Linger (song)

Originally, the lyrics to "Linger" were written by Cranberries' first singer Niall Quinn. After O'Riordan was auditioned as the lead singer for the band, she wrote her own set of lyrics, turning it into a song of regret based on a 17 year-old soldier she once fell in love with.[3][4] Drummer Fergal Lawler recalled the process in an interview, saying:

It was a Sunday afternoon. She arrived with a keyboard under her arm, just set it up and played a few songs. We couldn't really hear her because she was singing through a guitar amp or something. I gave her a lift up to the bus stop and I was saying, 'Will we see you next week?' We gave her a tape of the music for 'Linger', which she took with her. The following week she came back, and she had lyrics written out and melodies and she sang along to what we were playing, and it was like, 'Oh, my God. She’s great'.[5]

In the documentary '99 Love Life & Rock 'n' Roll, O'Riordan says that the song is about her first serious kiss.

"Linger" has since become one of the band's most famous songs. In a 2012 interview, O'Riordan commented, "I remember when MTV first put 'Linger' in heavy rotation, every time I walked into a diner or a hotel lobby, it was like, 'Jesus, man, here I am again'. It was trippy, like Jacob's Ladder. I didn't even have to take drugs".[6]

In an interview for New Musical Express, guitarist Noel Hogan said of the song:

It's only really since Dolores passed away that I've grown a proper appreciation for songs like 'Linger' and 'Dreams'. They were just songs in the set list for us; everybody else was losing their mind about them. And when I listen to them now I realise how great they are for someone so young, which I never, ever appreciated until a year ago. We must have played it a gazillion times in our lives and it just becomes a part of the set, but it’s different now. We’re so lucky to have left that behind, to have that legacy.[7]

Jason Elias of AllMusic described "Linger" as "a song of regret, epic in scope and sweeping", praising the instrumentation and O'Riordan vocals: "While this isn't lyrically novel, the full-on emotionality of lead singer Dolores O'Riordan makes this stand out. Singing in a strong Irish brogue she comes off both needy and detached here. It's that emotion that powers this track".[8]

The song ranked at number 86 on Vh1's 100 Greatest Songs of the '90s.[9]

The music video for "Linger", shot in grayscale, is a tribute to Jean-Luc Godard's 1965 science fiction noir film Alphaville. In one of the rooms of the hotel a silent film is being shown which features 1950s stripper Blaze Starr.[10]

North American CD Single (1993)

1. "Linger" (Album Version) – 4:34
2. "Liar" (Previously Unreleased) – 2:22
3. "Them" (Previously Unreleased) – 3:43
4. "Reason"(Previously Unreleased) – 2:02

"Liar" has previously appeared on the Dreams single. "Them" and "Reason" are written by Dolores O'Riordan and Noel Hogan.

UK and European 12" Single

1. "Linger" (Album Version) – 4:34
2. "Reason" (Previously Unreleased) – 2:02
3. "How" (Radical Mix) – 2:58

US CD Single/Promo

1. "Linger" (Edit) – 4:11
2. "Linger" (Album Version) – 4:34

US 7" Single/Promo

1. "Linger" (Album Version) – 4:34
2. "Dreams" (Album Version) – 4:32

Cassette Singles

US Cassingle

1. "Linger" (Album Version) – 4:34
2. "How" – 2:56

UK Cassingle

1. "Linger" (Album Version) – 4:34
2. "Reason" (Previously Unreleased) – 2:02

UK and European CD Single (1994)

1. "Linger" (Album Version) – 4:34
2. "Pretty" – 2:16
3. "Waltzing Back" (Live at The Record Plant, Hollywood) – 4:01
4. "Pretty" (Live at The Record Plant, Hollywood) – 2:11

UK and European 7" Single

1. "Linger" (Album Version) – 4:34
2. "Pretty" – 2:16

The song was used in episode 18 of the second season of ABC's show Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 where one of the main characters June called it "her breakup song". "Linger" also appeared on an episode of Hindsight.

The song was also used in the 1994 movie Camp Nowhere and twice in the 2006 movie Click, starring Adam Sandler. It first played during the flashback first kiss scene between Sandler's character and his wife (Kate Beckinsale); in addition, Dolores O'Riordan made an appearance performing a swing-style arrangement of the song at Sandler's character's son (Jake Hoffman)'s wedding reception scene towards the end of the movie.

The song was heard on the television show NCIS (S16 Ep 14 "Once Upon a Tim").

The song was used in the third episode of season two of Amy Schumer’s Inside Amy Schumer, during the “Calling the Cable Company” skit.

The song was used in the first episode of season two of Community. In the episode, an Irish singer hired by Abed, sang a revised version of the song as part of the episode's failed wedding ceremony between Britta and Jeff. The singer character was portrayed by the singer Kasey Truman, who goes by the stage name Deerheart.

• Brazilian TV host Angélica sang a cover version titled "Se A Gente Se Entender" ("If We Understand Each Other"), which also received a music video.
• Chicago punk band Screeching Weasel covered the song on their album Emo.
• Dolores O'Riordan sang this song as a duet with Simon Le Bon at the Pavarotti & Friends Concert for the Children of Bosnia.[36]
• Kelly Clarkson has covered the song.
• Collegiate a cappella group the Beelzebubs covered the song on their album Pandæmonium.
• The Malaysian band called Estranged made a cover of this track to be included on their second album, Anugerah Hidup.
• A section of the song is sung with the lyrics changed in the NBC comedy Community.
• American indie rock band Real Estate performed a version of the song in August 2014 for The A.V. Club's A.V. Undercover series.[37]
• Pakistani-American singer Nadia Ali released a cover of the song in 2018 under her side-project HYLLS.[38]
• American pop punk band Punchline (band) have covered the song.