Linger (The Cranberries song)

"Linger"
Artwork for the 1994 European re-release (UK 7-inch single pictured)
Single by the Cranberries
from the album Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?
B-side
  • "Reason", "Liar", "Them" (1993)
  • "Pretty" (1994)
Released15 February 1993 (1993-02-15)[1]
Genre
Length4:34
LabelIsland
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Stephen Street
The Cranberries singles chronology
"Dreams"
(1992) 		"Linger"
(1993) 		"Zombie"
(1994)
Audio sample
Music video
"Linger" on YouTube
Alternative cover
Artwork for the North American release (US CD single pictured)

"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 15 February 1993 by Island Records. It was later re-released on 31 January 1994.[5]

"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,[6] and number 14 in the United Kingdom. The single remained on the US Billboard Hot 100 for 24 weeks and also peaked at number eleven on the Cash Box Top 100.[7] Additionally, "Linger" was voted by Australian Triple J listeners as number three on the Triple J Hottest 100, 1993 chart.[8] The accompanying music video was directed by Melodie McDaniel.

In 1990, "Linger" was released on a demo tape with "Dreams" in Ireland only in the middle of that year under their initial band name, the Cranberry Saw Us.[9] In 2017, an acoustic, stripped-down version of "Linger" was released as the lead single from the band's seventh studio album, Something Else.[10] "Linger" is written in the key of D major.[11]

  1. ^ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 13 February 1993. p. 17. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  2. ^ "Musicians mourn the loss of the Cranberries singer Dolores O'Riordan". Alternative Press. 15 January 2018. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  3. ^ Eames, Tom (31 July 2024). "The 100 greatest songs of the 1990s, ranked". Smooth Radio. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  4. ^ Bream, John (27 November 1994). "Red, Round and Ripe". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  5. ^ "Single Releases" (PDF). Music Week. 29 January 1994. p. 25. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  6. ^ Billboard.com.
  7. ^ "Top 100 Pop Singles" (PDF). Cash Box. Vol. LVII, no. 21. 12 February 1994. p. 12. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  8. ^ "Hottest 100 1993". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 26 December 2008. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  9. ^ Bray, Elisa (30 April 2019). "The Cranberries on losing Dolores O'Riordan: 'She was in a good place – it made it harder to get that call'". The Independent. Archived from the original on 14 June 2022. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
  10. ^ "The Cranberries Announce New Acoustic Album Something Else, Share "Linger": Listen". Pitchfork. 14 March 2017. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  11. ^ Pierre, Bouvier; Charles, Comeau; Emanuel, Kirakou; Keinan, Warsame; Plan, Simple; K'naan (13 March 2012). "Summer Paradise". Musicnotes.com. Retrieved 2 June 2021.