Dolores O’Riordan wrote the lyrics to the Cranberries’ 1993 hit “Linger” after being publicly dumped by a guy at a disco club. The song began as just chord shapes, she described to The Guardian in 2017. It was the first proper song the group wrote, shortly after O’Riordan auditioned for the band, where they gave her a tape of the music.
“I wrote about being rejected,” she said. “I never imagined that it would become a big song.” The lyrics were inspired by O’Riordan’s first real kiss when she was 17 years old, she explained, on the dance floor of a club called Madonna’s.
“This guy asked me to dance, and I thought he was lovely,” she said. “Until then, I’d always thought that putting tongues in mouths was disgusting, but when he gave me my first proper kiss, I did indeed ‘have to let it linger’.”
Dolores O’Riordan Shares Her Response to the Guy She Wrote ‘Linger’ About
“I couldn’t wait to see him again,” she continued. “But at the next disco, he walked straight past me and asked my friend to dance. I was devastated. Everyone saw me being dumped, publicly, at the disco. Everything’s so dramatic when you’re 17, so I poured it into the song.”
Once “Linger” dropped as a single on February 15, 1993, it completely took off. Eventually, it became the song the Cranberries were most known for, regardless of their other hits. “Linger” was just that good, capturing the longing and pain of unrequited love, adolescent or otherwise.
“‘Linger’ was a worldwide smash,” O’Riordan admitted. “Fans were chasing me all over. Once, I was in a shop buying underwear, and about eight people spotted me. I started running and, after three blocks, hid behind a skip.”
The hype for “Linger” never really died down, even as the Cranberries’ popularity ebbed and flowed over the years. Even if the band wasn’t putting out anything new, there’s a good bet “Linger” would still be on the radio. To this day, eight years after their disbandment following O’Riordan’s death, “Linger” still plays through grocery store PA systems.
The widespread legacy of the song made it so the guy who dumped 17-year-old Dolores O’Riordan heard it. According to O’Riordan, he actually reached out to reconcile.
“Some years later, after I was married, the guy ‘Linger’ is about wrote me a long letter,” she explained. Apparently, he wrote, “‘I know the song’s about me. I never meant to hurt your feelings. Can we meet?’ I thought: ‘It’s too late. You dumped me!’” In response, O’Riordan added succinctly, “I didn’t reply.”
The post The Cranberries Singer Dolores O’Riordan Had the Best Response to the Ego-Bruised Man She Wrote ‘Linger’ About appeared first on VICE.
