Crying Lightning
"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. 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. The single debuted at number 12 on the UK Singles Chart on 12 July 2009 by downloads alone.
| "Crying Lightning" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Arctic Monkeys | ||||
| from the album Humbug | ||||
| B-side |
| |||
| Released | 6 July 2009 | |||
| Studio |
| |||
| Length | 3:43 | |||
| Label | Domino | |||
| Composers |
| |||
| Lyricist | Alex Turner | |||
| Producer | Josh Homme | |||
| Arctic Monkeys singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| 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]| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Crying Lightning" | Alex Turner | Arctic Monkeys | 3:43 |
| 2. | "Red Right Hand" | Nick Cave |
| 4:19 |
| 3. | "I Haven't Got My Strange" | Alex Turner | Arctic Monkeys | 1:29 |
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Crying Lightning" | Alex Turner | Arctic Monkeys | 3:43 |
| 2. | "Red Right Hand" | Nick Cave |
| 4:19 |
Personnel
[edit]Personnel taken from Humbug liner notes.[1]
Arctic Monkeys
- Alex Turner
- Jamie Cook
- Nick O'Malley
- Matt Helders
Additional musician
- John Ashton – keyboards, backing vocals
Technical
- Joshua Homme – production
- Alain Johannes – engineering
- Justin Smith – engineering assistance
- Claudius Mittendorfer – additional engineering
- Rich Costey – mixing
- Howie Weinberg – mastering
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[11] | Gold | 40,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[12] | Platinum | 600,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[13] | Gold | 500,000‡ |
|
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
[edit]- ^ a b Humbug (CD liner notes). Arctic Monkeys. Domino. 2009.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Arctic Monkeys – Crying Lightning – Download on itunes
- ^ Monkeys to release Oxfam single
- ^ "Arctic Monkeys' Crying Lightning by Richard Ayoade". Promonews. 5 August 2009. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
- ^ Austrian Singles Chart
- ^ Belgium Flanders Singles Chart
- ^ Belgium Wallonia Singles Chart
- ^ French Singles Chart
- ^ "Arctic Monkeys - Artist - Billboard Japan". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved 18 December 2024.
- ^ "Schweizer Airplay Charts 35/2009 – hitparade.ch". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
- ^ "Canadian single certifications – Arctic Monkeys – Crying Lightning". Music Canada. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
- ^ "British single certifications – Arctic Monkeys – Crying Lightning". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 25 October 2024. Select singles in the Formats field. Type Crying Lightning Arctic Monkeys in the "Search:" field.
- ^ "American single certifications – Arctic Monkeys – Crying Lightning". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
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| Other albums | |
| Extended plays | |
| Singles |
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| Other songs | |
| Video albums | |
| Concert tours | |
| Related articles | |
