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Alabama 3 — Woke Up This Morning
Album: Sopranos Soundtrack
Avg rating:
7.5

Your rating:
Total ratings: 1238









Released: 1999
Length: 3:54
Plays (last 30 days): 0
''And after three days of drinkin' with Larry Love, I just get an inklin' to go on home.

So, I'm walkin' down Coldharbour Lane, head hung low, three or four in the mornin'. The sun's comin' up and the birds are out singing. I let myself into my pad. Wend myself up that spiral staircase and stretch out nice on the Chesterfield.

Pithecanthropus Erectus already on the CD player and I just push that remote button to sublimity. And listen to the sweet sculptural rhythms of Charles Mingus. And J.R. Monterose and Jackie McLean duet on those saxophones and, the sound makes its way out the window minglin' with the traffic noises outside you know, and all of a sudden I'm overcome by a feelin' of brief mortality.

'Cause I'm gettin' on in the world, comin' up on forty-one years. Forty-one stony gray steps towards the grave, you know, the box awaits its grisly load. Now I'm gonna be food for worms.

And just like Charles Mingus wrote that beautiful piece of music 'Epitaph' for Eric Dolphy, I say, so long Eric. So long John Coltrane and Charles Mingus. So long Duke Ellington and Lester Young. So long Billie Holliday and Ella Fitzgerald. So long Jimmy Reed. So long Muddy Waters, and so long Howlin' Wolf.''


Woke up this mornin'
Got yourself a gun
Your mama always said you'd be the Chosen One
She said, "You're one in a million.
You got to burn to shine"
But you were born under a bad sign
With a blue moon in your eyes

And you woke up this mornin'
And all that love had gone
Your Papa never told you about right and wrong
Hey but you're, but you're looking good, baby
I believe that you're a-feelin' fine
Shame about it
Born under a bad sign with a blue moon in your eyes

So sing it now

(Woke up this mornin')

(Woke up this mornin')


I see ya, ya woke up this mornin'
The world turned upside down
Lord above, things ain't been the same
Since the blues walked into town
Hey but you're, but you're, one in a million
'Cause you got that shotgun shine
Shame about it
Born under a bad sign with a blue moon in your eyes

So sing it now

(Woke up this mornin')
You got a blue moon
(Got a blue moon in your eyes)
So sad
Goddamn
A god-damned shame about it
(Woke up this mornin')
You got a blue moon
Got a blue moon in your eyes, yeah


Mister D. Wayne Love

''When you woke up this morning everything was gone
By half past ten your head was going ding-dong
Ringin' like a bell from your head down to your toes
Like some voice tryin'a tell ya there's somethin' you should know

Last night you was flyin' but today you're so low
Ain't it times like these makes you wonder if you'll ever know
The meaning of things as they appear to the others
Wives, husbands, mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers

Don't you wish you didn't function, don't you wish you didn't think
Beyond the next pay check and the next little drink?
Well you do so make up your mind to go on
'Cause when you woke up this mornin', everything you had was gone''

Woke up this mornin'
''When ya woke up this mornin' ''

Woke up this mornin'
''Ya woke up this mornin' ''

Woke up this mornin'
You wanna be, you wanna be the Chosen One
Yeah you know it 'cause, you just can't help yourself, yeah

Woke up this mornin'
''When ya, woke up this mornin' ''

Woke up this mornin'
''Woke up this mornin' ''

Woke up this mornin'
Got yourself a gun
Got yourself a gun
Got yourself a gun
Comments (231)add comment
I'd love to see Christopher Walken do a video to this one too...
 DuranAir wrote:
I cannot listen to Andrea Bocelli anymore because of that damn series!!!  They ruined it for me those damned people!
 
Never saw a single episode... but it's a solid 8 for me!!!
 Tomasni wrote:
My rating up from 7 to 8 - Most Excellent
 
Me too!!!

I cannot listen to Andrea Bocelli anymore because of that damn series!!!  They ruined it for me those damned people!
dat bassline.....  damn...
I think the Sopranos was and is one of the BEST TV series EVER!

Shame that the fab James Gandolfini went so early!
{#Frown}  Best episode: Pauli and Christopher in the dead of winter with the undeadable russian!
I hear this in the Simpson, fat Tony scene. Very funny 
I thought The Sopranos was terrific from start to finish and having trained for 2 years in Jersey City, the intro and intro music made the series even more interesting and even familiar in a odd way. Great visual of northern NJ.
Alabama 3 is one of my most favorite bands and Stephen King is (along Steven Erikson) my favorite writer. And than I heard that King is a big fan of A3 ! {#Drunk}  {#Cheesygrin}

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PR1HwtktHM
 unclehud wrote:

Drove from Atlanta to Boston a few years ago, and specifically selected a route that followed Tony Soprano's ride across the Pulaski Skyway.  Talk about goosebumps! 

