The Story Behind “Linger” by The Cranberries

The late Dolores O’Riordan still wraps us around our fingers with the beautiful “Linger”. With her feminine voice and recognizable Irish accent, O’Riordan led The Cranberries to worldwide fame in the early 90s. And although “Zombie” is the band’s most well-known song, the emotional “Linger” is The Cranberries’ crucial breakthrough song. The song appears on the band’s debut album “Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?”.

Let’s dive into the story and meaning behind the song!

The Story Behind Linger

The Cranberries were founded in 1989 by singer Niall Quinn, the brothers Mike (bassist) and Noel Hogan (guitarist), and drummer Fergal Lawler. Back then, the band called themselves The Cranberry Saw Us (a wordplay on cranberry sauce). When Niall Quinn unexpectedly left the band, the remaining members decided to continue as an instrumental band. Niall Quinn himself eventually introduced Dolores O’Riordan to the band.

The Cranberry Saw Us and O’Riordan exchanged music and were both impressed with each other. The band was surprised O’Riordan wasn’t part of another group already. As a result, guitarist Noel Hogan decided to give O’Riordan a cassette tape with instrumental music on it. In a matter of days, O’Riordan wrote lyrics over the instrumental song and titled it “Linger”.

In an interview with uDiscoverMusic guitarist Noel Hogan recalled: “We played a few songs for her, then she sang Sinead O’Connor’s ‘Troy’ and a couple of songs she’d written, and it was obvious she could sing, so that was it – she was in. I gave her a cassette with the music for ‘Linger’ on it. And a few days later, Dolores brought it back with all the words and the song that we now all know. That was the first song we wrote together.”

The band started to record demos and Noel Hogan decided to send demo tapes of “Linger” and “Dreams” to record companies. Many were impressed with the tapes and British record companies started a bidding war in order to sign the band. In the midst of it all, the band changed its name to The Cranberries. They eventually signed a 6-album deal with Island Records. The Cranberries released their first album in March 1993, with “Linger” as a single.

The Meaning of Linger

Dolores O’Riordan wrote “Linger” about her first kiss. As a result of the kiss – which happened in a nightclub – O’Riordan fell in love. A few weeks later, the man she kissed went up to the dance floor with another girl right in front of O’Riordan. In an interview with Gerry Ryan in 2002 O’Riordan said: “I was heartbroken! I was only 18 and it was just a kiss, you know? At that age it’s heartbreaking.”

Since Dolores O’Riordan was only 18 when she wrote the song, it depicts a sense of innocent youthfulness. This youthfulness is perfectly translated into the melancholic vibes of “Linger”.

The Song’s Legacy

“Linger” became The Cranberries’ first international hit. The song peaked at number 8 on the US billboard hot 100. MTV set “Linger” on heavy rotation in the mid-90s, contributing to the song’s popularity. In 2018 the song reached the charts again due to Dolores O’Riordan’s tragic passing.

After Dolores O’Riordan passed, The Cranberries decided to finish their eighth studio album “In the End”. O’Riordan’s vocals are featured posthumously. The album was also The Cranberries’ final studio album, for the band confirmed disbandment after the album’s release.

Despite the band’s tragic ending their songs, and Dolores O’Riordan, will undeniably “linger” on.