"Cavatina" is a 1970 classical guitar piece by British composer Stanley Myers based on music originally written for the soundtrack of the film The Walking Stick (1970).
After Myers expanded the piece and it was recorded by guitarist John Williams, "Cavatina" was popularized as the theme from the 1978 film The Deer Hunter.
Two other versions also made the Top 20 in the same year: another instrumental recording by The Shadows, with an electric guitar played by Hank Marvin, released on their album String of Hits with the name "Theme from 'The Deer Hunter' (Cavatina)" (number 9 in the UK singles charts[2] and number 1 in The Netherlands[citation needed]); and a vocal version (using Cleo Laine's lyrics) by Iris Williams.
There is a gospel version set to "Cavatina" called "Beautiful"; the author is Billy Evmur and it appears in the Dove on a Distant Oak Tree collection.
Guitarist Karin Schaupp and baritone Teddy Tahu Rhodes recorded "She Was Beautiful" for the ABC Classics album I'll Walk Beside You (2018).
[citation needed] The piece is played at the end of the Battlestar Galactica episode "Scar" after Kara "Starbuck" Thrace toasts the memory of pilots who had been tragically killed doing what they loved.
It was also used for some time in the 1970s as the closedown music when BBC Radio ceased transmission at 2 a.m.[5][better source needed] The song was featured in the 2005 film Jarhead.