It was later re-released on 31 January 1994. 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. " 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). The city’s motto is “Urbs Antiqua Fuit Studiisque Asperrima Belli” or “There was an ancient city very fierce in the skills of war.” O’Riordan’s voice was a graceful instrument of emotional warfare.Artwork for the North American release (US CD single pictured) Even when their music touched the world, it still felt uniquely Irish, uniquely Limerick, a western port town known for its rebellions against British rule. Their albums included songs like “Ode to My Family,” which creates a waterfall of melodies honoring her mother, father and lineage, and the sweeping “Dreams” with its traditional Irish yodeling. I suppose when I was five years old, I spoke with a strong Irish accent, so I sang with one, too.”Īs a student of Irish poets and literature, her songs incorporated yodeling and Gaelic words unknown to most. People often ask me why I sing with a strong Irish accent. “I always had a strong Irish accent, too. That voice was uniquely Irish. “If I started to sing, then all the others in the room would stop and listen,” she told Rolling Stone in ’95. I made a friend who worked at the Olympia Theatre in Dublin, and when I visited we went out in Temple Bar, the city’s boho bar district again, O’Riordan’s voice was everywhere. I drank Murphy’s Stout at a bar off campus from the University of County Cork, called The Thirsty Scholar, and they played the Cranberries non-stop. In 2004, I studied abroad in Cork, Ireland. To all those who follow and support Irish music, Irish musicians and the performing arts her death will be a big loss.” I recall with fondness the late Limerick TD Jim Kemmy’s introduction of her and the Cranberries to me, and the pride he and so many others took in their successes. The President of Ireland, Michael Higgins, released a statement upon news of her death: “O’Riordan and the Cranberries had an immense influence on rock and pop music in Ireland and internationally. O’Riordan and the Cranberries were a source of immense pride for the Irish. The grittier rocker “Zombie” would become perhaps their most recognizable song, but it’s always their dreamy side that stunned the most-the gliding choruses and lyrics that were like a swan dive off the Cliffs of Moher. The group would ultimately sell over 40 million records across the globe. “Linger,” along with the LP’s other single “Dreams,” would launch the band’s career - and go on to sell five million copies worldwide. It’s a voice that left deep and lasting marks. It was easy to sit in awe of a vocalist commanding so much emotional power, and so in control of her dynamic, unique instrument. The cover of the Cranberries’ debut, Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?, released at the height of the grunge era in March 1993, showed the band cloaked in black, perched on a couch (as would their next release… they liked couches). In an era of male-dominated guitar rock, I discovered the Cranberries by sneaking into my older sisters’ rooms and listening to their CDs. The twinkling guitars and staccato strings rise with her oh-so-recognizable voice and she nails the unforgettable lyrics thousands of fans have sang back to her at festivals and concerts across the globe these past 25 years: “But I’m in so deep / You know I’m such a fool for you / You’ve got me wrapped around your finger / Do you have to let it linger? Do you have to, do you have to, do have to let it linger?” Īs a kid, this was one of my first introductions to wistful alt-rock drama. “Were you lying all the time? / Was it just a game to you?…” Yeah, you don’t want to be on O’Riordan’s emotional hit list. It’s a tale of love, deceit and the lingering feelings of desire for an impossible relationship, an impossible situation, and an impossible partner who broke the contract of love. “It’s ruining every day / For me I swore I would be true / And fellow, so did you / So why were you holding her hand? / Is that the way we stand?” asks O’Riordan. It was one of the first songs the band completed after O’Riordan joined, when they were just in their late teens.
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