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Cover of Us by Peter Gabriel
Cover: Us

Song · Peter Gabriel

“Digging In The Dirt” by Peter Gabriel

From the album Us (1992)

“Digging In The Dirt” by Peter Gabriel appears on 24 radio countdowns from 10 stations between 1992 and 2022. It was first released in 1992 on the album Us. Its best result is #12 on the CFNY Top 102 Songs of 1992. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #12 alternative song of 1992, #1,386 alternative song of all time and #408 of the '90s.

24countdowns
10stations
#12best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1992–2022years charted

Watch

Peter Gabriel - Digging In The Dirt

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

"Digging in the Dirt" was the first single from Us, Peter Gabriel's sixth album, out on Real World and Virgin in September 1992. Gabriel wrote it and co-produced it with Daniel Lanois, and it's a dark, coiled groove: Manu Katché's drums and Tony Levin's bass lock tight, David Rhodes and Leo Nocentelli trade scratchy guitar, and a small army of hand drummers, Babacar Faye on djembe, Assane Tham on talking drum, Hossam Ramzy on surdo, keeps the ground shifting underfoot. Gabriel sings it low and tense, then lets it crack open, with Peter Hammill among the voices behind him.

It was only a minor pop hit in the US, but rock radio grabbed it, sending it to the top of both the Modern Rock and Album Rock charts. John Downer directed the video.

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

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1992 16 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1992 107
1992 26 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1992 91
1992 33 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1992 105
1992 16 Q101 Chicago, IL Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1992 101
1992 12 CFNY 102.1 The Edge Toronto, ON CFNY Top 102 Songs of 1992 102

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1994 247 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1994) 500
1996 223 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1996) 498
1999 1465 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
2000 1465 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2001 1468 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2002 1466 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 1526 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 1450 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2004 1450 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2005 1448 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2007 930 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 917 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 944 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2009 655 WYEP WYEP 913 Essential Songs 913
2010 974 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 1004 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 1059 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 1110 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2022 563 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s 900

Also listed as: Digging in the Dirt.

Charting alongside it in 1992

Best songs of 1992 →
  1. 1Friday I'm in LoveThe Cure
  2. 2Under the BridgeRed Hot Chili Peppers
  3. 3DriveR.E.M.
  4. 4OneU2
  5. 5JeremyPearl Jam
  6. 6TomorrowMorrissey

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