Linger (The Cranberries song)

"Linger" is a song by Irish alternative rock band The Cranberries from their debut studio album Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We? (1993). Composed by band members Dolores O'Riordan and Noel Hogan, and produced by Stephen Street, "Linger" was first released as the second and final single from the album on 23 February 1993, by Island Records. It was later re-released worldwide on 17 February 1994.

"Linger"
Artwork for 1994 European release (UK CD single pictured)
Single by The Cranberries
from the album Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?
B-side
  • "Liar"
  • "Reason"
  • "Them"
Released
  • 23 February 1993
  • 17 February 1994 (re-issue)
Recorded1992
Genre
Length4:34
LabelIsland
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Stephen Street
The Cranberries singles chronology
"Dreams"
(1992)		 "Linger"
(1993)		 "Zombie"
(1994)
Audio sample
  • file
  • help
Music video
"Linger" on YouTube
Alternative cover
Artwork for 1994 North American release (US vinyl and CD single pictured)

"Linger", which has an acoustic arrangement featuring a string section, became the band's first major hit, peaking at number three in their native Ireland, number eight in the United States,[2] and number 14 in the United Kingdom. The single remained on the US Billboard Hot 100 for 24 weeks. Additionally, "Linger" was voted by Australian Triple J listeners as number three on the Triple J Hottest 100, 1993 chart.[3]

In 1990, "Linger" was released on a demo tape with "Dreams" in Ireland only in the summer of that year under their initial band name, The Cranberry Saw Us.[4] In 2017, an acoustic, stripped-down version of "Linger" was released as the lead single from the band's seventh studio album Something Else.[5]

Background

When O'Riordan was auditioned as the lead singer for the band, she wrote the lyrics, turning it into a song of regret based on an experience with a 17 year-old soldier she once fell in love with.[6] Drummer Fergal Lawler recalled the process in an interview, saying:

It was a Sunday afternoon. She arrived with a keyboard under her arm, just set it up and played a few songs. We couldn't really hear her because she was singing through a guitar amp or something. I gave her a lift up to the bus stop and I was saying, 'Will we see you next week?' We gave her a tape of the music for 'Linger', which she took with her. The following week she came back, and she had lyrics written out and melodies and she sang along to what we were playing, and it was like, 'Oh, my God. She’s great'.[7]

In the documentary '99 Love Life & Rock 'n' Roll, O'Riordan says that the song is about her first serious kiss.

"Linger" has since become one of the band's most famous songs, though O'Riordan noted that the band did not expect the song to reach the level of commercial success that it did.[8] In a 2012 interview, O'Riordan commented, "I remember when MTV first put 'Linger' in heavy rotation, every time I walked into a diner or a hotel lobby, it was like, 'Jesus, man, here I am again'. It was trippy, like Jacob's Ladder. I didn't even have to take drugs".[9]

In an interview for New Musical Express, guitarist Noel Hogan said of the song:

It's only really since Dolores passed away that I've grown a proper appreciation for songs like 'Linger' and 'Dreams'. They were just songs in the set list for us; everybody else was losing their mind about them. And when I listen to them now I realise how great they are for someone so young, which I never, ever appreciated until a year ago. We must have played it a gazillion times in our lives and it just becomes a part of the set, but it’s different now. We’re so lucky to have left that behind, to have that legacy.[10]

Critical reception

Jason Elias of AllMusic described "Linger" as "a song of regret, epic in scope and sweeping", praising the instrumentation and O'Riordan vocals: "While this isn't lyrically novel, the full-on emotionality of lead singer Dolores O'Riordan makes this stand out. Singing in a strong Irish brogue she comes off both needy and detached here. It's that emotion that powers this track".[11] Amanda Petrusich of the The New Yorker described the song as "a hazy, sentimental song about realizing that you’re on the bummer end of a lopsided relationship".[12] The song ranked at number 86 on Vh1's 100 Greatest Songs of the '90s.[13]

Music video

The music video for "Linger", shot in grayscale,[14] was directed by Melodie McDaniel and based loosely on Jean-Luc Godard's 1965 science fiction noir film Alphaville — a "film that considers the potency of desire".[12][14] In one of the rooms of the hotel a silent film is being shown which features 1950s stripper Blaze Starr.[14]

"Linger" received heavy rotation on MTV in 1993.[12]

Track listing
North American CD Single (1993)
  1. "Linger" (Album Version) – 4:34
  2. "Liar" (Previously Unreleased) – 2:22
  3. "Them" (Previously Unreleased) – 3:43
  4. "Reason"(Previously Unreleased) – 2:02
"Liar" has previously appeared on the Dreams single. "Them" and "Reason" are written by Dolores O'Riordan and Noel Hogan.
UK and European 12" Single
  1. "Linger" (Album Version) – 4:34
  2. "Reason" (Previously Unreleased) – 2:02
  3. "How" (Radical Mix) – 2:58
US CD Single/Promo
  1. "Linger" (Edit) – 4:11
  2. "Linger" (Album Version) – 4:34
US 7" Single/Promo
  1. "Linger" (Album Version) – 4:34
  2. "Dreams" (Album Version) – 4:32
Cassette Singles
US Cassingle
  1. "Linger" (Album Version) – 4:34
  2. "How" – 2:56
UK Cassingle
  1. "Linger" (Album Version) – 4:34
  2. "Reason" (Previously Unreleased) – 2:02
UK and European CD Single (1994)
  1. "Linger" (Album Version) – 4:34
  2. "Pretty" – 2:16
  3. "Waltzing Back" (Live at The Record Plant, Hollywood) – 4:01
  4. "Pretty" (Live at The Record Plant, Hollywood) – 2:11
UK and European 7" Single
  1. "Linger" (Album Version) – 4:34
  2. "Pretty" – 2:16

