Woke Up This Morning

Background and writing

Frontman Rob Spragg wrote the song after learning about the 1996 Sara Thornton murder case, in which a woman stabbed her husband after alleging two years of abuse. Co-writers include Piers Marsh, Simon Edwards, and Jake Black. Spragg stated that the track began with a Howlin' Wolf loop, but he inverted the misogynistic tone of many blues lyrics to focus on a woman who takes up a gun. The song samples "Tell Me" by Howlin' Wolf, "Standing at the Burying Ground" by Mississippi Fred McDowell, and "Mannish Boy" by Muddy Waters. The single's cover art mimics the style of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's 1970 album Déja Vu.

Use in other media

The song appears in the film The House (2017). An edited version combining the "Detroit Mix" and "Chosen One Mix" plays over the end credits of the prequel film The Many Saints of Newark. A remixed version was used in an episode of MTV's BIOrhythm for Tommy Lee. The "Chosen One Mix" served as the opening theme for The Sopranos; Spragg later remarked on the association with the show.

In the Sopranos episode "Boca", the "Urban Takeover Mix" plays during a tense scene. The Region 4 DVD of the first season includes the music video, miscredited to "Alabama 5". A shortened alternate version appears in The Simpsons episode "Poppa's Got a Brand New Badge" as a parody of The Sopranos opening, and the song is also heard in the Simpsons episode "The Mook, the Chef, the Wife and Her Homer", which featured Sopranos actors Michael Imperioli and Joe Pantoliano.

It was used in the Lilyhammer episode "Ghosts" during a scene with Frank Tagliano. The song appears in the fourth episode of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law when a magician's spell sends a man to a location where The Sopranos is playing. It was also used in a Top Gear episode set in Florida. An edited version of the "Chosen One Mix" was an official song for the 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup.