Down in a Hole

Last updated
"Down in a Hole"
Downinahole.JPG
Single by Alice in Chains
from the album Dirt
ReleasedAugust 30, 1993[ citation needed ]
Studio
Genre Grunge [1]
Length5:38
Label Columbia
Songwriter(s) Jerry Cantrell
Producer(s) Alice in Chains, Dave Jerden
Alice in Chains singles chronology
"What the Hell Have I"
(1993)		"Down in a Hole"
(1993)		"No Excuses"
(1994)
Music video
"Down in a Hole" on YouTube

"Down in a Hole" is a power ballad [2] by Alice in Chains, and the fifth and last single from their album Dirt (1992). It is the twelfth song on most pressings of the album and fourth or eleventh on others. [3] The song was written by guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell for his then-girlfriend, Courtney Clarke. [4] The single spent 21 weeks on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks and peaked at No. 10. [5] The song was included on the compilation albums Nothing Safe: Best of the Box (1999) and Music Bank (1999). An acoustic version performed on Alice in Chains' MTV Unplugged in 1996 was released in a live album and DVD.

Contents

Origin and recording

Songwriter and guitarist Jerry Cantrell was at first hesitant to present the song to the band, feeling that the song was too soft, but after a positive response from the band, they followed through and recorded it. [6] The composition is written in A♭ minor, utilizing Dorian mode, and is centered mainly around Ab minor - Gb major - Db major chord progression, with Layne Staley's and Jerry Cantrell's vocal parts intricately harmonizing. [6]

Lyrics

Jerry Cantrell wrote the song for his then-girlfriend, Courtney Clarke. [7] In the liner notes of 1999's Music Bank box set collection, Cantrell said of the song:

["Down in a Hole"]'s in my top three, personally. It's to my long-time love. It's the reality of my life, the path I've chosen and in a weird way it kind of foretold where we are right now. It's hard for us to both understand...that this life is not conducive to much success with long-term relationships. [4] [8]

Release and reception

"Down in a Hole" was released as a single in 1993. [9] "Down in a Hole" peaked at number ten on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The UK single was released in October 1993. [10] "Down in a Hole" reached the top 40 in the UK and the top 30 in Ireland.

Ned Raggett of AllMusic said that "Staley's...half-strangled but still amazingly evocative performance...is heartfelt and almost yearning" and that "the end result feels like a ruined man looking for some sort of comfort." [11] Stereogum said of the song; "Down in a Hole" is an anthem of loss, revulsion, and depression. But it really is an anthem first and foremost. The verses build slowly to a soaring chorus with an irrepressible melody. Staley's pained howl guides the song, but its power derives from Cantrell's terrific harmonies, which give the piece heft and also a sense of unease." [12] In 2014, Loudwire ranked the song number eight on their list of the 10 greatest Alice in Chains songs, [13] and in 2021, Kerrang ranked the song number three on their list of the 20 greatest Alice in Chains songs. [14]

Music video

"Down in a Hole" became one of the five video-singles from the album Dirt. The music video was released in 1993 and was directed by Nigel Dick. The video is available on the home video release Music Bank: The Videos . Bassist Mike Inez appears in the video although the original track was recorded with original member Mike Starr. Starr was fired from the group in early 1993 and replaced by Inez.

Live performances

Alice in Chains performed the song live for the first time on October 5, 1992 at the Coca-Cola Starplex in Dallas, Texas. [15]

Alice in Chains performed an acoustic version of "Down in a Hole" for its appearance on MTV Unplugged in 1996, and the song was included on the Unplugged live album and home video release. [16]

Another acoustic live version of "Down in a Hole" featuring new vocalist William DuVall on lead vocals is included on the Japanese version of Black Gives Way to Blue (2009) as a bonus track. [17]

Cover versions

The song was covered by professional baseball player Bronson Arroyo on his 2005 album, Covering the Bases , [18] which lists the song as "Down in the Hole". [19]

On his low-key 2007 tour—in support of his album Easy Tiger , Ryan Adams covered the song live with his band, The Cardinals. [20] A cover of the song is also featured on Adams' 2007 EP Follow the Lights . [21]

The Vitamin String Quartet recorded an instrumental version of the song for their 2009 album "The String Quartet Tribute to Alice in Chains". [22]

The Christian metal band Demon Hunter perform an acoustic version of the song on the deluxe edition of their 2011 album The World Is a Thorn. [23]

Swedish metal band In Flames covered the song on their covers EP, "Down, Wicked & No Good", released in November 2017. [24]

American hardcore punk band Code Orange covered the song on their live album Under the Skin in 2020.[ citation needed ]

"Down in a Hole" was released as a downloadable content for the music video game Rocksmith 2014 on December 12, 2017, as part of the Alice in Chains Song Pack II, which also includes the songs "Rooster", "No Excuses", "Nutshell" and "Heaven Beside You". [25]

The song is also available as a DLC for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 game Rock Band 4 .

Track listings

CD single (659751-2)

  1. "Down in a Hole" (radio edit) – 3:53
  2. "Down in a Hole" – 5:40
  3. "What the Hell Have I" – 4:00
  4. "Rooster" – 6:15

12-inch single (659751-6)

Side 1

  1. "Down in a Hole"
  2. "A Little Bitter"

Side 2

  1. "Rooster"
  2. "Love, Hate, Love"

7-inch single (659751-7)

Side 1

  1. "Down in a Hole" (radio edit)

Side 2

  1. "Rooster"

Personnel

Charts

Chart (1993)Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA) [26] 29
UK Singles (OCC) [27] 36
US Mainstream Rock ( Billboard ) [28] 10

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA) [29] Platinum1,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)Ref.
United StatesAugust 30, 1993Radio Columbia [ citation needed ]
United KingdomOctober 11, 1993
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
 [30]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alice in Chains</span> American rock band

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<i>Dirt</i> (Alice in Chains album) 1992 studio album by Alice in Chains

Dirt is the second studio album by American rock band Alice in Chains. It was released on September 29, 1992, by Columbia Records. Peaking at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 chart, the album received critical acclaim. It has since been certified 5× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), making Dirt the band's highest selling album to date. It was the band's last album recorded with all four original members, as bassist Mike Starr was fired in January 1993 during the tour to support the album. The album spawned five singles: "Would?", "Them Bones", "Angry Chair", "Rooster", and "Down in a Hole", all with accompanying music videos. Dirt was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance. The music video for "Would?" was nominated for an MTV Video Music Award for Best Video from a Film, as the song was featured on the soundtrack to Cameron Crowe's 1992 film Singles.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Cantrell</span> American guitarist, singer and songwriter

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rooster (song)</span> 1993 single by Alice in Chains

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heaven Beside You</span> 1996 single by Alice in Chains

"Heaven Beside You" is a song by American rock band Alice in Chains and the second single from their third studio album, Alice in Chains (1995). It was written by guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell about his relationship with his then-girlfriend, Courtney Clarke. Cantrell sings lead vocals, with Layne Staley doing harmonies during the chorus. The song spent 26 weeks on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and peaked at No. 3. An acoustic version performed on Alice in Chains' MTV Unplugged in 1996 was released in a live album and DVD. "Heaven Beside You" was included on the compilation albums Music Bank (1999), Greatest Hits (2001), and The Essential Alice in Chains (2006).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">What the Hell Have I</span> 1993 single by Alice in Chains

"What the Hell Have I" is a song by the American rock band Alice in Chains. It was originally featured on the soundtrack to the 1993 John McTiernan film Last Action Hero starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. The song was released as a single and peaked at No. 19 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. It was included on the compilation album Nothing Safe: Best of the Box (1999). A remixed version of the song was included on the compilation albums Music Bank (1999) and The Essential Alice in Chains (2006).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Got Me Wrong</span> 1994 single by Alice in Chains

"Got Me Wrong" is a largely acoustic song by the American rock band Alice in Chains, originally featured on the band's 1992 EP, Sap. It was written by guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell, who also shared vocals with Layne Staley. A slightly different version of the song also appeared on the soundtrack to the 1994 comedy film Clerks, and is played when the character Randal first appears in the movie. "Got Me Wrong" was released as a single in 1994 after being featured on Clerks. The song was included on the compilation albums Nothing Safe: Best of the Box (1999) and Music Bank (1999). An acoustic version performed on Alice in Chains' MTV Unplugged concert in 1996 was released on a live album and DVD.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Get Born Again</span> 1999 single by Alice In Chains

