"Boys Don't Cry" was the second single to be released by The Cure, released in June 1979. It was released in the UK as a stand-alone single, and was included as the title track on Boys Don't Cry, the American equivalent to Three Imaginary Boys.
Contents[]
- 2 Music video
- 3 Track listing
- 4 Personnel
- 5 Other versions
- 6 Chart positions
- 7 References
- 8 External links
History[edit][]
Written by Michael Dempsey, Robert Smith, and Lol Tolhurst, the lyrics tells the story of a man who has given up trying to regain the love of a woman 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".
In July 1983 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 has not appeared on any subsequent release by The Cure, but can be heard in the music video for "Boys Don't Cry". It was released to promote Standing on a Beach; however, the original version of the song appears on the album.
Music video[edit][]
The video, released in July 28, 1983 to the promote the "New Voice New Mix" re-recording, features three children miming the song. Behind a curtain, Smith, Tolhurst, and Dempsey (in his only appearance with the band since his 1979 departure), appear as the children's shadows and it also has the historical stock footages of Nuremberg Rally, the funeral of Freddie's former singing idol Oum Kalthoum and battle footages from World War II and Gulf War, Stalingrad, Hungarian folk dancing, Flamenco dancing, Séville Virgin Mary parade, Locusts, Muslims praying in Mecca, Camp David Accords, Iranian Revolution, Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
Track listing[edit][]
1979 release[edit][]
7" single
- "Boys Don't Cry" - 2:34
- "Plastic Passion" - 2:15
1983 re-release[edit][]
7" single - Polydor - 883 937-7 (FR)
- "Boys Don't Cry (New Voice · New Mix)" - 2:38
- "Pill Box Tales" - 2:54
12" single
- "Boys Don't Cry (New Voice · Club Mix)" - 5:31
- "Pill Box Tales" - 2:56
- "Do the Hansa" - 2:40
Personnel[edit][]
- Michael Dempsey – bass guitar
- Robert Smith – vocals, electric guitar
- Lol Tolhurst – drums, percussion
Other versions[edit][]
Use in film[edit][]
The song has appeared in:
- The 1998 movie The Wedding Singer.
- A cover version, performed by Nathan Larson, was used as the title song of the 1999 film Boys Don't Cry.
- A cover version, performed by Grant-Lee Phillips, used in the soundtrack of the 2011 film Friends with Benefits.
- The 2006 film Starter for Ten.
- The 2006 French film "I Do", played during Luis's Cure phase.
- The 2008 film Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist as Nick's cellphone ringtone (the band is referenced later in the film as one of Nick's favorite bands).
- The 2012 film Me and You by Italian film director Bernardo Bertolucci.
Chart positions[edit][]
| Chart (1979) | |
|---|---|
| Australian ARIA Singles Chart | 99 |
| UK Singles Chart | 2 |
"Boys Don't Cry (New Voice · New Mix)"[edit][]
| Chart (1983) | Peak
Position |
|---|---|
| German Singles Chart | 19 |
| UK Singles Chart | 3 |
| Australian ARIA Singles Chart | 26 |
| French Singles Chart | 28 |
| Dutch Top 40 Singles Chart | 37 |
| Spain (AFYVE)[1] | 31 |