Combining the melodic jangle of post-The Smiths indie pop with the lilting, trance-inducing sonic textures of late-80s dream pop and adding a slight Celtic tint, The Cranberries became one of the more successful groups to emerge from the indie scene of the early 90s. Led by vocalist Dolores O'Riordan, whose keening, powerful voice was the most distinctive element of the group's sound, the group initially made little impact in the United Kingdom.
It wasn't until the lush ballad "Linger" became an American hit in 1993 that the band also achieved mass success in the U.K. Following the success of "Linger", The Cranberries quickly became international stars, as both their 1993 debut album, Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?, and its 1994 follow-up, No Need to Argue, sold millions of copies and produced a string of hit singles like "Dreams", "Zombie" and "Ode to My Family".
By the time of their third album, 1996's To the Faithful Departed, the group had added distorted guitars to its sonic palette and attempted to make more socially significant music, which resulted in a downturn in the band's commercial fortunes.
During the next few years, the band cancelled a large tour and rumours of a breakup were widespread. In 1999, they released Bury the Hatchet to mixed reviews. In 2001, the band issued Wake Up and Smell the Coffee to rave reviews. The album debuted at number 46 in the US charts.
In 2002, The Cranberries released the compilation Stars: The Best of 1992-2002, which was supported by the single "Stars".
In 2003, The Cranberries announced they were taking some time to pursue individual careers. They decided to put the next album on hold. After more than a dozen years of relentless touring and promotion, which had seen them clocking up album sales in excess of 43 million and playing to hundreds of thousands of fans around the globe, the band decided it was time for a break.
In 2007, Dolores O'Riordan released her debut solo album titled Are You Listening?. Two years later she released her second solo album, No Baggage.
On 25 August 2009, Dolores O'Riordan announced that The Cranberries will be reuniting for a North American tour to begin in mid-November 2009, to be followed by dates in Europe in early 2010. O'Riordan indicated that the band will be playing songs from her solo albums and a lot of The Cranberries classic hits as well as some new music written by the group together.
The Cranberries recorded Roses at the Metalworks Studios in Toronto (Canada) from 18 April to 15 May 2011 with producer Stephen Street, who previously collaborated with the band on first, second and fifth albums. The Cranberries worked on 15 tracks during the Roses session, although not all will be included on the album. The album is scheduled for release on 14 February, 2012.
On 26 May 2016, the Cranberries announced that they would start their next tour in Europe. The first show was held on June 3.
A new "unplugged" Cranberries album titled Something Else, featuring the band's hits along with three new songs, was released on 28 April 2017 through BMG. The album received mostly positive reviews.
On 15 January 2018, lead singer Dolores O'Riordan was found dead of drowning in a London hotel room. The Cranberries confirmed in September 2018 that they would not continue as a band, releasing their final album In the End in April 2019 and disbanding afterward.Noel Hogan stated: "the Cranberries was the four of us. We don’t want to do this without Dolores. So we’re going to leave it after this."
The Cranberries' final album In the End has been nominated for Best Rock Album at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards. The awards take place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on January 26, 2020.
Official site: http://www.cranberries.com.
John Lennon Died
The Cranberries Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He was returning home from the studio late
He had perceptively known that it wouldn't be nice
Because in nineteen eighty, he paid the price
John Lennon died, John Lennon died, John Lennon died
John Lennon died, John Lennon died, John Lennon died
John Lennon's life was no longer a debate
He should have stayed at home
He should have never cared
And the man who took his life declared, he said
"I just shot John Lennon!"
He said "I just shot John Lennon!"
What a sad and sorry and sickening sight
It was a sad and sorry and sickening night
Oh a sad and sorry and sickening sight
It was a sad and sorry and sickening night
Ah ah ah
Ah ah ah ah ah ah
Ah ah ah ah ah ah
Ah ah ah ah ah ah
"I just shot John Lennon!"
He said, "I just shot John Lennon!"
What a sad and sorry and sickening sight
It was a sad and sorry and sickening night
Oh a sad and sorry and sickening sight
It was a sad and sorry and sickening night
Ah ah ah
Ah ah ah ah ah ah
Ah ah ah ah ah ah
Ah ah ah ah ah ah
The Cranberries' song "I Just Shot John Lennon" is a haunting tribute to the former Beatle who was tragically murdered on December 8th, 1980. The song describes the titular event in a detached, matter-of-fact tone, detailing how John Lennon was returning home from the studio when he was shot with a Smith and Wesson .38 revolver. The lyrics also suggest that Lennon was aware that he was in danger, referencing how he had "perceptively known that it wouldn't be nice", a nod to the fact that he had been targeted by Mark David Chapman earlier that year. The chorus starkly repeats that "John Lennon died", emphasizing the finality of his murder.
The song goes on to comment on the senselessness of the shooting, with lyrics like "He should have stayed at home/ He should have never cared". The final verses are a direct quote from Chapman himself, repeating the phrase "I just shot John Lennon" twice to underscore the horror of the act. The song's hauntingly poignant melody and Dolores O'Riordan's plaintive vocals make for a powerful tribute to an icon who was taken too soon.
Line by Line Meaning
It was the fearful night of December 8th
This song is about the night when John Lennon was shot, which was December 8th.
