The Red Right Hand rendition in Peaky Blinders Season 6 had a special meaning which fans might have missed

Red Right Hand is an emotion for every Peaky Blinders fan, and the tunes of this mysterious song transport one immediately to the streets of 1920s Birmingham ruled by Cillian Murphy's Tommy Shelby.

Nick Caves and his band, Bad Seeds, created this masterpiece in 1994, which has since been used in Scream and The X Files. But the song found a new fanbase when it debuted as the theme song for the BBC drama series in 2013.

The lyrics of the song aligned perfectly with Murphy's protagonist, who opened all the episodes of the series with his commanding on-screen presence, accentuated by Cave's tunes.

While the song has been a staple since the show's inception, it was omitted in later seasons and returned with a revamped rendition by a Patti Smith cover. The new rendition, featured in Season 6 was primarily melancholic and starkly different from Cave's peppy tunes.

The tonal shift marked a difference in Tommy's once dominating and confident character, as he teeters on the verge of death and self-destruction in the finale.

More on the Red Right Hand rendition in Peaky Blinders Season 6 in our story.

Exploring the meaning behind the Red Right Hand rendition in Peaky Blinders Season 6

While Cave's Red Right Hand had been the staple theme song for Peaky Blinders since its first season, it was rarely featured in the crime drama series post-Season 3. While fans dearly missed Tommy Shelby's slow walk to Cave's tunes, the omission was a deliberate choice to highlight his transformation and the end of a violent era for the Shelbies.

Tommy Shelby was not the same man after Grace's death in Season 3, and this is marked by his efforts to enter politics and bring doom to fascist Oswald Mosley. However, no matter how much he tries, he is pulled back into his old ways.

While Red Right Hand was primarily absent from Seasons 4 and 5, it reappeared in Peaky Blinders Season 6 Episode 5, just as Tommy accepts that he cannot change and is no different from Oswald and his men. But instead of Cave's peppy tune, fans hear Patti Smith's melancholic version, which marks the tonal shift in Tommy's character.

Season 6 used Smith's cover in a dual sense. Firstly, the return of Red Right Hand hinted Tommy's return to his violent ways, as the song is featured immediately after Tommy says:

"...For all I try to hide it, I'm just one of you. Could there be a sadder ending, eh?"

Secondly, Smith's melancholic version also marks Tommy's doom in the Season 6 finale, as Michael gears up to kill him. The final moments of Peaky Blinders Season 6's penultimate episode saw Gina and Jack Nelson's men approach Michael with an offer in prison: If he agrees to kill Tommy, he will be released.

Red Right Hand's melancholic version can be heard in the background while Michael declares this:

''Yes, when I'm released, it is my intention to kill Tommy Shelby.''

This marked an explosive ending to the Season 6 finale, one in which the Red Right Hand man (Tommy Shelby) might finally be killed, thus the melancholic theme song.

The shift from Cave's to Smith's cover beautifully captured the fate of our hero, a once-powerful gangster who might soon meet his end in the finale. But since "the only man who can kill Tommy Shelby is Tommy Shelby himself," Michael's plan backfires, and Tommy instead kills him in the finale.

While Tommy rode away on a white horse, it would be interesting to see whether Cave's Red Right Hand will be used in the upcoming Peaky Blinders feature film.

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Also Read: Peaky Blinders soundtrack guide

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