"The Way You Are" is a song by the British band

Tears for Fears Tears for Fears are an English pop rock band formed in Bath, England, in 1981 by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith. Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, Tears for Fears were associated with the new wav ...

. It was the band's sixth single release overall and their fourth UK Top 40 hit. Released as a single in November 1983, it was intended as a stopgap between the band's first and second albums, mainly to keep the group in the public eye, and was not included on the band's second album. The song is the only one to be written by the full band, including keyboardist

Ian Stanley Ian Christopher Stanley (born 28 February 1957) is a British musician, songwriter and record producer. He was previously a member of the English band Tears for Fears for most of the 1980s, and played a key role in the making of their multi-plat ...

and drummer

Manny Elias Manny Elias (born 21 February 1953) is an Indian drummer and record producer of British descent. He is notable for being the original drummer with Tears for Fears during the 1980s. Originally a member of the rock band Interview from Bathford, ...

. It was written while on tour in support of the band's debut album ''

The Hurting ''The Hurting'' is the debut studio album by British new wave band Tears for Fears, released on 7 March 1983. The album peaked at No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart in its second week of release, and was certified Gold by the BPI within three weeks o ...

'' in 1983 and was recorded immediately after the tour's end. Produced by

Chris Hughes Chris Hughes (born November 26, 1983) is an American entrepreneur and author who co-founded and served as spokesman for the online social directory and networking site Facebook until 2007. He was the publisher and editor-in-chief of ''The New R ...

and

Ross Cullum Ross Cullum (born 1957 in Fulham, London, England) is an English composer, record producer, songwriter, mixer, A&R and music industry consultant. Career Cullum became an assistant at George Martin's AIR Studios, where he worked on recordings by ...

, who produced ''The Hurting'', the song utilised

sampled Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of so ...

voices and rhythms. Bassist

Curt Smith Curt Smith (born 24 June 1961) is a British singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, and co-founding member of the pop rock band Tears for Fears along with childhood friend Roland Orzabal. Smith plays bass guitar, has co-written several ...

performs lead vocal on the song. Both it and the instrumental B-side "The Marauders" were later included on the band's 1996 B-sides and rarities collection ''

Saturnine Martial & Lunatic ''Saturnine Martial & Lunatic'' is a compilation album by the British pop rock band Tears for Fears, released on 3 June 1996. It is a collection of B-sides and rare tracks, spanning some ten years of recording from the band's era signed to Mercur ...

'', and on the 2006 Deluxe Edition reissue of ''

Songs from the Big Chair ''Songs from the Big Chair'' is the second studio album by English pop rock band Tears for Fears, released on 25 February 1985 by Phonogram Records. The album peaked at number two in the UK and at number one in the US, becoming a multi-platinum s ...

''. The extended 12" version of the song was included on the 1999 remastered version of ''The Hurting''. Band members

Roland Orzabal Roland Orzabal (born Roland Jaime Orzabal de la Quintana; 22 August 1961) is a British musician, singer-songwriter, record producer, and author. He is best known as a co-founder of Tears for Fears, of which he is the main songwriter and joint v ...

and

have been uncompromising in their dislike for the song in the years following its release, Orzabal stating it was "the point we realized we had to change direction", while Smith was even more direct in proclaiming it "the worst thing we've done".

Track listings

7": Mercury / IDEA6 (

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

) / 814 954-7 (

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

) # "The Way You Are" (4:53) # "The Marauders" (4:14) ;2x7": Mercury / IDEAS6 (United Kingdom) # "The Way You Are" (4:53) # "The Marauders" (4:14) # "Change ive in Oxford (4:36) # "Start of the Breakdown ive in Oxford (5:53) ;12": Mercury / IDEA612 (United Kingdom) / 814 954-1 (

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

) / 818 087-1 (

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

) # "The Way You Are

xtended Version ''X'' is the second studio album by American rapper Ken Carson, released through Opium and Interscope Records on July 8, 2022. In the United States, the album entered at number 115 on the ''Billboard'' 200. The deluxe version, titled ''Xtended' ...

(7:33) # "The Marauders" (4:14) # "Start of the Breakdown ive in Oxford (5:53) ;12": Mercury / 15PP-42 (

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

) # "The Way You Are

(7:33) # "Pale Shelter ew Extended Version (6:41) # "The Marauders" (4:14) # "We Are Broken" (4:03) # "Start of the Breakdown ive in Oxford (5:53)

Chart position

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Way You Are 1983 singles 1983 songs Phonogram Records singles Songs written by Curt Smith Songs written by Ian Stanley Songs written by Roland Orzabal Song recordings produced by Ross Cullum Song recordings produced by Chris Hughes (record producer) Tears for Fears songs