It's a Jungle Out There (song)

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"It's a Jungle Out There"
Song by Randy Newman
Released2003
GenreJazz
Length1:49 (2003 Version)
  • 3:20 (2017 Version)
Songwriter(s)Randy Newman

"It's a Jungle Out There" is a song written by

Outstanding Main Title Theme Music. As the first season's theme song "Monk Theme" had won the same award the previous year, Monk became the first series to have two different theme songs win an Emmy for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music in consecutive years.[1] The song is not to be confused with the Harry Nilsson song of the same name from his 1975 album Duit on Mon Dei
.

Themes

The lyrics allude to Adrian Monk's plethora of fears and warn that some degree of caution and attention is necessary to stay alive, given everyday life's many dangers. The song was used twice in each episode—but see the exception below.

History

After the end of the first season of Monk, producer

Mr. Monk Goes Back to School". It remained unpopular with some fans. USA Network reported that they received many complaints from viewers who wanted the series to continue using Jeff Beal's "Monk Theme".[2]
Some references to this were made in season 2, episode 12, "Mr. Monk and the T.V. Star", where a character is upset about the detective show changing its theme song, and she claims no one else likes the new song. At the end of the episode, Adrian Monk agrees not to change the theme if he ever gets a T.V. show, and the old theme plays at the end of the episode.

Although the theme song remained the same, the clips used in the title sequence changed three times over the course of the series:

Newman wrote another song, "When I'm Gone," for the final episode, "Mr. Monk and the End". The song won the 2010 Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics.

As the show appears on Peacock, the first two-part episode has been edited to include the Randy Newman theme.

Other versions

Snoop Dogg covered the song for the season 6 episode "Mr. Monk and the Rapper", in which he also played a guest role as Murderuss, a rapper accused of murder.

A rerecorded and expanded version of "It's a Jungle Out There" appears on Newman's 2017 album Dark Matter.[3]

Awards

  • 2004
    Outstanding Main Title Theme Music
  • 2005 ASCAP Top TV Series Award

References

  1. .
  2. .
  3. ^ Deluca, Dan (September 27, 2017). "Why Randy Newman thinks he's put out his best song yet". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Sioux City Inquirer.