Variation 15 (Dunkirk)

While Hans Zimmer served as the principal composer for Dunkirk, the score’s soft, ambient, and melodic textures were crafted by Benjamin Wallfisch and inspired by Sir Edward Elgar (1857–1934).

The film’s most poignant theme is a reimagining of Elgar’s “Nimrod” from his famous Enigma Variations. Wallfisch arranged and orchestrated the original Adagio into a much slower, atmospheric track titled “Variation 15 (Dunkirk),” effectively adding a 15th variation to Elgar’s work posthumously.

The piece plays during the film’s finale as the Spitfire pilot (Tom Hardy) glides over the beach; given the weight of the moment and the beauty of the arrangement, it’s enough to move anyone to tears.

Because the film’s version is a bit too slow-moving for a solo guitar, I’ve created my own “variation” by picking up the pace and opening directly with the chorus section.

🎧 My version of Variation 15 is available on ALL streaming services:

▶️ Spotify 

▶️ Apple Music (iTunes)

▶️ Amazon Music

How to play Variation 15 (Dunkirk) for guitar

The guitar tab for Variation 15 (Dunkirk) is beautifully written across two pages. There are no difficult chord shapes to speak of, and I recommend this piece for beginner guitar players and up.

Enjoy! The guitar tab is available below:

My song structure looks like this:

After the intro, you repeat the long passage within the ||: repeat brackets :|| 2x.

[guitar tab] **Variation 15 (Dunkirk) | fingerstyle guitar

This song is played two whole steps down. My tuning is as follows from low to high: C F A# D# G C — or depending on your tuner — C F Bb Eb G C.

*You can just as easily play this in standard tuning, or something more manageable like one whole step down: D G C F A D.