(Geek note: That bridge opened in 1932.)



 
yeah, I was behind you ya wussy! had my battered van right up your butt tryin' to move you over into your lane on the right, but "Nooo, not me.. ", you stayed right in the center goin' less than 30 freakin' mph and drawin' up the ire of every REAL Driver  "COME ON YOU SLACKIN' PIECE OF BOSTON TURD MOVE OVER!!!" I screamed, smashing my ultra large 7-Eleven slurpy cup against the inside of my cracked windshield, "what the fuck ya doin on the road you should be in the back of a mini-school bus wit the other challenged kids!!!"  oh thank god he slid over at last, jeezus fukkin' crispies get me over that Verrazano and back to the BQE wit the real sick-o's, my crowd!!!

(jus' kiddin) 
Wonderlizard:  The violence was not senseless.  Protection money was on the line.  

But yeah, the series never caught on with me.  And I seem to cope with graphic, over-the-top violence well, e.g., Banshee.  

 
I sorta get that Tony Soprano was a conflicted, 21st century kinda guy, but in the only episode I saw of the series, Silvio and some other meat beat the crap out some poor, Jewish motel keeper with the "ding" bell for refusing to pay protection money. Okay, maybe it was the second coming of television, but I could watch coercive, senseless violence just about anywhere, anytime—and passed.
I always thought this was Cohen.  Cohen had to have something to do with this song!{#Lol} BTW Tony Soprano; best TV character.........evah!!

Drove from Atlanta to Boston a few years ago, and specifically selected a route that followed Tony Soprano's ride across the Pulaski Skyway.  Talk about goosebumps! 

(Geek note: That bridge opened in 1932.)


Everybody born under a bad sign please raise their free hand
Sopranos, Gandolfini...everything that went with that experience...so memorable.  Then to hear this song again and actually read the lyrics.  Fear & Loathing...all right, or maybe not.  Unsubtle hints of pain and terror. The apocalypse. The dread. Much, much more than a bad moon.
The groove is simply irresistible! {#Cool}
And then there was The Wire.
 Toke wrote:
If anyone digs this band go a buy a copy of '''EXILE ON COLD HARBOUR LANE'' which is a mind bending Album, this track is on there. Thanks Bill for playing it and have dug my copy out to play in my Bimmer tomorrow.

 
{#Bananajam}....... totally agree, a truly superb album and is highly recommended {#Yell}
 DD gypsyman wrote:

and the there was breaking bad

 
Both great shows. But the original and still the greatest..."The Wire"


 Biscobret wrote:
Best.  Series.  Ever.  -  Period. 

There will never be another like it - it absolutely changed TV forever.

 
and the there was breaking bad
 oldfart48 wrote:
{#Crashcomp}

 

Listen...hear, ya oldfart!  ;)
 rdo wrote:
JG - RIP 

You are missed.............. 

 
And very much so.
{#Crashcomp}
if you're really there atm bill stop playing such cool stuff ive never heard or love to hear.  i keep getting kicked out of my son's wow game cause i gotta say great.
If anyone digs this band go a buy a copy of '''EXILE ON COLD HARBOUR LANE'' which is a mind bending Album, this track is on there. Thanks Bill for playing it and have dug my copy out to play in my Bimmer tomorrow.
Best.  Series.  Ever.  -  Period. 

There will never be another like it - it absolutely changed TV forever.

Drove through NYC during a relocation to America's tundra, and planned the drive over the Pulaski Skyway just so I could "see" the Sopranos intro in person.
 
Mr. Gandolfini was younger than me.  Kinda scary to realize heart attacks happen to young guys.  Best wishes to his family and friends.


JG - RIP 

You are missed.............. 
Sopranos, my favorite series/show of all times .great tune this is,now we have a sort of copy here on a show called crimiclowns.great show and I like to see the copying as a hommage to the original
 martinc wrote:
woke up this morning and threw my drink on the lawn
 

Isn't this a line from Martin Mull's 1970's "Baby Bottle Blues" where he plays slide guitar with a baby bottle?
Actually, I just found it on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVfYos—B_c
 SteadyRollingMan wrote:
Oooh yeah....swampy, like Tony Joe White's "Polk Salad Annie"...
 



Nice!!
Wow... Never having watched the Sopranos, I was surprised as heck to find out that this is the original version.  I've only heard Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk perform it live, seriously funked up.  Could have sworn it was some old funk song... LOL.
Cookin' dinner is so very enhanced with RP playin' this groovy stuff...
{#Devil_pimp}
 martinc wrote:
woke up this morning and threw my drink on the lawn
 
but damn infectious groove, as the last poster said. love it.
Oooh yeah....swampy, like Tony Joe White's "Polk Salad Annie"...
 Jelani wrote:
I always thought this was Robbie Robertson on some kind of trippy blues funk thing.
I love it! 

