Sleeping in My Car

"Sleeping in My Car"
Single by Roxette
from the album Crash! Boom! Bang!
Released 7 March 1994
Format
Recorded January 1994
Studio EMI Studios, Stockholm
Genre
Length 3:32
Label EMI
Songwriter(s) Per Gessle
Producer(s) Clarence Öfwerman
Roxette singles chronology
"Almost Unreal"
(1993)		 "Sleeping in My Car"
(1994)		 "Crash! Boom! Bang!"
(1994)
Music video
"Sleeping in My Car" on YouTube

"Sleeping in My Car" is a song by Swedish pop music duo Roxette, released on 7 March 1994 as the lead single from their fifth studio album, Crash! Boom! Bang! (1994). The song was composed by Per Gessle in under an hour, and was the final song the band recorded for the album. It is a pop rock song containing elements drawn from pop punk. Marie Fredriksson's vocal range on the track spans over three octaves. The band performed the song at the inaugural 1994 MTV Europe Music Awards.[1]

The song was an immediate commercial success in numerous territories, including Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. It became the duo's second number one single in their home country, and peaked within the top twenty in nearly twenty other territories. It also peaked at number seven on Billboard's European Hot 100 Singles. In Canada, the song reached the top three on two different national charts. In contrast, it was the duo's final song to enter the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number fifty.

Composition and style

"Sleeping in My Car" was the final song the band recorded for Crash! Boom! Bang!, and was written by Per Gessle. In the liner notes of their 1995 greatest hits compilation Don't Bore Us, Get to the Chorus!, Gessle described how, on listening to the first playback of the album just before Christmas 1993, the duo realised that it was "missing something. It all sounded so... perfectly grown up." He elaborated: "We had worked for a year, much too long, endless hours of studio time... I mean, I loved it but there was too little P-O-P. Went straight home, really pissed off and came up with this neanderthal-riff and wrote it in an hour."[2]

According to Ultimate Guitar, the track is an uptempo pop rock song, with a moderately fast tempo of 135 beats per minute. The song contains elements of pop punk, and its verse is composed of an F♯m–E–F♯m–D–F♯m–E–C♯–D sequence, while the chorus consists of a sequence of F♯–C♯–D♯m–B–F♯–C♯–B–C♯. The first two lines of the bridge are made up almost entirely of slash chords, consisting of two repetitions of a F#–C#/F–B/D#–F#/C# sequence. Marie Fredriksson's vocal range in the song spans over three octaves, from a bass note of F♯3 in the first verse to a C♯5 in the final chorus.[3]

When Roxette performed in the Workers Indoor Arena in Beijing, China in 1995 during the "Crash! Boom! Bang! Tour", Chinese government officials demanded that the band alter the lyrics of this song.[4] "We agreed, but didn't change them in the end," said Gessle.[5] Finnish melodic death metal band Children of Bodom included a cover of "Sleeping in My Car" as a bonus track on their 2013 album Halo of Blood.

Commercial performance

The song was an immediate commercial success throughout Europe, and become their second number one single in their native Sweden, where it debuted at number one.[6] It spent a total of three weeks on top of the Swedish Singles Chart.[7] The song peaked at number two in Denmark and Finland—held off the top spot in both countries by Dr. Alban's "Look Who's Talking!".[8][9] The song peaked in the top 10 of numerous other national record charts, including Austria, Belgium, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. It also peaked at number seven on Billboard's European Hot 100 Singles.[8] The song was also a hit in Germany, where it peaked at number 11 for two non-consecutive weeks, and spent a total of four months on the German Singles Chart.[10]

"Sleeping in My Car" became the duo's final chart success in Australia and New Zealand, peaking within the top 20 in both territories. The duo would have only one further single reach the top 50 in each country: "Run to You" (number 49 in Australia) and "Crash! Boom! Bang!" (number 50 in New Zealand).[11][12] It was also the final Roxette song to appear on the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at number 50.[13] Conversely, the song was a major commercial success in Canada, peaking at number two on the RPM Top Singles chart.[14] Likewise, the song peaked at number three on The Record's concurrent singles chart—which incorporated airplay into its methodology.[15]

Formats and track listings

All songs written by Per Gessle.

