"You've Got Time" is the main title

theme song Theme music is a musical composition which 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 ...

for the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

Original Series ''

Orange Is the New Black ''Orange Is the New Black'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''OITNB'') is an American comedy-drama 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 Women's Pr ...

'', written, composed and performed by

Regina Spektor Regina Ilyinichna Spektor (, ; born February 18, 1980) is a Russian Americans, Russian-born American singer, songwriter, and pianist. After self-releasing her first three records and gaining popularity in New York City's Indie music scene, in ...

. The song was nominated in the Best Song Written for Visual Media 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 co ...

. A

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

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," the theme song used on Kohan's series ''

Weeds A weed is an unwanted plant of any species. Weed or weeds may also refer to: Places * Weed, Arkansas, an unincorporated community in the United States * Weed, California, a city in the United States * Weed, Kentucky, an unincorporated communit ...

''. 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, 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'' 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, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' 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 Best Song Written for Visual Media category at the

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