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Crying Lightning

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"Crying Lightning"
Single by Arctic Monkeys
from the album Humbug
B-side
Released6 July 2009
Length3:43
LabelDomino
Composer(s)
Lyricist(s)Alex Turner
Producer(s)Josh Homme
Arctic Monkeys singles chronology
"Teddy Picker"
(2007) 		"Crying Lightning"
(2009) 		"Cornerstone"
(2009)
Music video
"Crying Lightning" on YouTube

"Crying Lightning" is a song by the English indie rock band Arctic Monkeys, released as the first single from their third album Humbug. It was first played on Zane Lowe's show on BBC Radio 1 on 6 July 2009 and was then made available on iTunes to download the same day. Physical copies of the single were made available on 17 August, one week before the release of the album.[2] The vinyl was made available in Oxfam shops and sold with a download code for fans to get a free MP3 version of the song.[3]

The single debuted at number 12 on the UK Singles Chart on 12 July 2009 by downloads alone.

Music video

[edit]

The music video for the single debuted on Channel 4 in UK on 24 July 2009.

The music video, directed by Richard Ayoade (who worked with the band previously on the video for "Fluorescent Adolescent", as well as their At the Apollo live DVD), shows the band performing the song on a boat on a rough sea. During a short instrumental interlude, a large figure rises up from the sea in the form of frontman, Turner. He falls to his knees where the boat passes between his legs before the other three band members (Cook, Helders and O'Malley) also rise up out from the water.[4]

Track listing

[edit]
10", MP3 digital download
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Crying Lightning"Alex TurnerArctic Monkeys3:43
2."Red Right Hand"Nick Cave
4:19
3."I Haven't Got My Strange"Alex TurnerArctic Monkeys1:29
7"
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Crying Lightning"Alex TurnerArctic Monkeys3:43
2."Red Right Hand"Nick Cave
  • Nick Cave
  • Mick Harvey
  • Conway Savage
  • Thomas Wydler
4:19

Credits and personnel

[edit]
Arctic Monkeys
Additional musicians
  • Josh Homme – backing vocals (track three)
  • John Ashton – keyboards, backing vocals (track one)

Charts

[edit]
Chart (2009) Peak
position
Austrian Singles Chart[5] 70
Belgium Singles Chart (Flanders)[6] 63
Belgium Singles Chart (Wallonia)[7] 49
Canadian Singles Chart 15
French Singles Chart[8] 23
Japan Hot 100 (Billboard)[9] 44
Switzerland Airplay (Swiss Hitparade)[10] 86
UK Indie Chart 1
UK Singles Chart 12

Certifications

[edit]
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[11] Platinum 600,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Humbug (liner notes). Arctic Monkeys. 2009.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  2. ^ Arctic Monkeys – Crying Lightning – Download on itunes
  3. ^ Monkeys to release Oxfam single
  4. ^ "Arctic Monkeys' Crying Lightning by Richard Ayoade". Promonews. 5 August 2009. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  5. ^ Austrian Singles Chart
  6. ^ Belgium Flanders Singles Chart
  7. ^ Belgium Wallonia Singles Chart
  8. ^ French Singles Chart
  9. ^ "Arctic Monkeys - Artist - Billboard Japan". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved 18 December 2024.
  10. ^ "Schweizer Airplay Charts 35/2009 – hitparade.ch". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  11. ^ "British single certifications – Arctic Monkeys – Crying Lightning". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
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