Way Down in the Hole
Original by Tom Waits, Covers by The Blind Boys of Alabama, The Neville Brothers, DoMaJe, Steve Earle
Let me start by saying if you’ve never seen the HBO series The Wire, you should watch it. If you have seen it, then it likely ranks high in your list of favorite TV shows of all time.
The Wire is an American crime drama that ran for five seasons from 2002 to 2008. While the series never won an Emmy or any other major award, it was very well written and expertly cast. While crime dramas are not uncommon, one very unique part of The Wire is its theme song.
Theme songs for tv shows often become a huge part of a show’s identity. They usually set the tone of the show, be it quirky (The Office), or cinematic (Game of Thrones), upbeat (Mad Men), or ambient (Billions). So the consistency of having the same song open each episode, e.g. a “theme”, is important to maintain a certain level of expectation from the audience.
I found The Wire’s twist on this concept to be very interesting and creative. While the theme song stayed the same throughout the series’ entire run, each season featured a different artist’s version of the song.
The Wire’s theme song, Way Down in the Hole, is a song written by singer/songwriting legend Tom Waits, and released on his 1987 album Franks Wild Years. Waits’ original version of the song, interestingly, was used as the theme song for the second season of the show.
For the first season of The Wire, a version of Way Down in the Hole by the Grammy Award winning Alabama gospel group The Blind Boys of Alabama was used as the theme song. This version was originally released on their 2001 album Spirit of the Century, which went on to win a Grammy for Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album later that year. The song then became the official theme song of the first season of The Wire, which began on June 2, 2002.
The Blind Boys’ version was a great choice for The Wire’s first season. It’s a gritty sounding production which matches the setting of the show and sets the tone nicely, and reflects the lifestyles of the characters in the show. The lyrics reference the battle between good and evil, which is ultimately the basis of the show.
The second season of The Wire uses Tom Waits’ original version of the song. The production of Wait’s version is a little smoother and toned down, yet Waits still delivers that gritty sound with his vocals. The difference in the two versions is effective in setting the tone for a new season while maintaining the same message and feel of the story and the settings.
For the third season, a version by the Grammy Award winning New Orleans R&B group The Neville Brothers was used for The Wire’s theme song. The Neville Brothers’ version brings a slightly more upbeat and festive feel that gives the show life and progresses the story effectively.
The fourth season of the show uses a really creative version by a group of Baltimore teenagers called DoMaJe and was produced specifically for the show. With the show being set in the city of Baltimore, this version adds a real authentic feel to the opening of the show with the youthful voices of the teenagers singing while still maintaining that sense of familiarity with the lyrics and message.
For the fifth and final season of The Wire, country/folk/rock singer Steve Earle, who appears in the series as the character of a recovering addict, provides a mellow, yet progressive version of Way Down in the Hole. The song’s production is a stripped-down and more electric sound while Earle’s vocals sound a little more restrained and with slightly dampened authenticity than in the previous versions. In retrospect, Earle’s version does seem appropriate as the story and the show is wrapping up and this version of the theme reflects that.
Each of these artist’s versions of Way Down in the Hole stand alone as solid covers of the original song and each is a good choice as the theme song for their respective seasons of the show. I think it was a brilliant idea of the music supervisors, producers, and the directors to use unique versions of this great song to progress the series.
