Released November 25, 1997 Recorded 1996 Label Gasoline Alley | Format CD Single Length 4:12 | |
Writer(s) Ira Gershwin, George Gershwin, Marshall Goodman, Dorothy Heyward, DuBose Heyward, Bradley Nowell | ||
"Doin' Time" is a single by the American band Sublime. It is featured on their self-titled third album. The lyrics tell of a cheating girlfriend, whose infidelities and poor treatment of her lover makes him feel like he is in prison. It was released as a single on November 25, 1997; the disk contained alternate versions of the song by Wyclef Jean and The Pharcyde. Additional versions appeared on the post-Bradley Nowell compilation album Second-hand Smoke and several bootlegs, including one with Snoop Dogg.
Contents
This song reached #87 and it peaked #28 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart.
Composition
"Doin' Time" is a loose cover of "Summertime" by George Gershwin, composed for the opera Porgy and Bess. The track heavily samples a cover of "Summertime" by jazz flautist Herbie Mann, a live bossa nova version from his album Herbie Mann at the Village Gate. The band originally recorded the song with the lyrics "doin' time and the livin's easy". In order to release the song using the Gershwin sample, the band had to agree to use the line "summertime" instead of "doin' time". However, the song was already recorded with the "doin' time" lyric, and lead singer Bradley Nowell had recently died of a heroin overdose. The lyric was re-recorded by Sublime's friend/producer Michael Happoldt singing "summertime". It is this version of the song that appears on Sublime's self-titled album. Future Long Beach Dub Allstars DJ Marshall Goodman appears on the recording and is mentioned in the lyrics.
The line "And we can do it like this, in the place to be." is sampled from the Beastie Boys' "Slow and Low" from their 1986 album Licensed to Ill. The song also samples "Jump for Jah" by Ini Kamoze, "Buffalo Gals" by Malcolm McLaren, and "Holy Thursday" by David Axelrod.
Re-release
The original version of "Doin' Time", which includes Bradley Nowell, was released in 2006 on the Deluxe Edition of the band's self-titled Sublime album, as well as the 2 disc 180 gram vinyl "Back To Black 60th Vinyl Anniversary" edition. The deluxe edition also includes 5 remixes of "Doin' Time", and the original music video.
Track listing
- "Doin' Time (Bradley Version)" – 4:16
- "Doin' Time (Remixed by Wyclef Jean)" – 3:49
- "Doin' Time (Remixed by Marshall Arts featuring The Pharcyde)" – 4:10
- "Doin' Time (Album Version)" – 4:12