In the Neighborhood

For the Sisters Underground song, see In the Neighbourhood.
"In the Neighborhood"
Single by Tom Waits
from the album Swordfishtrombones
B-side"Singapore"
ReleasedFebruary 24, 1986 (1986-02-24)[1]
RecordedAugust 1982 (1982-08) at Sunset Sound, Hollywood, CA
Genre
Length3:04
LabelIsland
SongwriterTom Waits
ProducerTom Waits
Tom Waits singles chronology
"Downtown Train"
(1985) 		"In the Neighborhood"
(1986) 		"Hang On St. Christopher"
(1987)

"In the Neighborhood" is a song by Tom Waits appearing on his 1983 album Swordfishtrombones. The song received a music video that same year in November.[2] It was also released as a single three years later, with all formats containing "Singapore" as the B-side and the twelve-inch single containing various live recordings. "In the Neighborhood" became his only song to reach the UK singles chart, where it debuted and peaked at No. 80.

Critical reception

Roger Holland of Sounds magazine was critical of the song, saying that "to suggest that this is one of [Waits'] better works is to open the door to the corollary that there must be some that are worse."[3]

Formats and track listing

All songs written by Tom Waits.

UK 7" single (IS 260)
  1. "In the Neighborhood" – 3:04
  2. "Singapore" – 2:46
  1. "In the Neighborhood" – 3:04
  2. "Singapore" – 2:46
  3. "Tango 'Till They're Sore" (live) – 3:20
  4. "16 Shells" (live)  – 5:27
UK 12" single (limited edition) (12IS 160)
  1. "In the Neighborhood" – 3:04
  2. "Singapore" – 2:46
  3. "Tango 'Till They're Sore" (live) – 3:20
  4. "Rain Dogs" (live)  – 3:40

Personnel

Adapted from the In the Neighborhood liner notes.[4]

Chart performance

Chart (1986) Peak
position
UK Singles (OCC)[5] 80

Accolades

Year Publication Country Accolade Rank
2000 Colin Larkin United Kingdom The All-Time Top 100 Singles 57
2004 Elvis Costello United Kingdom The Best Songs from the 500 Best Albums Ever[6] *
2009 The Guardian United Kingdom 1000 Songs Everyone Must Hear[7] *
2015 Les Inrockuptibles France 1000 Necessary Songs[8] 76
2015 NPO Radio 2 Netherlands Top 2000[9] 1594

(*) designates unordered lists.

References

  1. ^ "New Singles" (PDF). Music Week. February 22, 1986. p. 16. Retrieved October 28, 2025 – via World Radio History.
  2. ^ "Video Music Programming" (PDF). Billboard. November 26, 1983. p. 27. Retrieved October 29, 2025 – via World Radio History.
  3. ^ Holland, Roger (March 1, 1986). "Singles" (PDF). Sounds. p. 20. Retrieved October 28, 2025 – via World Radio History.
  4. ^ In the Neighborhood (booklet). Tom Waits. London, United Kingdom: Island Records. 1983.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  5. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 28, 2025.
  6. ^ "Costello's 500". Vanity Fair. November 1, 2000. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  7. ^ "1000 Songs Everyone Must Hear". The Guardian. 2009. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
  8. ^ "1000 morceaux indispensables". Les Inrockuptibles. 2015. Archived from the original on June 13, 2021. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
  9. ^ Top 2000, In the neighborhood
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