  • 7" single and cassette (Australia 8650694 · Europe 8650697 · UK EM314 · US 4KM-58143)
  1. "Sleeping in My Car" – 3:33
  2. "The Look" (Unplugged Version) – 5:11
  • Australian and EU CD single (8650712)
  1. "Sleeping in My Car" – 3:33
  2. "The Look" (Unplugged Version) – 5:11
  3. "Sleeping in My Car" (The Stockholm Demo Version) – 3:13
  • UK and US CD single (UK CDEM314 · US E2-58143)
  1. "Sleeping in My Car" – 3:33
  2. "The Look" (Unplugged Version) – 5:11
  3. "Sleeping in My Car" (The Stockholm Demo Version) – 3:13
  4. "Almost Unreal" – 3:59

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Don't Bore Us, Get to the Chorus![2]

Charts

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/Sales
Sweden (GLF)[34] Gold 25,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ↑ Schimmang, Jan (5 November 2009). "MTV-Awards 1994: Was wurde aus den Stars von damals?" [MTV Awards 1994: What became of the stars of that time?]. Bild (in German). Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  2. 1 2 "Digital booklet". Don't Bore Us, Get to the Chorus (liner notes). Roxette. Stockholm, Sweden: EMI Records. 1995. 7243 836203 2 6.
  3. ↑ "Sleeping In My Car by Roxette chords". Ultimate-Guitar.com. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
  4. ↑ "Roxette lyrics censored in Beijing". The Albany Herald: 2. 20 February 1995. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
  5. ↑ "Rolling Stones play China". thedailyroxette. 10 April 2006. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
  6. ↑ Thom Duffy (14 May 1994). "International: Sleeping Around Europe". Billboard. 106 (20): 58. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  7. 1 2 "Swedishcharts.com – Roxette – Sleeping In My Car". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Hits of the World - Denmark & the EU". Billboard. 106 (16): 54. 16 April 1994. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  9. 1 2 "Finnish Singles Charts 1961-1995: Maaliskuu 1994 March". Suomen virallinen singlelista. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  10. 1 2 "Offiziellecharts.de – Roxette – Sleeping In My Car". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  11. 1 2 "Australian-charts.com – Roxette – Sleeping In My Car". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  12. 1 2 "Charts.nz – Roxette – Sleeping In My Car". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  13. 1 2 "Roxette Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  14. 1 2 "Top RPM Singles: Issue 2505." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  15. 1 2 "Hits Of The World - Canada". Billboard. 106 (31): 44. 30 July 1994. ISSN 0006-2510.
  16. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Roxette – Sleeping In My Car" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  17. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Roxette – Sleeping In My Car" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  18. ↑ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (14.04.1994 - 20.04.1994)" (PDF). Dagblaðið Vísir - Tónlist. Retrieved 2018-03-13.
  19. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Roxette". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  20. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Roxette" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  21. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Roxette – Sleeping In My Car" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  22. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Roxette – Sleeping In My Car". VG-lista. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  23. ↑ "Lista Przebojów Trójki - Polskie Radio Online: Notowanie nr642 - 3 czerwca 1994". Polskie Radio (in Polish). 3 June 1994. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  24. ↑ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  25. 1 2 Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  26. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Roxette – Sleeping In My Car". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  27. ↑ "Roxette: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  28. ↑ "Roxette Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  29. ↑ "Roxette Chart History (Radio Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  30. ↑ "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay Top 100. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  31. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten 1994" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  32. ↑ "Top 100 Hit Tracks of 1994". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. 12 December 1994. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  33. ↑ "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  34. ↑ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
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