Way Down in the Hole
"Way Down in the Hole" | |
---|---|
Song by Tom Waits | |
from the album Franks Wild Years | |
Length | 3:30 |
Songwriter(s) | Tom Waits |
"Way Down in the Hole" is a song written by the singer-songwriter Tom Waits. It was included on his 1987 album Franks Wild Years, which was first presented as a stage production put on by the Steppenwolf Theatre Company[1] in Chicago, Illinois.
The song was used as the theme for HBO's The Wire.[2][3] A different recording was used each season. Versions, in series order, were recorded by The Blind Boys of Alabama, Tom Waits, The Neville Brothers, DoMaJe, and Steve Earle. Season four's version, performed by the Baltimore teenagers Ivan Ashford, Markel Steele, Cameron Brown, Tariq Al-Sabir and Avery Bargasse, was arranged and recorded specifically for the show.[4] An extended version of the Blind Boys of Alabama recording was played over a montage in the series finale.
In 2004, music historian Kim Beissel said that the 1994 song "Red Right Hand" by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds was loosely based on "Way Down in the Hole".[5]
References
- ^ "Frank's Wild Years". www.steppenwolf.org. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
- ^ Alvarez, Rafael (2009). The Wire: Truth Be Told - The Complete Official Series Guide. Canongate Books. pp. 246–248.
- ^ Peterson, James Braxton (2014). "The Depth of the Hole: Intertextuality and Tom Waits's "Way Down in the Hole"". The Hip-Hop Underground and African American Culture. pp. 119–138. doi:10.1057/9781137305251_7. ISBN 978-1-349-45480-8.
- ^ ""The Wire" on HBO: Play Or Get Played, Exclusive Q&A With David Simon (p. 16)". 2006. Retrieved 17 October 2007.
- ^ Original Seeds Vol. 2: Songs that inspired Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Kim Beissel, CD liner notes, Rubber Records Australia, 2004
- v
- t
- e
- Closing Time
- The Heart of Saturday Night
- Nighthawks at the Diner
- Small Change
- Foreign Affairs
- Blue Valentine
- Heartattack and Vine
- Swordfishtrombones
- Rain Dogs
- Franks Wild Years
- Bone Machine
- Mule Variations
- Blood Money
- Alice
- Real Gone
- Bad as Me
- Big Time
- Romeo Bleeding: Live from Austin
- Glitter and Doom Live
- One from the Heart
- Night on Earth
- The Black Rider
- Bounced Checks
- Anthology of Tom Waits
- Asylum Years
- The Early Years, Volume One
- The Early Years, Volume Two
- Beautiful Maladies
- Used Songs 1973–1980
- Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards
- "Ol' '55"
- "(Looking for) The Heart of Saturday Night"
- "Tom Traubert's Blues"
- "The Piano Has Been Drinking (Not Me) (An Evening with Pete King)"
- "Step Right Up"
- "Somewhere"
- "Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis"
- "Romeo Is Bleeding"
- "Kentucky Avenue"
- "Heartattack and Vine"
- "Jersey Girl"
- "In the Neighborhood
- "16 Shells From a Thirty-Ought-Six
- "Jockey Full of Bourbon"
- "Hang Down Your Head"
- "Time"
- "Downtown Train"
- "Hang On St. Christopher"
- "Innocent When You Dream"
- "Way Down in the Hole"
- "Come On Up to the House"
- "Bad as Me"
- "Back in the Crowd"
- The Black Rider
- Woyzeck
- Discography
- Kathleen Brennan
- Greg Cohen
- Bones Howe
- Jim Jarmusch
- Rickie Lee Jones
- Marc Ribot
- Larry Taylor
- Chuck E. Weiss
- Big Time (film)
- Wicked Grin
- Come On Up to the House: Women Sing Waits
- New Coat of Paint
- Step Right Up: The Songs of Tom Waits
- Tom Waits for No One
![]() | This 1980s song–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- v
- t
- e