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Cover of Dirt by Alice In Chains
Cover: Dirt

Song · Alice In Chains

“Down in a Hole” by Alice In Chains

From the album Dirt (1992)

“Down in a Hole” by Alice In Chains appears on 38 radio countdowns from 18 stations between 1994 and 2026. It was first released in 1992 on the album Dirt. Its best result is #35 on the WRCX Top 103 Songs of 1997. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #2,152 alternative song of all time.

38countdowns
18stations
#35best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1994–2026years charted

Watch

Alice In Chains - Down In A Hole (Official HD Video)

Video from YouTube (AliceInChainsVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Down in a Hole" is the bleakest kind of love song, a power ballad Jerry Cantrell wrote for his girlfriend of the time, Courtney Clarke, and tucked near the end of Alice in Chains' second album, Dirt, in 1992. Columbia sent it to American radio in 1993 as the fifth single off the record.

Layne Staley takes the lead with Cantrell's harmonies shadowing him, and the two voices wind around each other like smoke, heavy and mournful, while Mike Starr and Sean Kinney hold the tempo to a slow, sinking crawl. Dave Jerden produced with the band and mixed it. It spent 21 weeks on Billboard's Album Rock Tracks chart, peaking at number 10, and the band's MTV Unplugged set in 1996 stripped it down to an acoustic version that's just as haunted.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

Classic Rock

Hard Rock & Metal

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1997 35 WRCX Rock 103.5 Chicago, IL WRCX Top 103 Songs of 1997 103

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1994 621 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1994) 1000
1995 552 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1995) 1000
1996 642 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1996) 1000
1998 514 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1998) 1000
1999 656 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 547 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1999) 998
2002 223 KISW KISW Top 999 of All Time (2002) 999
2002 725 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2004 351 107.7 The End The End Original Alternative 500 (May 2004) 500
2004 42 WBCN WBCN Grunge Top 104 (2004) 104
2005 259 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2007 464 KROQ KROQ Top 500 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 2007) 500
2010 315 97.9 The Loop The Loop USO Rock 'N' Roll 500 (2010) 500
2013 718 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Grand Jam 1000 (2013) 1000
2013 161 KBPI KBPI Top 200 Songs of All Time 200
2014 471 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2014) 500
2014 122 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 400 (2014) 400
2014 94 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX 1K Countdown (2014) 1000
2015 225 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 500 (2015) 499
2015 724 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Classic Rock Countdown (2015) 1007
2016 310 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Countdown for 2016 1007
2019 365 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2019) 500
2019 336 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2019) 500
2020 483 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2020) 500
2020 356 Q105.7 Q105.7 Memorial Day 500 (2020) 499
2020 232 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2020) 420
2021 247 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s 908
2021 335 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2021) 500
2021 252 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2021) 420
2022 247 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2022) 420
2023 246 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s 893
2023 226 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2023) 420
2023 382 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2023) 500
2024 137 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Top 400 of the Last 40 Years (2024) 400
2025 345 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Top 400 of the Last 40 Years (2025) 400
2025 141 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2025) 500
2026 238 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2026) 500

Also listed as: Down In A Hole.

Charting alongside it in 1997

Best songs of 1997 →
  1. 1Song 2Blur
  2. 2Walkin' On The SunSmash Mouth
  3. 3TubthumpingChumbawamba
  4. 4FlySugar Ray
  5. 5The Impression That I GetThe Mighty Mighty Bosstones
  6. 6Semi-Charmed LifeThird Eye Blind

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