"You've Got Time" is the main title

theme song Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at so ...

for the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

Original Series ''

Orange Is the New Black ''Orange Is the New Black'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''OITNB'') is an American comedy-drama streaming television series created by Jenji Kohan for Netflix. The series is based on Piper Kerman's memoir '' Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Wo ...

'', written, composed and performed by

Regina Spektor Regina Ilyinichna Spektor (russian: Регинa Ильинична Спектор, ; born February 18, 1980) is a Russian–born American singer, songwriter, and pianist. After self-releasing her first three records and gaining popularity in ...

. The song was nominated in the

Best Song Written for Visual Media The Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media (including its previous names) is the Grammy Awards awarded to songs written for films, television, video games or other visual media. Recipients * Each year is linked t ...

category at the

56th Annual Grammy Awards The 56th Annual Grammy Awards presentation was held on January 26, 2014, at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The show was broadcast on CBS at 8 p.m. ET/PT and was hosted for the third time by LL Cool J. The show was moved to January to avoid comp ...

. A

chamber orchestra Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numbe ...

version was later released on July 26, 2019 to coincide with the release of the seventh and final season of Orange Is the New Black.

Composition

The song was written specifically for ''

'' by

, who was approached by the show's creator,

Jenji Kohan Jenji Leslie Kohan (born July 5, 1969) is an American television writer and producer. She is best known as the creator and showrunner of the Showtime comedy-drama series '' Weeds'' and the Netflix comedy-drama series ''Orange Is the New Black''. S ...

. Kohan said, "I listened to Regina's albums obsessively while writing the series, so I immediately thought of her for our theme song." Additionally Spektor had previously performed a cover of "

Little Boxes "Little Boxes" is a song written and composed by Malvina Reynolds in 1962, which became a hit for her friend Pete Seeger in 1963, when he released his cover version. The song is a social satire about the development of suburbia, and associat ...

," the theme song used on Kohan's series '' Weeds''. Kohan gave Spektor access to rough edits of the episodes while the first season was in production. Spektor said she composed the song while "thinking about the idea of what it must be like to be in prison and the different states of mind." After recording the song with producer

Rob Cavallo Robert Siers Cavallo (born March 21, 1963) is an American record producer, musician, and record industry executive. He is among the biggest-selling producers in history, and has produced or had creative involvement in albums that have sold over ...

, she brought the demo to Kohan, initially apprehensive that Kohan would not like it. "We took out the rough mix and listened to it with headphones and sort of held our breath, like, 'Is she going to like it?' And then she said, 'This is fucking awesome, I love it! It’s going to fit really well!'"

Reception

The song has been well received. Casey Cipriani of ''

Indiewire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Hollyw ...

'' wrote that the song's lyrics suggesting animals trapped in a cage was ideal for ''Orange Is the New Black''. Garin Pirnia of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' noted that after the song begins with Spektor's "aggressive" guitar playing, "'You've Got Time' softens during the bridge, though, generating an aura of hope. When Spektor sings the title refrain, it works literally for the prison motif but also alludes to the show's themes of redemption and forgiveness." "You've Got Time" was nominated in the

category at the

. It was Spektor's first Grammy nomination. The song was covered by

The Wind and The Wave The Wind and The Wave (stylized as The Wind + The Wave) is an American band composed of Dwight A. Baker and Patricia Lynn. Background Dwight Baker and Patricia Lynn played their first show on July 4, 2013, in Austin, Texas, opening for Bob Schne ...

for its 2015 album, ''Covers One''.

References

External links

* (full length) {{Authority control Regina Spektor songs Comedy television theme songs Television drama theme songs 2013 songs Song recordings produced by Rob Cavallo Sire Records singles Songs written by Regina Spektor Songs about prison Orange Is the New Black