Charts and certifications

Usage in media

The song was used in episode 18 of the second season of ABC's show Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 where one of the main characters June called it "her breakup song". "Linger" also appeared on an episode of Hindsight.

The song was also used in the 1994 movie Camp Nowhere and twice in the 2006 movie Click, starring Adam Sandler. It first played during the flashback first kiss scene between Sandler's character and his wife (Kate Beckinsale); in addition, Dolores O'Riordan made an appearance performing a swing-style arrangement of the song at Sandler's character's son (Jake Hoffman)'s wedding reception scene towards the end of the movie.

The song was heard on the television show NCIS (S16 Ep 14 "Once Upon a Tim").

The song was used in the third episode of season two of Amy Schumer’s Inside Amy Schumer, during the “Calling the Cable Company” skit.

The song was used in the first episode of season two of Community. In the episode, an Irish singer hired by Abed, sang a revised version of the song as part of the episode's failed wedding ceremony between Britta and Jeff. The singer character was portrayed by the singer Kasey Truman, who goes by the stage name Deerheart.

Covers

References
  1. Bream, John (27 November 1994). "Red, Round and Ripe". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  2. Billboard.com.
  3. "Hottest 100 1993". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  4. Bray, Elisa. "The Cranberries on losing Dolores O'Riordan: 'She was in a good place – it made it harder to get that call'". The Independent. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
  5. "The Cranberries Announce New Acoustic Album Something Else, Share "Linger": Listen". Pitchfork. 14 March 2017. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  6. Mundy, Chris (1994-04-21). "The Cranberries: The Hidden Power of Dreams". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2020-02-15.
  7. Browne, David. "The Making of the Cranberries' Haunted Farewell". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
  8. "Dolores O'Riordan, the Cranberries Singer, Dead at 46". Rolling Stone. 2018-01-15. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
  9. Kaplan, Ben. "The Cranberries: Everybody else is reuniting, so why can't they?" (PDF). National Post. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
  10. Aubrey, Elizabeth. "The Cranberries on their final album: "It's like a little gift Dolores left behind"". NME. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
  11. Elias, Jason. "Linger - The Cranberries | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 2020-02-15.
  12. Petrusich, Amanda (16 January 2018). "The Ferocious, Sublime Dolores O'Riordan, of the Cranberries". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on 29 May 2020. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  14. Avoldeo, Pam (25 November 2017). "Video review: The Cranberries 'Linger'". I Want My Pop Culture. Archived from the original on 16 December 2020. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  15. "Australian-charts.com – The Cranberries – Linger". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  16. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 2389." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  17. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 2408." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  18. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11 no. 9. 26 February 1994. p. 14. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  19. "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (17.–23. feb.)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 17 February 1994. p. 20. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  20. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Linger". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  21. "Charts.nz – The Cranberries – Linger". Top 40 Singles.
  22. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  23. "The Cranberries: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  24. "The Cranberries Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  25. "The Cranberries Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  26. "The Cranberries Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  27. "The Cranberries Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  28. "Italiancharts.com – The Cranberries – Linger". Top Digital Download. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  29. "Portuguesecharts.com – The Cranberries – Linger". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  30. "The Cranberries Chart History (Digital Song Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  31. https://www.billboard.com/charts/digital-song-sales
  32. https://www.billboard.com/music/the-cranberries/chart-history/rock-songs
  33. https://www.billboard.com/music/the-cranberries/chart-history/rock-digital-song-sales
  34. https://www.billboard.com/music/the-cranberries/chart-history/rock-streaming-songs
  35. "Official Charts > Cranberries". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  36. https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/irish-singles-chart/
  37. "RPM Top 100 Hit Tracks of 1994". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  38. "RPM Top 100 AC tracks of 1994". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  39. "Árslistinn 1994". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 2 January 1995. p. 25. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  40. Musicoutfitters.com
  41. "British single certifications – Cranberries – Linger". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  42. "American single certifications – The Cranberries – Linger". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 3 July 2020. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
  43. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxSwun3XMZQ
  44. Modell, Josh (19 August 2014). "Real Estate covers The Cranberries". The A.V. Club. Onion, Inc. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
  45. Damoui, Yasmin (28 January 2018). "EXCLUSIVE PREMIERE: Nadia Ali Steps Out of the Nightclub & Into the Spotlight with New Project, HYLLS". Ones To Watch. Archived from the original on 18 February 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
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