Released 1990 (1990) Genre Dream pop, ambient | Format CD, 12", 7", CS | |
B-side "Theme from Twin Peaks (Instrumental)"/"Floating" Recorded 1989 (1989) at Excalibur Sound Productions in New York, New York Length 4:12 (Radio edit)
5:21 (Album version) | ||
"Falling" is a song by the American dream pop singer Julee Cruise. It is the lead single and second track from her debut studio album, Floating into the Night (1989). Featuring music composed by Angelo Badalamenti and lyrics written by David Lynch, an instrumental version of "Falling" was used as the theme song for the ABC television series Twin Peaks.
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Twin Peaks gained a cult following after its original broadcast in April 1990 and "Falling" subsequently charted in twelve countries worldwide—including peaking at number 1 on the Australian Singles Chart. The instrumental version of the song, performed by Badalamenti, won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance at the 32nd Grammy Awards. This instrumental version is included in the first volume of the Pure Moods compilation album series but is erroneously titled on the artwork and liner notes as being the theme for Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me.
Cruise released a new version of the song as a hidden track on her 2002 album The Art of Being a Girl
In 2010, Pitchfork Media ranked "Falling" at number 146 on its "Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s".
Music video
A music video was produced featuring Julee Cruise performing the song through soft curtains and dramatic red lighting. It fades to various scenes from the Twin Peaks television series. The version used in the video is an edited cut of the song.
Cover versions
"Falling" has been covered by a number of artists since its original release. In 1990, the German house band The Mob released a four-track single entitled "Theme from Twin Peaks", which included three original mixes of "Falling." Kjeld Tolstrup, a Danish radio DJ, released a three-track EP under the pseudonym One–Eyed Jacks, a reference to the casino/brothel in Twin Peaks, in 1991. The EP featured three dance renditions of the song, known as "The Log Lady Mix", "The Ronnette Pulaski Mix" and "The Log Lady Mix Short Version", respectively. English indie rock band The Wedding Present recorded a version of "Falling" and released its as the b-side to their 1992 single "Silver Shorts." It was later included on the band's compilation album Hit Parade 1 (1992).
More recent renditions of "Falling" have been recorded. In 2016, an electro dream pop band Songs From The Black Lodge released a 7 song EP containing 6 "Twin Peaks" covers and one original tune. Dream pop band Field Mouse released an EP containing the song in 2012. In October 2013, Gavin Castleton and Lex Land posted their version to YouTube and Soundcloud. In 2010, Girls Names, a noise pop band from Northern Ireland, covered "Falling" and released it on a fifteen-track sampler entitled Young & Research. Later the same year, Bright Light Bright Light, the pseudonym of Welsh electropop singer Rod Thomas, released a cover of "Falling" online for free. A music video for Bright Light Bright Light's cover was recorded in Snoqualmie, Washington—where the Twin Peaks pilot episode was shot—and featured scenes recorded at several locations from the series. The American folktronica duo The Endless included two renditions of "Falling"—one instrumental and one with vocals—on their EP Holiday 2012, which featured other songs from Twin Peaks. All proceeds from the sale of The Endless' EP were donated to Médecins Sans Frontières, a humanitarian aid charity. The Joy Formidable released a cover of the instrumental version under the title "Twin Peaks" in 2015. In 2016, the experimental rock band Xiu Xiu released Plays the Music of Twin Peaks, an album of covers of Angelo Badalamenti's original soundtrack, which features a seven-minute rendition of "Falling."
The Apoptygma Berzerk song "Moment of Tranquility", from the 2000 album Welcome to Earth, is based on the Twin Peaks theme song, with different lyrics.
Track listings
- "Falling" (edit) – 4:12
- "Theme from Twin Peaks" (instrumental) – 4:45
- "Falling" (edit) – 4:12
- "Theme from Twin Peaks" (instrumental) – 4:45
- "Floating" – 4:55