This orchestral composition was the theme song to the 1960 movie Exodus, which is about the formation of Israel. Like the rest of the soundtrack, it was written and conducted by Ernest Gold and performed by The Sinfonia Of London, a session orchestra.

The movie studio considered adding lyrics to this piece, but Ernest Gold was against it, as was the film's director, Otto Preminger. After the film was released, Pat Boone wrote a set of lyrics that he put the music, releasing it as "The Exodus Song (This Land Is Mine)." It only made #64, but became a seminal song for Boone, who made a number of trips to Israel over the years.

In addition to Pat Boone's version, four other renditions of this song charted in 1961, most notably the piano duo Ferrante & Teicher, who reached #2. Edith Piaf added a set of French lyrics when she recorded the song, taking it to #116. The other two to chart are by Mantovani (#31) and Eddie Harris (#36).