"Ode to My Family" is a song by Irish band

the Cranberries The Cranberries were an Irish rock band formed in Limerick, Ireland. Originally named the Cranberry Saw Us, the band were formed in 1989 by lead singer Niall Quinn, guitarist Noel Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan and drummer Fergal Lawler. Quinn was ...

, released on 21 November 1994 as the second

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from their second studio album, ''

No Need to Argue ''No Need to Argue'' is the second studio album by Irish alternative rock band the Cranberries, released on 3 October 1994. It is the band's best selling album, and has sold 17 million copies worldwide as of 2014. It contains the band's most suc ...

'' (1994). The song was a hit in Oceania and several European countries, topping the charts in Iceland, and reaching number four in France, number five in Australia, and number eight in New Zealand. In 2017, the song was released as an acoustic, stripped down version on the band's '' Something Else'' album.

Composition

"Ode to My Family" is written in the key of

D major D major (or the key of D) is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor. The D major scale is: : Ch ...

with a tempo of 100 beats per minute. The entire piece follows the chord progression 4/4 , : D , Bm , F♯m , Gsus2 D/A :, ostinato.

Content

The song, written by singer Dolores O'Riordan and guitarist

Noel Hogan Noel Anthony Hogan (born 25 December 1971) is an Irish musician and record producer best known as the lead guitarist and co-songwriter of the Irish alt-rock band the Cranberries. The Cranberries Hogan formed the Cranberries with his brother Mi ...

, is about O'Riordan's yearning for her simple life as a child after having achieved success, and includes a string arrangement composed by O'Riordan.

Critical reception

Dave Sholin from the '' Gavin Report'' felt that O'Riordan's delivery "gives this song a special meaning, which makes for a compelling musical experience." Chuck Campbell from '' Knoxville News Sentinel'' said that the new album "offers a bucolic opening" in "Ode to My Family". Pan-European magazine '' Music & Media'' wrote, "Let Dolores be your station's guardian angel. Real

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

family spirit is generated by this

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

which surpasses all the rest currently available when it comes to sincerity." In 2018, '' Billboard'' and '' Stereogum'' ranked the song number eight and number four, respectively, on their lists of the top ten Cranberries songs.

Music video

The single's accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

, shot in black-and-white, was directed by

Samuel Bayer Samuel David Bayer (born February 17, 1962) is an American visual artist, cinematographer, and commercial, music video and film director. Bayer was born in Syracuse, New York. He graduated from New York City's School of Visual Arts in 1987 with ...

, who had also directed the band's video for their preceding single, "

Zombie A zombie ( Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in w ...

". Bayer stated on his Facebook account that the "Ode to My Family" music video was cut by Robert Duffy (video editor), and the "Zombie" video was cut by Eric Zumbrennen.

Track listings

* UK and Australian CD1 # "Ode to My Family" # "So Cold in Ireland" # "No Need to Argue" (live on the ''Later with Jools Holland'', June 1994) # "Dreaming My Dreams" (live on the ''Later with Jools Holland'', June 1994) * UK and Australian CD2 # "Ode to My Family" (live at Féile,

Tipperary Tipperary is the name of: Places *County Tipperary, a county in Ireland **North Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Nenagh **South Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Clonmel *Tipperary (town), County Tipperary's na ...

, 30 July 1994) # "

Dreams A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, althou ...

" (live at Féile, Tipperary, 30 July 1994) # "

Ridiculous Thoughts "Ridiculous Thoughts" is a song by The Cranberries, released as the fourth single from their second studio album ''No Need to Argue''. In North America, it was the third single of the album, as " I Can't Be with You" was released only in Fall 199 ...

" (live at Féile, Tipperary, 30 July 1994) # "

" (live at Féile, Tipperary, 30 July 1994) * UK 7-inch and cassette single # "Ode to My Family" # "So Cold in Ireland" * US CD EP and Canadian CD single # "Ode to My Family" (album version) – 4:32 # "So Cold in Ireland" – 4:43 # "Dreaming My Dreams" (live on the ''Later with Jools Holland'', June 1994) – 3:52 # "Zombie" (live at Féile, Tipperary, 30 July 1994) – 5:17

Personnel

* Dolores O'Riordan – vocals, string arrangement *

– electric and acoustic guitars * Mike Hogan – bass guitar * Fergal Lawler – drums and percussion

Charts and sales

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References

{{Authority control The Cranberries songs 1990s ballads 1994 singles 1994 songs Black-and-white music videos Jangle pop songs Music videos directed by Samuel Bayer Number-one singles in Iceland Rock ballads Song recordings produced by Stephen Street Songs about families Songs written by Dolores O'Riordan Songs written by Noel Hogan