"Get Born Again" is a song by the American rock band Alice in Chains and, along with "Died", one of the last two songs recorded with vocalist Layne Staley before his death in 2002. The song was released as the lead single from the compilation Nothing Safe: Best of the Box (1999) on June 1, 1999. It peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and at No. 12 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. "Get Born Again" was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 2000. The song was also included on the compilation albums Music Bank (1999) and The Essential Alice in Chains (2006).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Over Now (Alice in Chains song)</span> 1996 single by Alice in Chains

"Over Now" is a song by the American rock band Alice in Chains. Written by Jerry Cantrell, who also sings lead vocals, the song is the last track on the band's third studio album, Alice in Chains (1995), and it is about the 1995 breakup of the band. The song closed the televised broadcast of Alice in Chains' MTV Unplugged performance, and that version was released as a single in 1996. The B-side is the original studio version. The single peaked at No. 4 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and at No. 24 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart in 1996. The song was included on the live album Unplugged (1996), on the box set Music Bank (1999), and the compilation album The Essential Alice in Chains (2006). The MTV Unplugged concert was the first and only time that Alice in Chains performed the song. It was performed again 23 years later at Jerry Cantrell's solo concert at the Pico Union Project in Los Angeles on December 6, 2019.

<i>Black Gives Way to Blue</i> 2009 studio album by Alice in Chains

Black Gives Way to Blue is the fourth studio album by the American rock band Alice in Chains, released on September 29, 2009, on the 17th anniversary of the release of their second album, Dirt. It is their first record without original lead singer Layne Staley, who died in 2002, and their first album with new vocalist and rhythm guitarist William DuVall sharing vocal duties with lead guitarist/vocalist Jerry Cantrell, who sings lead vocals on most of the songs. The title track is a tribute to Staley featuring Elton John on piano. This is the first Alice in Chains album released on Virgin Records and their first venture away from Columbia, who handled all of their previous releases. The album debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200, and was certified gold by the RIAA on May 26, 2010, with shipments exceeding 500,000 copies in the U.S. and over 1 million copies sold worldwide. "Check My Brain" and "A Looking in View" were both nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 2010 and 2011, respectively. Black Gives Way to Blue won Revolver magazine's Golden Gods Award for Album of the Year in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A Looking in View</span> 2009 single by Alice in Chains

"A Looking in View" is a song by American rock band Alice in Chains, featured on their fourth studio album, Black Gives Way to Blue (2009). It was the first publicly released song from the album and was available for purchase on June 30, 2009, and for a limited time it was available as a free download through the official Alice in Chains website. Although it was not the album's first official single, Rock stations across the U.S. started playing the song after it was made available for streaming. The first official radio single, "Check My Brain", was released in August 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Voices (Alice in Chains song)</span> 2013 single by Alice in Chains

"Voices" is a song by the American rock band Alice in Chains and the third single from their fifth studio album, The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here (2013). Guitarist/vocalist Jerry Cantrell takes lead vocals on the song. The single premiered exclusively on USA Today website on July 26, 2013, and was released to radio stations on July 29, 2013. "Voices" peaked at No. 3 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks, and stayed on the chart for 20 weeks. It also peaked at No. 18 on the Rock Airplay chart.

"Brother" is a song by the American rock band Alice in Chains and the opening track on their 1992 acoustic EP Sap. The song was written by guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell for his younger brother, David. Cantrell sings lead vocals in the song, while Heart lead vocalist Ann Wilson sings backing vocals. An acoustic version performed on Alice in Chains' MTV Unplugged in 1996 was released in a live album and DVD. The song was included on the compilation albums Music Bank (1999) and The Essential Alice in Chains (2006).

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  4. 1 2 Liner notes, Music Bank box set. 1999.
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  14. ↑ Law, Sam (March 30, 2021). "The 20 greatest Alice In Chains songs – ranked". Kerrang . Retrieved May 4, 2023.
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  21. ↑ "Follow the Lights - Ryan Adams & the Cardinals". AllMusic. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  22. ↑ "Vitamin String Quartet - The Vitamin String Quartet Tribute to Alice in Chains". AllMusic. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  23. ↑ "Demon Hunter - The World Is A Thorn (Digital Deluxe Edition)". Solid State Records. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
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  30. ↑ "Single Releases". Music Week . October 9, 1993. p. 27.
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