 

That would have been my guess as well, but after a minute I knew it wasn't and ended up buying the song, I think they call it an infectious groove.
woke up this morning and threw my drink on the lawn
the tune was a major star of the Sopranos series


Leonard Cohen - Woke up this morning 

Yes it's an Alabama 3 song.

"Mediocre artists borrow. Great artists steal and make better" - Quentin Tarantino   OnMyLovelornHighway

"This is most definitely Alabama 3. As I've being playing guitar for the band since 1998, I'm fairly sure I'm correct on this. To the best of my knowledge Mr Cohen has not covered this song, but that would certainly be a delight to hear. :)"        Rockfreebase1




 twcarlin wrote:
Any one else hear this?
 
James Gandolfini was in True Romance, along with Walken.  A lot of the cast came from Goodfellas, though.  Then there is Steven Van Zandt, from the E Street Band.
I always wonder if I would like this song as much if I hadn't heard it before every episode of the Sopranos. 
Fuhget about it
This track is lifted from 'Exile On ColdHarbour Lane' (AB3) and  IS one of the greatest Albums I have ever listened to. if you get a chance to purchase ya aint gonne be disappointed, every track a gem.


Great song and the Sopranos, love it!
I always thought this was Robbie Robertson on some kind of trippy blues funk thing.
I love it! 

Great song from a great album.  The TV show was pretty amazing too!
 HazzeSwede wrote:

This is the soundtrack version.
Original,better IMO.
I have a live version,that is even better than any of the two.
 
Well. . . I must have heard Alabama 3 play this live over a dozen times if not more (I think I have seen the A3 play more than any other band). However, I just love this version.

Almost every time it was different. Larry loves to mix things up and reinvent their tunes. The last UK tour was a stripped down acoustic set and it worked really well. Great, great band live. 


BADABING!
 SlinkyJ wrote:

The version used for the series was edited and is shorter than this original.

 
This is the soundtrack version.
Original,better IMO.
I have a live version,that is even better than any of the two.

 boober wrote:
You from Jersey?
I'm from Jersey!
What exit?
 


kilmer
 Jelani wrote:
Did someone else do this song at one time?
I seem to remember it sounding a little bit different. 
 
This sounds like a remix of the version that played during the show intro. Same band I think, but much more bass here. This is pretty good, but I like the original better. Great show though, it helped redefine television.

You from Jersey?
I'm from Jersey!
What exit?
 Jelani wrote:
Did someone else do this song at one time?
I seem to remember it sounding a little bit different. 
 
The version used for the series was edited and is shorter than this original.

 soozbc wrote:
I love A3 - would love to hear more of them more often. There's so much to choose from!
 
         {#Yes}

A3 Yay !


 listen_n_sf wrote:
Why do I get the feeling someone's about to get wacked?
 
The treacherous subconscious, maybe?

 twcarlin wrote:
Any one else hear this?
 
Definitely! Which came first? No time right now to do the research... but I loved this video of Christopher Walken as I've never seen him before! That dude can MOVE!
{#Bananapiano}


Any one else hear this?
Yup, Breaking Bad is awesome!

 sqqqrly wrote:
If you liked the Sopranos, you will like Breaking Bad from AMC.   The pilot is awesome.
 

 Captn_Pea wrote:
Why do I suddenly feel like smoking a big fat cigar spliff?
 


Impossible to hear this and not think of Tony grabbing at the ticket from the tollbooth..Satrinelli's, the Jersey skyline and the change in neighborhoods up to his driveway. What a great choice for this groundbreaking series!
Why do I suddenly feel like smoking a big fat cigar?
I love A3 - would love to hear more of them more often. There's so much to choose from!


Wow — this is way spooky — in the last hour there have been 4 songs played that I've had on my "RP Favorites" Playlist since Dec 2008!  And all 4 of them are within the first 5 songs on my Playlist of 153.

Alabama 3 - Woke Up this Morning
Shiveree - Goodnight Moon
Stevie Ray Vaughn - Life By the Drop
Guster - Ruby Falls
 slowhand wrote:

"see a doctor" should be your song.
 
Or maybe "Love hurts"?


Holy shit. And now my series fave.
Now I feel like one bad ass graphic designer! I just wacked a typo.
Did someone else do this song at one time?
I seem to remember it sounding a little bit different. 
Bada Boom, Bada Bing!
Why do I get the feeling someone's about to get wacked?
 gatsby169 wrote:
I think this song kinda oozes cool.
 
bump


cayenne wrote:
Now I feel like whacking someone.
Whoa - keep that whacking to yourself (and behind closed doors){#Exclaim}

Very surprised (and very pleased) to hear this on RP!  Hard to resist jacking the volume and annoying my coworkers.  I'll echo the comments below—Exile on Coldharbour Lane (the original source of this track) is pure gold.

