities of all the Soong-type androids: Data, Lore, Lal, [=B4=], and Altan Soong himself.]]

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* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': In "Game of Tones," a destructive four-note tune ravages Earth. Fry vaguely recognizes the tune from his past, specifically from the day he got frozen, so the crew sends him inside his own memories from that day so he can try and identify the source of the sound. He only hears the tune right before he falls inside the cryogenic tube, accompanied by two new notes, which he replicates back in the present to contact the ship. It turns out to be [[spoiler:Nibbler's friend Digby using the key fob to lock his spaceship, which he left on Earth; he's been using the alarm to locate the ship ever since]].

A long time ago, Alice heard a particular song. She may not have thought anything of it at the time, but one day, she hears the song again. It could be a coincidence, or Bob could be playing it to invoke this trope. Either way, the result is that Alice suddenly remembers what was happening the other time she heard the song.

Alice has that one song that she knows by heart, but she doesn't know where it came from. It keeps on playing in her head, and it has been throughout all of her life, and yet she has no idea why she knows it. Could there be something she's missing? This is where the Memory-Restoring Melody comes in.

Alice has that one song that she knows by heart, but she doesn't know where it came from. It keeps on playing in her head, and it has been throughout all of her life, and yet she has no idea why she knows it. Could there be something she's missing? This is where the [[TitleDrop Memory-Restoring Melody]] comes in.

One of these occurs when a character has some recollection of a specific song that's strongly tied to a now forgotten memory. This memory could have been lost either through infantile amnesia or through [[EasyAmnesia simple head trauma]], and usually occurs in stories with an AmnesiacHero. Oftentimes when this trope is in play, the hero in question realizes something about them that [[TomatoInTheMirror reveals that they aren't what they thought they were,]] either leading to an OhCrap moment or a EurekaMoment. In extreme cases, this can also likely be a TraumaButton. A RegainedMemoriesSequence is also highly likely. This trope also mostly happens in musicals, and can sometimes have the character sing the song to themselves as they try to decode it.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}'': Mama Coco is a wheelchair bound ScatterbrainedSenior and GrannyClassic whose (deteriorating) memories of Hector, the father that seemingly walked out on her as a kid and can barely remember, are the only thing keeping him alive in the Spirit World, which operates on a version of ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve. After traveling to the Spirit World and uncovering the truth behind Hector's disappearance and later death, great grandson Miguel sings to Coco the ParentalLoveSong "Remember Me" Hector wrote for Coco when she was a girl before his untimely departure. This not only helps Coco remember her deceased father better, but her living family members as well, who she had also begun to forget.

* ''Series/CrashLandingOnYou'': Se-ri was able to remember she earlier meet Jeong-hyuk in Switzerland because she remembered an unique piano melody she overheard there and retrospectively recognized the player as being Jeong-hyuk. The latter tells her this music was to honour his late brother.

* ''Podcast/{{Malevolent}}'': In the first episode, Arthur's memories start coming back after playing a song on the piano in his office. This song becomes a recurring element in the series, and is later revealed to be [[spoiler:the song Arthur composed for his now dead daughter, Faroe]]. In season 3, [[spoiler:Arthur makes a deal with Kayne to bring John back, but without his memories. He appears to come back with his memories up until being separated from Arthur as the result of Arthur playing Faroe's song again]].

* ''VideoGame/EarthboundBeginnings'': Queen Mary is glum because she can’t remember her song. She asks Ninten to find the Eight Melodies. [[spoiler:Once they’re all found, Queen Mary remembers that she’s Ninten’s missing great-grandmother Maria, and that she would sing the song to Giygas (called Giegue here) during his infancy]].
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'': When Yuna, Rikku and Paine decide to put on a concert to raise the spirits of everyone in Spira, Yuna immediately finds herself humming a tune that she doesn't know the origin of, but somehow knows by heart. When the time comes for the concert it turns out the song she was recalling-''1000 Words''-was written by the spirit within her Songstress dressphere. [[spoiler: Singing the song is what finally allows that spirit-a summoner named Lenne-to manifest again in the present and provide visions of her past and reveal the identity of the mysterious figure in the sphere Yuna found-her boyfriend and the villain of the game, Shuyin.]]

* ''VideoGame/Hitman2'': The level "Another Life" in Whittleton Creek has 47 not only eliminating former Soviet spymaster Janus and his bodyguard Nolan Cassidy, but searching for clues to help him, Lucas Grey, Diana, and Olivia find out where the Constant will be meeting so they may capture him and find out more abut Providence. One of the way 47 can accomplish this is by playing a gramophone in Janus' house. Once Janus hears the music playing and investigates it, he will mention his next meeting with the Constant, confirming that aspect.

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'': When Link conducts the Earth God's Lyric in front of Medli, she begins playing it with her instrument (and as she does so, realizes how familiar it sounds to her), and then has a vision of playing it with her late ancestor, the Earth Sage Laruto. From that point, she realizes her duty as the new sage of Earth Temple, and Link then travels there with her. The exact same thing happens later on with Makar, the descendant of the late Wind Sage and the newly-chosen sage of the Wind Temple.

* In ''{{VideoGame/Xenogears}}'', TheHero Fei gets a pang of nostalgia he can't explain upon hearing a song from an ancient music box Citan dug up, prompting Citan to [[DiscussedTrope briefly mention this trope.]] [[spoiler: It's implied that the music box was made by Fei's previous incarnation Kim Kasim back in the Zeboim era, in anticipation for [[ArtificialHuman Emeralda's]] [=completion/birth=].]]

Indices: AliceAndBob, ICantFindMyIndex, MemoryTropes, MusicalNumberIndex, MusicTropes, PlotTwist, QuoteSource.VideoGames, TruthInTelevision.MToO