That Walking Dead Torture Song: “Easy Street”

In the third episode of season seven of The Walking Dead, “The Cell,” the producers gifted us with an earworm of a song, “Easy Street.”  In the episode, Negan’s The Saviours are holding Daryl Dixon as prisoner.  As Dwight (Austin Amelio) works to break Daryl, he plays the song repeatedly as part of a torture tactic.

“Easy Street” is  performed by The Collapsable Hearts Club, and it was written by Jim Bianco.  Bianco explained to The Independent that he was happy to hear his song used on the show, even if it were being used to torture someone.  “I think the show used it brilliantly,” he explained, “Framing such an upbeat song as a torture advice is a work of genius by the music supervisor.”

We’re on easy street,
And it feels so sweet;
‘Cause the world is ’bout a treat,
When you’re on easy street.

Bianco wrote the song while driving in his car and thinking about those “rare moments” when you are “holding the winning card.” Below is a video of 10 hours of the song.

There is not much about The Collapsable Hearts Club on the Internet, but the lead singer is Petra Haden, who has done a substantial amount of other musical work.  Bianco is also part of the group, singing backup.  And Brad Gordon plays the horns.

Currently, Daryl, played by Norman Reedus, is no longer the only person with the song stuck in his head. After the episode, “Easy Street” appeared on the UK Singles Chart, and it also has climbed to #1 on the US Spotify viral charts.

What do you think of “Easy Street”? Leave your two cents in the comments.

Author: chimesfreedom

Editor-in-chief, New York. View all posts by chimesfreedom