Little Boxes

"Little Boxes" is a song written by Malvina Reynolds in 1962 that lampoons the development of suburbia and what many consider its bourgeois conformist values. It was the opening music of Weeds for the first three seasons.

The song was last used during the season 4 opening in which is reflected Majestic. The change may be due to the fact that the Botwins no longer live in a gated community but in a neighborhood corrupted by drugs.

The song is referenced in season 4 episode 8 when Shane ask why he has to go to school, Nancy replies that he could be a "doctor or lawyer or business executive", a lyrical line from the song.

Meaning

Little Boxes refers to the areas of Daly City, California built in the post-war era by Henry Doelger, particularly the neighborhood of Westlake. Nancy Reynolds, daughter of Malvina Reynolds, explains:

"My mother and father were driving South from San Francisco through Daly City when my mom got the idea for the song. She asked my dad to take the wheel, and she wrote it on the way to the gathering in La Honda where she was going to sing for the Friends Committee on Legislation. When Time Magazine (I think, maybe Newsweek) wanted a photo of her pointing to the very place, she couldn’t find those houses because so many more had been built around them that the hillsides were totally covered.”

In Weeds

The first season used Reynolds's own recording as the theme song. In the second and third seasons, different artists performed Little Boxes in the introduction sequence of each episode.

Season 1:

• 1×01–10: Malvina Reynolds

Season 2:

• 2×01: Elvis Costello
• 2×02: Death Cab for Cutie
• 2×03: Engelbert Humperdinck
• 2×04: Kate & Anna McGarrigle
• 2×05: Maestro Charles Barnett
• 2×06: Aidan Hawken
• 2×07: Ozomatli
• 2×08: The Submarines
• 2×09: Tim DeLaughter of Polyphonic Spree
• 2×10: Regina Spektor
• 2×11: Jenny Lewis and Johnathan Rice
• 2×12: Malvina Reynolds

Season 3:

• 3×01: Randy Newman
• 3×02: Angelique Kidjo
• 3×03: Kinky
• 3×04: Donovan
• 3×05: Billy Bob Thornton
• 3×06: The Shins
• 3×07: The Individuals
• 3×08: Man Man
• 3×09: Joan Baez
• 3×10: The Decemberists
• 3×11: Michael Franti
• 3×12: Persephone's Bees
• 3×13: Laurie Berkner
• 3×14: Linkin Park
• 3×15: Malvina Reynolds (opening)

& Pete Seeger (closing)

Other Uses

• In The Season 1 Intros Of The 2012 TV Series "Toy Story: The Animated Series" Made By Trusta Mann Pictures (Randy Newman only).

• In "Family Guy," Randy Newman Sings The Same Tune In His Animal Song.

• A Possibility That It May Be Sung By Apple Wilson In "Mother Up" In The 9th Episode.

• An Undecided Possibility That It May End Up In "South Park" Or "The Simpsons" As The Original Little Boxes Theme Song.

• Will Be Used In The 2018 Trusta Mann Feature "The Trusta Mann Movie."