"Watchtower" is the fifth single by British rapper

Devlin Devlin may refer to: * Devlin (surname) * Devlin (given name) * Devlin (rapper), a British rapper * ''Devlin'' (TV series), a 1974 animated TV series by Hanna-Barbera * ''Devlin'', a 1988 novel by Roderick Thorp * ''The Devil and Max Devlin '' ...

, and the lead single from his second studio album, ''

A Moving Picture ''A Moving Picture'' is the second studio album released by English rapper Devlin, via Island Records and the Universal Music Group. The album was released on 4 February 2013. The album was produced by a number of well known producers, including ...

'' (2013). The song features British singer-songwriter

Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran (; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...

and was produced by

Labrinth Timothy Lee McKenzie (born 4 January 1989), better known by his stage name Labrinth, is an English singer, rapper, songwriter and record producer. After initially pursuing a career in music production, Simon Cowell signed him to his record labe ...

. "Watchtower" was released on 16 August 2012 and entered the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

on 26 August 2012 at number 7, becoming Devlin's highest-charting single and first top 10 hit and Sheeran's fifth top 10 hit. The song samples the main chorus line from

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

's "

All Along the Watchtower "All Along the Watchtower" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan from his eighth studio album, ''John Wesley Harding'' (1967). The song was written by Dylan and produced by Bob Johnston. The song's lyrics, which in its original vers ...

". It also borrows

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

's riff from the guitarist's cover.

Use in media

It was used in the 2013 action-comedy film, '' 2 Guns''. The instrumental was also used as the main theme for the series ''

The Young Pope ''The Young Pope'' is a drama television series created and directed by Paolo Sorrentino for Sky Atlantic, HBO, and Canal+. The series stars Jude Law as the disruptive Pope Pius XIII and Diane Keaton as his confidante, Sister Mary, in a Vatica ...

'' and the final one third of its sequel, ''

The New Pope ''The New Pope'' is a drama television series created and directed by Paolo Sorrentino for Sky Atlantic, HBO and Canal+. It is a continuation of the 2016 series ''The Young Pope'', originally announced as its second season. The nine-episode serie ...

''. It was also used in early promotional trailers for the

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streaming television Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as TV shows, as streaming media delivered over the Internet. Streaming television stands in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air aer ...

series ''

Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan ''Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan'' (also known simply as ''Jack Ryan'') is an American political action thriller television series, based on characters from the fictional "Ryanverse" created by Tom Clancy, that premiered on August 31, 2018, on Amazon ...

'', which was released in 2018.

Music video

The official music video was uploaded onto Devlin's

Vevo Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, di ...

on 4 July 2012. It was directed by Corin Hardy.

Track listing

*Digital download # "Watchtower" (radio edit) (featuring Ed Sheeran) – 3:39 # "London City Part II" – 2:52 # "My Moving Picture" – 3:52 # "Watchtower" (instrumental) – 4:32

Charts

Certifications

References

2012 singles 2012 songs Devlin (rapper) songs Ed Sheeran songs Song recordings produced by Labrinth Songs written by Ed Sheeran Songs written by Labrinth Songs written by Bob Dylan Universal Music Group singles Island Records singles {{2010s-hiphop-single-stub