Quotes from the Opening Credits of HBO’s The Wire
HBO’s “The Wire” is one of the most critically acclaimed television shows of all time. This page includes a list of every single quote from the opening credits of one of histories greatest shows.
Each episode of HBO’s The Wire kicks off with a cryptic yet meaningful message, displayed across the screen after the credits. They may not be funny like The Office, but they stick with you all the same.
Reflect back on the show’s brilliance with every single quote from the opening sequence of The Wire, one of the best shows to binge, listed in order of airdate.
Season 1 Opening Credit Quotes
The Target (S1E1)
“…when it’s not your turn.”
– McNulty
The Detail (S1E2)
“You cannot lose if you do not play.”
– Marla Daniels
The Buys (S1E3)
“The king stay the king.”
– D’Angelo
Old Cases (S1E4)
“It’s a thin line ‘tween heaven and here”
– Bubbles
The Pager (S1E5)
“…a little slow, a little late.”
– Avon Barksdale
The Wire (S1E6)
“…and all the pieces matter.”
– Freamon
One Arrest (S1E7)
A man must have a code.”
– Bunk
Lessons (S1E8)
Come at the king, you best not miss.”
– Omar
Game Day (S1E9)
Maybe we won.”
– Herc
The Cost (S1E10)
And then he dropped the bracelets…”
– Greggs
The Hunt (S1E11)
Dope on the damn table.”
– Daniels
Cleaning Up (S1E12)
This is me, yo, right here.”
– Wallace
Sentencing (S1E13)
“All in the game…”
– Traditional West Baltimore
Season 2 Opening Credit Quotes
Ebb Tide (S2E1)
“Ain’t never gonna be what it was.”
– Little Big Roy
Collateral Damage (S2E2)
“They can chew you up, but they gotta spit you out.”
– McNulty
Hot Shots (S2E3)
“What they need is a union.”
– Russell
Hard Cases (S2E4)
“If I hear music, I’m gonna dance.”
– Greggs
Undertow (S2E5)
“They used to make steel there, no?”
– Vondas
All Prologue (S2E6)
“It don’t matter that some fool say he different…”
– D’Angelo
Backwash (S2E7)
“Don’t worry kid. You’re still on the clock.”
– Horseface
Duck and Cover (S2E8)
“How come they don’t fly away?”
– Ziggy
Stray Rounds (S2E9)
“The world is a smaller place now.”
– The Greek
Storm Warnings (S2E10)
“It pays to go with the union card every time.”
– Ziggy
Bad Dreams (S2E11)
“I need to get clean.”
– Sobotka
Port in a Storm (S2E12)
“Business. Always business.”
– The Greek
Season 3 Opening Credit Quotes
Time After Time (S3E1)
“Don’t matter how many times you get burnt, you just keep doin’ the same.”
– Bodie
All Due Respect (S3E2)
“There’s never been a paper bag.”
– Colvin
Dead Soldiers (S3E3)
The Gods will not save you.”
– Burrell
Amsterdam (S3E4)
“Why you gotta go and fuck with the program?”
– Fruit
Straight and True (S3E5)
“I had such fucking hopes for us.”
– McNulty
Homecoming (S3E6)
“Just a gangster, I suppose.”
– Avon Barksdale
Back Burners (S3E7)
“Conscience do cost.”
– Butchie
Moral Midgetry (S3E8)
“Crawl, walk, and then run.”
– Clay Davis
Slapstick (S3E9)
“…while you’re waiting for moments that never come.”
– Freamon
Reformation (S3E10)
“Call it a crisis of leadership.”
– Proposition Joe
Middle Ground (S3E11)
“We ain’t gotta dream no more, man.”
– Stringer Bell
Mission Accomplished (S3E12)
“We fight on that lie.”
– Slim Charles
Season 4 Opening Credit Quotes
via GIPHY
Boys of Summer (S4E1)
“Lambs to the slaughter here.”
– Marcia Donnelly
Soft Eyes (S4E2)
“I still wake up white in a city that ain’t.”
– Carcetti
Home Rooms (S4E3)
“I love the first day, man. Everybody all friendly an’ shit”
– Namond Brice
Refugees (S4E4)
“No one wins. One side just loses more slowly.”
– Prez
Alliances (S4E5)
“If you with us, you with us.”
– Chris Partlow
Margin of Error (S4E6)
“Don’t try this shit at home.”
– Norman Wilson
Unto Others (S4E7)
“Aw yeah. That golden rule.”
– Bunk
Corner Boys (S4E8)
“We got our thing, but it’s just part of the big thing.”
– Zenobia
Know Your Place (S4E9)
“Might as well dump ’em, get another.”
– Proposition Joe
Misgivings (S4E10)
“World goin’ one way, people another.”
– Poot
A New Day (S4E11)
“You play in dirt, you get dirty”
– McNulty
That’s Got His Own (S4E12)
“That all there is to it?”
– Bubbles
Final Grades – S4E13
“If animal trapped call 410-844-6286”
– Baltimore, traditional
Season 5 Opening Credit Quotes
More with Less (S5E1)
“The bigger the lie, the more they believe.”
– Bunk
Unconfirmed Reports (S5E2)
“This ain’t Aruba, bitch.”
– Bunk
Not for Attribution (S5E3)
“They’re dead where it doesn’t count.”
– Fletcher
Transitions (S5E4)
“Buyer’s market out there.”
– Templeton
React Quotes (S5E5)
“Just ’cause they’re in the street doesn’t mean that they lack opinions.”
– Haynes
The Dickensian Aspect (S5E6)
“If you have a problem with this, I understand completely.”
– Freamon
Took (S5E7)
“They don’t teach it in law school.”
– Pearlman
Clarifications (S5E8)
“A lie ain’t a side of the story, it’s just a lie.”
– Terry Hanning
Late Editions (S5E9)
“Deserve got nuthin’ to do with it.”
– Snoop
–30– (S5E10)
“The Life of Kings”
– H. L. Mencken
Every Opening Credit Quote from The Wire in Three Minutes (Video)
This video by Matthew Coffaro includes the video clip of every moment from The Wire where these quotes are spoken or written. It is truly magical to watch if you are a fan of the show. Like some of the best dying quotes, these can hit close to home.
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