The Intro Song Reflected Themes in the Show
The Wire’s theme song “Way Down in the Hole” was written by Tom Waits, but performances of the song for the opening credits of the show were done by The Blind Boys of Alabama (season one), Tom Waits (season two), The Neville Brothers (season three), and Steve Earle (season five). The show used big name musicians in all but one season.
In the fourth season of the show, the theme song was sung by DoMaJe, a group of Baltimore teenagers. The change in theme song was meant to highlight the fourth season’s themes of adolescence in the inner city and education.