He was returning home from the studio late
John Lennon was coming back from the studio when he was shot.
He had perceptively known that it wouldn't be nice
John Lennon probably had a feeling that something bad might happen that night.
Because in nineteen eighty, he paid the price
This line refers to John Lennon's earlier experience with a stalker who threatened him in 1980. He paid the price by being shot and killed in 1980.
John Lennon died, John Lennon died, John Lennon died
This line repeats the fact that John Lennon died that night.
With a Smith and Wesson .38
The gun that was used to kill John Lennon was a Smith and Wesson .38.
John Lennon's life was no longer a debate
After being shot, John Lennon's fate was sealed; there was no longer any debate about whether he would live or die.
He should have stayed at home
This line suggests that John Lennon may have had a better chance of living if he had stayed home that night.
He should have never cared
This line may refer to John Lennon's activism and social causes, which may have made him a target for violence.
And the man who took his life declared, he said
This line introduces the killer's confession.
"I just shot John Lennon!"
This is what the killer said about what he had just done.
What a sad and sorry and sickening sight
This line expresses the sadness and shock that many people felt upon hearing the news of John Lennon's death.
It was a sad and sorry and sickening night
This line reinforces the sentiment expressed in the previous line.
Ah ah ah
This part of the song is a repetition of a vocalization that serves to emphasize the feelings of sadness and shock.
Ah ah ah ah ah ah
This is more repetition of the same vocalization.
Ah ah ah ah ah ah
And more of the same.
Ah ah ah ah ah ah
And even more of the same.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: NOEL ANTHONY HOGAN, DOLORES MARY O'RIORDAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@marlahicks2109
It seems the world is such a cruel place at times ...and it is even crueler to those of us who "feel too much". We think "too much" about the things going on around us. We hurt "too much" seeing the suffering of others (And we often became this way because of a lot of trauma of our own, never wanting anyone else to feel as badly as we did).
The world does not love a person like this...from the "hippies" of the 60's to the "snowflakes" of today (in the U.S., at least), society creates derogatory nicknames and scorns those who dare to feel deeply for the human condition. Like Delores did, and John Lennon before her. (I imagine had they met they would have had so much in common.) And this scorn takes a terrible toll on us, until we literally just want to shut the entire world out and shut down somehow.
Delores suffered yet overcame this toll on her several times (usually privately), and I think so many long term fans were shocked when she passed...as it was not evident at to the public that the darkness was descending again. I like to think she would have persevered yet again were it not for her terrible accident.
I'm a fan from the very beginning, a couple years younger with less than 1% of her talent (though I did try singing along with those cassette tapes and CDs 😌). But those songs always made me feel like we were friends.
She managed to keep her private life quite separate from her stardom, except those things released on her terms. So after 25 years, I am only now increasingly finding out more about how not just our minds and our passions and dreams for the world were alike, but our past traumas and troubles as well And I see the songs a little differently than I used to. I always felt as if she was singing my very own thoughts. I didn't realize she was singing from her experiences as well.
Beautiful Delores...sadly the world does not love a person who "feels too much" about people. ALL people, not just those in one's own country or political circle. ALL people. The world treats those souls terribly. But I believe God loves them more than anyone.
Rest well, sweet lady. You are still, and always will be dearly loved by those who knew you, and by those of us who felt we did after years of connecting with you through your incredible voice and your passion for all peoples of the world. 💚 🧡
@marieblue
On being asked, “Do you know what you’ve done?” Mark Chapman replied, “I just shot John Lennon.” Hence the title “l Just Shot John Lennon” (1996).
Lead vocalist Dolores O’Riordan explained : “I was reading a book about John Lennon’s life. I could relate to the fact that when you’re a famous person, everybody wants to tell you what you should do and who you should be with. Everybody judges you all of the time. I always thought that people judged his relationship with Yoko [Ono] a little too much, that obviously the man was in love with the woman, and [people] should have left him alone.”
Two couplets earned the Irish band strong criticism, as they seemed to make light of the superstar’s death :
“He had perceptively known that it wouldn’t be nice
Because in nineteen eighty, he paid the price”
“With a Smith and Wesson .38
John Lennon’s life was no longer a debate”
Innocuous lyrical license perhaps⁉️ 💙🎶💜
May you rest in peace, John Winston Ono Lennon (1940 - 1980)… 🌹… and Dolores Mary Eileen O’Riordan (1971 - 2018)… 🌹
@PizdecMakedon11
RIP Dolores part of my youth YOU will be never forgotten
@gebobs
She didn’t make it to 50, as she supposed would happen. Lennon only made 40.
@PizdecMakedon11
True
@anthonysaponaro6318
Absolute insanity for anyone to thinkbthis song was anything but a tribute
I love you Dolores,
Your amazing voice goes right through me and the hairs on my neck stand
@NotARevenant
:(
@MissTina62
"What a sad & sorry & sickening night." Indeed it was, I'll never forget. Great tribute to the horrific loss of John Lennon.
RIP John Lennon RIP Dolores O'Riordon
@sigmundsanders2564
She could have been banshee in xmen with that magical voice .
@louisabeckles1460
two great souls lost rip xx
@errezmardi2554
god wants the best on his side
@Cylow75
@@errezmardi2554 you know that all the great rock stars will be in hell (if you believe in that)