Boys Don't Cry (song)
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| “Boys Don't Cry” | |||||
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| Single by The Cure from the album Boys Don't Cry |
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| Released | August 1979 (UK) April 1986 (UK) |
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| Format | 7" 12" | ||||
| Recorded | 1979 | ||||
| Genre | Post-punk | ||||
| Length | 2:35 | ||||
| Label | Fiction Records | ||||
| Producer | Chris Parry (1979/1986) Robert Smith (1986) Dave Allen (1986) |
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| The Cure singles chronology | |||||
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| "Boys Don't Cry (New Voice · New Mix)" |
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| [[Image:|"Boys Don't Cry (New Voice · New Mix)"|200px]] |
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| Continued chronology | |||||
| "Half an Octopuss" / "Quadpus" (1986) |
"Boys Don't Cry" (1986) |
"Why Can't I Be You?" (1987) |
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"Boys Don't Cry" was the second single to be released by The Cure, released in August 1979. It was released in the UK as an independent single but was included as the title track on Boys Don't Cry, the American equivalent to Three Imaginary Boys.
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[edit] History
In April 1986 it was re-released under the title "New Voice · New Mix", in which the original track was remixed and the vocals re-recorded. The new version was not received well, and unlike the original, has not appeared on any subsequent release by The Cure. The updated version can however be heard in the music video for "Boys Don't Cry".
Written by Michael Dempsey, Robert Smith, and Laurence Tolhurst, the lyrics tell the story of a man who has given up trying to regain the love of a girl that he has lost, and tries to disguise his true emotional state by "laughing, hiding the tears in [his] eyes, 'cause boys don't cry".
[edit] Track listing
[edit] 1979 release
7" single
- "Boys Don't Cry"
- "Plastic Passion"
[edit] 1986 re-release
7" single
- "Boys Don't Cry (New Voice · New Mix)"
- "Pill Box Tales"
12" single
- "Boys Don't Cry (New Voice · Club Mix)" - extended remix
- "Pill Box Tales"
- "Do the Hansa"
[edit] Personnel
- Michael Dempsey – Bass
- Robert Smith – Voice, Guitar
- Laurence Tolhurst – Drums
[edit] Use in film
A cover version of it, performed by Nathan Larson, was used as the title song of the 1999 film Boys Don't Cry for which Hilary Swank won the Academy Award for Best Actress. The film is based on the real-life story of Brandon Teena, a transgender young man who was raped and murdered by his male friends, after they found out he was physically female. The song appears at the moment in the film when Swank's character is released from jail and rejoins his waiting girlfriend. They run down a set of stairs together as the song continues; it then plays in the background during a scene in a bar and half of the following love scene.
The song is also featured in the 2006 film Starter for Ten.
[edit] Cover versions
The band Reel Big Fish often perform a cover of this song in a live setting, and The Smashing Pumpkins have performed teases of the song live on multiple occasions. Oleander released a studio cover of the song on their album February Son, and as a single, complete with a video. Hell Is for Heroes recorded the song as a b-side for their single "Retreat", and lostprophets did the same for their single "Last Summer". Razorlight chose to perform the song at The Cure's "MTV Icon" ceremony in 2004.
The song was more recently covered by Grant Lee Phillips on his newest record "Nineteeneighties". This version of the song was also featured in the second season premiere of CBS show How I Met Your Mother
In 2007 singer/songwriter Norman Palm published a melancholic version of the song on a single called "Girls and Boys" featuring Cindy Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" on its flip side.
Australian Ska band Area-7 released a more upbeat cover of the song on their debut album Bitter & Twisted in 2000.
Hub City Stompers, a New Jersey ska band, imitated this song as "Skins don't cry", it is essentially the same song with few lyrics changed. The song is on their 2006 album, Dirty Jersey!
The Mexican electropop band Belanova covered "Boys Don't Cry" during the Dulce Beat Tour; the live version of the song was included in the band's Dulce Beat Live album.
The Argentinian rock band Juan Terrenal released a studio cover of the song in Spanish with a video [1].
Victor Malloy covered the song on the album, "Cosmonica: Tom Middleton Presents Crazy Covers, Vol. 1"
Also, "Boys Don't Cry" is a frequently used in C. C. live setlists.
The Japanese all-female punk band Mummy the Peepshow covered this song
In 2004, during the U.K. leg of their world tour, Robert Smith joined Blink-182 to perform the song All of This. Afterwards, Robert Smith rejoined the band to perform a cover of the song. [2]
Placebo have also played Boys Don't Cry with Robert Smith at their Wembley Arena show in November 2004.
California metal quintet Atreyu mention this song with the line "...and Robert Smith lied, boys do cry..." in their song The Crimson off of 2004's The Curse.
Punk Peruvian band dIAZEPUNK has covered the song and put it on their 2004 album Bajo en Serotonina as a Hidden Track.
Also, noise-punk band, Japanther, has released a cover of this song on their latest album, Skuffed My Huffy
[edit] Chart positions
| Chart | Peak Position |
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| Australia | 99 |
[edit] "Boys Don't Cry (New Voice-New Mix)"
| Chart | Peak Position |
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| Germany | 19 |
| United Kingdom | 22 |
| Australia | 26 |
| France | 28 |
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