Song · Mike Doughty
“Looking at the World from the Bottom of a Well” by Mike Doughty
From the album Haughty Melodic (2005)
“Looking at the World from the Bottom of a Well” by Mike Doughty appears on 8 radio countdowns from 7 stations between 2005 and 2025. It was first released in 2005 on the album Haughty Melodic. Its best result is #7 on the WBER Listener Countdown 2005. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #109 alternative song of 2005.
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"Looking at the World from the Bottom of a Well" is a Mike Doughty song from Haughty Melodic, the 2005 album whose title rearranges the letters of his fuller name, Michael Doughty. He wrote it himself, and N.E.R.D. drummer Eric Fawcett plays on it, one of the outside players Doughty called in after a run of stripped-down releases.
The album took shape slowly, over two years at the home of its producer, Semisonic's Dan Wilson. It began when Doughty, paired with Wilson by their shared manager Jim Grant, flew to Minneapolis to work on a bridge for "Busting Up a Starbucks." What came out was a dense, layered record, a break from the sound of Soul Coughing and from his solo acoustic work, which Doughty summed up as songs of yearning, redemption, happiness and hope.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 57 | 107.7 The End Seattle, WA | The End Top 107 Songs of 2005 | 107 |
| 2005 | 136 | Y100 Philadelphia, PA | Y100 Top 150 Songs of 2005 | 150 |
| 2005 | 7 | WBER Rochester, NY | WBER Listener Countdown 2005 | 230 |
| 2005 | 16 | 102.7 WEQX Southern Vermont and the Capital District of New York (Albany) | WEQX Top 102.7 of 2005 | 103 |
| 2005 | 266 | ModernRock.com Online | ModernRock.com Top 400 Songs of 2005 | 400 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 132 | WYEP | WYEP 913 Songs That Matter from the Last Decade | 913 |
| 2022 | 359 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 2000s | 907 |
| 2025 | 779 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 21st Century | 909 |
Also listed as: Looking At The World From The Bottom of A Well; Looking At The World From The Bottom Of A Well; Looking at the World From the Bottom of a Well.
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