"Somebody's Crying" is a song by American musician

Chris Isaak Christopher Joseph Isaak (born June 26, 1956) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional actor. He is widely known for his breakthrough hit and signature song "Wicked Game", as well as other songs such as "Blue Hotel", "Baby D ...

from his fifth album, '' Forever Blue''. The song was released as the album's first

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 ...

on May 15, 1995, reaching number 45 on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

and becoming a top-five hit in Australia and Canada. It also appears on his 2006 ''

Best of Chris Isaak ''Best of Chris Isaak'' is a greatest hits album by Chris Isaak released on May 9, 2006 on the Reprise/Warner Bros. Records label. The 18 song collection has three new tracks: "King Without a Castle", "Let's Have a Party" and a cover of Cheap Tric ...

'' compilation. A live version is included on Isaak's 2008 '' Live in Australia''

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

Inspiration and lyrics

Isaak wrote the song shortly after a breakup with his girlfriend. Isaak had attended a friend's party, but soon realized that he did not want to be there. He went inside a

walk-in closet A walk-in closet (North American) or walk-in wardrobe ( UK) or dressing room is typically a large closet, wardrobe or room that is primarily intended for storing clothes, footwear etc., and being used as a changing room. As the name suggests, walk- ...

, closed the door, grabbed a guitar that was leaning against the back wall, and wrote "Somebody's Crying." Lyrically, the song describes one's yearning for a former lover, and the fear of communicating again with that person. In a 1995 interview, Isaak compared the lyrics to a way children often speak:

Release and reception

"Somebody's Crying" peaked at number 45 on the US ''

in August 1995, making it Isaak's second-highest charting single after "

Wicked Game "Wicked Game" is a song by American rock musician Chris Isaak, released from his third album, '' Heart Shaped World'' (1989). Despite being released as a single in July 1989, it did not become a hit until it was featured in the 1990 David Lynch ...

", which reached number six in 1991. "Somebody's Crying" also peaked at number 27 on the

Hot AC Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet s ...

chart, number 34 on the

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

chart, and number 36 on the

Top 40 Mainstream Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/ CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played on a panel of Top 40 radio stations in the Un ...

chart. Elsewhere, the song peaked at number five in Australia and number 22 in New Zealand, marking Isaak's highest chart placement in the former country. It charted the highest in Canada, climbing to number four on the ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' Top Singles chart. However, the single was not as commercially successful in the United Kingdom, reaching number 81 on its chart. The song received a 1996

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

nomination for

Best Male Rock Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance was an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to male recording artists for works (songs or albums) containin ...

, but again lost to

Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American musician who was the lead vocalist and guitarist of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, formed in 1976. He previously led the band Mudcrutch, was a member of the lat ...

's "

You Don't Know How It Feels "You Don't Know How It Feels" is a song and the lead single from Tom Petty's 1994 album, '' Wildflowers''. The track features candid lyrics describing the songwriter's desire for personal and professional autonomy.Greenwald, Matthew. You Don't Kn ...

Music video

The

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 promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for "Somebody's Crying" was released in 1995 and was directed by

Bill Pope Bill Pope, A.S.C. (born June 19, 1952) is an American cinematographer and filmmaker known for his collaborations with directors Sam Raimi, The Wachowskis and Edgar Wright. He has also photographed and directed numerous music videos for artists lik ...

. In contrast to the song's melancholy lyrical content, the video presents a more upbeat story of a summer romance, and features Isaak riding a surfboard, a favorite pastime of his. Isaak said, "I thought it would be more fun to do. More and more I'm trying to keep a little bit of fun in what I'm doing." Actors Jennifer Rubin,

Jenna Elfman Jennifer Mary Elfman (née Butala, born 1971) is an American actress. She is best known for her leading role as Dharma on the ABC sitcom ''Dharma & Greg'' (1997–2002), for which she received the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Televisi ...

Zen Gesner Zen Brant Gesner (born June 23, 1970) is an American television and movie actor. He is perhaps most recognized for his roles as Sinbad in the syndicated television series ''The Adventures of Sinbad'', and was a regular cast member on the ABC d ...

, and

Chris Penn Christopher Shannon Penn (October 10, 1965 – January 24, 2006) was an American actor. He was the brother of actor Sean Penn and musician Michael Penn. Noted as a skilled character actor from a prominent acting dynasty, he was typically cast as ...

appear in the video. The video received a 1995

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

Video Music Award nomination for

Best Male Video The MTV Video Music Award for Best Male Video was one of four original general awards that have been handed out every year since the first MTV Video Music Awards in 1984. In 2007, though, the award was briefly renamed Male Artist of the Year, and ...

, but lost to

's "

Track listings

CD and cassette (US, UK, Australia, Germany) # "Somebody's Crying" # "Changed Your Mind" CD maxi-single (Australia, Germany) # "Somebody's Crying" (album version) - 2:46 # "Change Your Mind" (album version) - 3:50 # "

The Little White Cloud That Cried "The Little White Cloud that Cried" is a popular song written by Johnnie Ray and published in 1951. The biggest hit version was recorded by Ray and The Four Lads in 1951. The recording was released by Okeh Records as catalog number 6840. It was ...

" (written by

Johnnie Ray John Alvin Ray (January 10, 1927 – February 24, 1990) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Highly popular for most of the 1950s, Ray has been cited by critics as a major precursor to what became rock and roll, for his jazz and blu ...

) - 2:19

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

In popular culture

The song was played during parts of two episodes of the

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

television series ''

Party of Five ''Party of Five'' is an American television teen and family drama created by Christopher Keyser and Amy Lippman that originally aired on Fox for six seasons from September 12, 1994, to May 3, 2000. The series featured an ensemble cast led by Sc ...

'' in 1995. It was also featured in a 1995 episode of

's ''

Beavis and Butt-head ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' is an American adult animated series created by Mike Judge. The series follows Beavis and Butt-Head, both voiced by Judge, a pair of teenage slackers characterized by their apathy, lack of intelligence, lowbrow humor, ...

''. An acoustic performance of the song by Isaak is included in the 2000

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

compilation, ''MTV Unplugged: Ballads''.''MTV Unplugged: Ballads''
Amazon.com. Retrieved on June 22, 2009.

References

{{Authority control 1995 singles 1995 songs Chris Isaak songs Reprise Records singles Song recordings produced by Erik Jacobsen Songs written by Chris Isaak