Boys Don't Cry (The Cure song)

"Boys Don't Cry"
Cover of the 1979 UK single
Single by The Cure
from the album Boys Don't Cry
B-side	"Plastic Passion" "Pillbox Tales" (1986)
Released	15 June 1979 (1979-06-15) 21 April 1986 (1986-04-21)
Format	7" 12"
Recorded	1979
Genre	Post-punk[1] new wave[2] jangle pop[3]
Length	2:35
Label	Fiction
Writer(s)	Robert Smith Lol Tolhurst Michael Dempsey
Producer(s)	Chris Parry (1979/1986) Robert Smith (1986) Dave Allen (1986)
The Cure singles chronology
"Killing an Arab" (1978) "Boys Don't Cry" (1979) "Jumping Someone Else's Train" (1979)
1986 UK re-release

"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.

History

Written by Michael Dempsey, Robert Smith, and Lol Tolhurst, the lyrics tell the story of a man who has given up trying to regain the love 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 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 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

The video, released in 1986 to 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.

Track listings

1979 release

7" single

1. "Boys Don't Cry" – 2:34
2. "Plastic Passion" – 2:15

1986 re-release

7" single (Polydor - 883 937-7 - FR)

1. "Boys Don't Cry (New Voice · New Mix)" – 2:38
2. "Pill Box Tales" – 2:54

12" single

1. "Boys Don't Cry (New Voice · Club Mix)" – 5:31
2. "Pill Box Tales" – 2:56
3. "Do the Hansa" – 2:40

Personnel

• Michael Dempsey – bass guitar
• Robert Smith – vocals, electric guitar
• Lol Tolhurst – drums

In popular culture

The song has appeared in various films:

• 1998 – The Wedding Singer
• 1999 – A cover version, performed by Nathan Larson, was used as the title song of the film Boys Don't Cry.
• 2006 – Starter for Ten.
• 2006 – French film I Do, played during Luis's Cure phase.
• 2008 – 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).
• 2011 – A cover version, performed by Grant-Lee Phillips, used in the soundtrack of the film Friends with Benefits.
• 2012 – Me and You by Italian film director Bernardo Bertolucci.

Chart positions

"Boys Don't Cry (New Voice · New Mix)"

References

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics