Content

Rateliff has said the song is, at heart, a troubled song about drinking one's life away after a break-up,^[2] and explained that the lyrics are based on his personal experience with delirium tremens during alcohol withdrawal.^[3] He also described it as a "joke song" and said that originally his band did not plan to record it, but due to positive reception, did so and released it as a single.^[4]

Music video

The music video was released on July 15, 2015.^[5] It was directed and edited by Greg Barnes, and produced by Melissa Giles. The video depicts Nathaniel Rateliff and his band performing the song in front of an audience of prisoners and is an homage to the end credits scene of the 1980 film The Blues Brothers.

Usage in media

In late May 2016 and again in 2017, "S.O.B." was featured on Lipton's iced tea commercials.^[6]
In April 2017, "S.O.B." was featured in the season three premiere of FX's Fargo.^[7]
In May 2017, "S.O.B." was featured in an advertisement for Infiniti's Spring sales campaign.^[8]
In February 2018, "S.O.B." was featured in promos for the second season of the IFC comedy Brockmire.
"S.O.B." is used as the theme for the BBC sitcom Two Doors Down.^[9]
It was also featured in the first episode of DC Comics “Titans” series in Netflix in October 2018.
The song features in the Netflix series Atypical, playing in Season 3, Episode 10, titled "Searching for Brown Sugar Man", released 1 November 2019.^[10]

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts[edit]

Chart (2015–2016)	Peak position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)^[11]	7
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Wallonia)^[12]	22
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)^[13]	36
Ireland (IRMA)^[14]	58
Scotland (OCC)^[15]	98
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)^[16]	9
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)^[17]	183
US Adult Alternative Songs (Billboard)^[18]	1
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)^[19]	3
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)^[20]	8
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)^[21]	18
US Rock Airplay (Billboard)^[22]	3

Year-end charts[edit]

Chart (2015)	Position
US Adult Alternative Songs (Billboard)^[23]	34
US Alternative Songs (Billboard)^[24]	38
US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)^[25]	31
US Rock Airplay Songs (Billboard)^[26]	37
Chart (2016)	Position
Belgium (Ultratop Flanders)^[27]	98
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)^[28]	75
US Alternative Songs (Billboard)^[29]	33
US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)^[30]	38
US Rock Airplay Songs (Billboard)^[31]	26

Certifications[edit]


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)^[32]	4× Platinum	320,000^‡
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)^[33]	Gold	15,000^‡
United States (RIAA)^[34]	Platinum	1,000,000^‡
^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

^ Williams, Nick. "How Jimmy Fallon Helped Put Soul Sensations Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats on the Map". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
^ Browne, David (25 September 2015). "How Nathaniel Rateliff Went From Singer-Songwriter to Soul Dynamo". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
^ Perry, Adam (2015-09-10). "Nathaniel Rateliff on the Sobering Story Behind "S.O.B."". Westword. Retrieved 2017-02-01.
^ Holden, Steve (7 October 2015). "Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats: S.O.B. was a 'joke song'". BBC News. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
^ Mokoena, Tshepo (15 July 2015). "Watch Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats' new video for SOB". The Guardian. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
^ "Lipton Iced Tea TV Spot, 'What Makes a Lipton Meal?'". iSpot.tv. Retrieved June 20, 2016.
^ "Analyzing The Music Of 'Fargo' Season Three, Episode One". UPROXX. 2017-04-20. Retrieved 2017-04-20.
^ "Infiniti Start Your Own Legacy Spring Event TV Spot, '2017 Q50s' [T2]".
^ "BBC Two - Two Doors Down, Series 2, Episode 1". BBC. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
^ "SoundtrackRadar - Atypical Season 3: All songs with scene descriptions". SoundtrackRadar. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
^ "Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats – S.O.B." (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
^ "Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats – S.O.B." (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
^ "Nathaniel Rateliff the Night Sweats Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard.
^ "Chart Track: Week 43, 2015". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
^ "Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats – S.O.B.". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
^ Zywietz, Tobias. "Chart Log UK: New Entries Update – 10.10.2015 (wk41)". zobbel.de. Tobias Zywietz. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
^ "Nathaniel Rateliff the Night Sweats Chart History (Adult Alternative Songs)". Billboard.
^ "Nathaniel Rateliff the Night Sweats Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard.
^ "Nathaniel Rateliff the Night Sweats Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard.
^ "Nathaniel Rateliff the Night Sweats Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard.
^ "Nathaniel Rateliff the Night Sweats Chart History (Rock Airplay)". Billboard.
^ "Adult Alternative Songs – Year-End 2015". Billboard. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
^ "Alternative Songs – Year-End 2015". Billboard. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
^ "Hot Rock Songs – Year-End 2015". Billboard. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
^ "Rock Airplay Songs – Year-End 2015". Billboard. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
^ "Jaaroverzichten 2016". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2016 – hitparade.ch". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
^ "Alternative Songs – Year-End 2016". Billboard. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
^ "Hot Rock Songs – Year-End 2016". Billboard. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
^ "Rock Airplay Songs – Year-End 2016". Billboard. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
^ "Canadian single certifications – Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats – S.O.B." Music Canada. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('S.O.B.')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
^ "American single certifications – Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats – S.O.B." Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 15, 2022.