Great album, quite diverse but some gems on there.

 cayenne wrote:
Now I feel like whacking someone.
    Pleasssse,,I have done nothin,,{#Stop} but send me your addres and I will give you
    one coool live CD for X-mas ! (no joke)


If you liked the Sopranos, you will like Breaking Bad from AMC.   The pilot is awesome.
What an amazing track this although I can recommend the whole album, When this series started I had to mail the TV company to find out who was playing introduction track and rushed out to order it. Just one great album.
Now I feel like whacking someone.
This song is pure coolness!

 RobRyan wrote:

It WAS a great show. And the ending was absolutely perfect. It could not possibly have been better. 
 

agree {#Smile} love david chase...i wonder if he'll do something else
I miss the Sopranos! {#Sad}
 laroue wrote:
what a great show...and what a terrible ending
 
It WAS a great show. And the ending was absolutely perfect. It could not possibly have been better. 
If you get the chance to see them live, do it.

One of the best live bands you will see.
 laroue wrote:
what a great show. . . and what a terrible ending
 
If it would have had a good ending they wouldn't be able to make a movie one day.

Somehow, their Englishness makes David Chase's choice of using it for a quintessentially American story even cooler.
 mgkiwi wrote:
RP - I LOVE YOU. I've been awaiting years for you to finally play some A3. One of the best bands to come from the UK/US in years!!!!!! THANK YOU. Now lets here more!!!!!

I agree - more A3!!!!! Please!{#Dancingbanana_2}
what a great show...and what a terrible ending
{#Devil_pimp}
 peyotecoyote wrote:

 

The Simpsanos
F************ awesome - best Brit band for many a year!
 ndad47 wrote:

"you've got to burn to shine"  is that why when I urinate it burns so badly?

 
"see a doctor" should be your song.

"you've got to burn to shine"  is that why when I urinate it burns so badly?


RP - I LOVE YOU. I've been awaiting years for you to finally play some A3. One of the best bands to come from the UK/US in years!!!!!! THANK YOU. Now lets here more!!!!!

God I miss The Sopranos!
They're from Brixton
Miss the show. Silvio has found his groove in the Underground Garage.
I am netflix-ing The Sopranos and am just on season 1. Yep, we are hooked.
peyotecoyote wrote:
Excellent!
This reminds me a bit of Barry Adamson
This song is in my head every time I drive up the Jersey Pike. I miss Tony.
GREAT song by an unfortunately obscure band with many other great songs. Exile on Coldharbour Lane and LePeste are worthwhile investments...
I think this song kinda oozes cool.
I stand corrected - Great SERIES -- still a weak stand-alone song though -- it's saving grace was the series, which I will miss terribly. bobrk wrote:
Mini Series? What is it 6 or 7 years now? That's a good run for a show, and especially this one with absolutely no Jump the Shark shows.
ekeyte wrote:
Thanks a lot you assholes. I still haven't seen the finale yet.
Crying "spoiler" after signing on to a song comment forum for the friggin' theme song of said tv show is pretty sad, dude.
Thanks a lot you assholes. I still haven't seen the finale yet.
In honor of the series finale?
meydele wrote:
Love this song, which will always be indelibly engrained with that show . . . isn't it a Cohen tune?
No.
Awesome song. A3 is probably one of the most diverse bands to ever record and defy being categorized into any one genre. DePeste is by far their best work.
sirrus wrote:
Come on Bill, follow this with some Journey. I dare ya!
now thats FUNNY!! lol
So did Tony get whacked or not? I happen to believe so. That guy going into the restroom (shades of The Godfather, Bobby Bacala having said, "When it happens, you won't feel a thing. Everything'll just go black," and other clues. Yeah, Tony's sleeping with the fishes.
siandbeth wrote:
One of the Gibb brothers said the same thing about composing one of their megahits, like maybe Stayin Alive - he was travelling over a bridge and used that as the starting place for the song. Go Gibb!
it was "Jive Talkin'"
siandbeth wrote:
One of the Gibb brothers said the same thing about composing one of their megahits, like maybe Stayin Alive - he was travelling over a bridge and used that as the starting place for the song. Go Gibb!
It was Jive Talkin'. Mimics the clunk of driving over the Venetian Causeway in Miami to get to the Gibb mansion.
In honor of Tony's potential demise, is it? Love this song, which will always be indelibly engrained with that show . . . isn't it a Cohen tune?
Argh... now every time I hear this it will be tarnished by the suckitude that was the series finale...
I loved the end of the last episode!
This tune will make a comeback when the movie is released.
Oh wow, this is reallydifferent from the album version.