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How Long's a Tear Take to Dry?

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1999 single by the Beautiful South
"How Long's a Tear Take to Dry?"
Single by the Beautiful South
from the album Quench
B-side"Big Coin" (acoustic)
Released8 March 1999 (1999-03-08)
Length3:20
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
The Beautiful South singles chronology
"Dumb"
(1998) 		"How Long's a Tear Take to Dry?"
(1999) 		"The Table"
(1999)

"How Long's a Tear Take to Dry?" is a single by British pop rock group the Beautiful South from their sixth album, Quench (1998). It was written by Paul Heaton and Dave Rotheray. The lyrics, which take the form of a conversation between two reconciling lovers, are noted for a reference to the TARDIS from Doctor Who. According to the book Last Orders at the Liars Bar: the Official Story of the Beautiful South, "How Long's a Tear Take to Dry?" was originally to be called "She Bangs the Buns" due to its chord structure reminiscent of Manchester's the Stone Roses. The song reached number 12 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the band's 12th and final top-20 hit.

Single release

"How Long's a Tear Take to Dry?" reached number 12 in the UK Singles Chart in March 1999. Although not released on vinyl, it was given a dual-CD release in the UK. B-sides included a remix of "How Long's a Tear Take to Dry?" as well as acoustic versions of three other songs: "Perfect 10", "Big Coin", and "Rotterdam". On 18 March 1999, the band performed "How Long's a Tear Take to Dry?" live on the BBC music programme Top of the Pops.

Music video

The music video, available on The Beautiful South's compilation DVD Munch, is a humorous account of The Beautiful South on a world tour in order to pay for drinks at the local bar. The band is portrayed by cartoon versions of themselves, in a style reminiscent of 1960s-era Hanna-Barbera cartoons, and Scooby-Doo in particular. In the commentary track on the Munch DVD, Paul Heaton explains that the video was actually produced by Hanna-Barbera.

Track listings

UK CD1

  1. "How Long's a Tear Take to Dry?"
  2. "How Long's a Tear Take to Dry?" (remix)
  3. "Perfect 10" (acoustic)

UK CD2

  1. "How Long's a Tear Take to Dry?"
  2. "Big Coin" (acoustic)
  3. "Rotterdam" (acoustic)

UK cassette single

  1. "How Long's a Tear Take to Dry?"
  2. "How Long's a Tear Take to Dry?" (remix)

European CD single

  1. "How Long's a Tear Take to Dry?" (radio edit)
  2. "How Long's a Tear Take to Dry?" (remix)
  3. "Perfect 10" (acoustic)
  4. "Rotterdam" (acoustic)

German CD single

  1. "How Long's a Tear Take to Dry?"
  2. "Dumb"
  3. "I Sold My Heart to the Junkman"
  4. "Suck Harder"

Personnel

Personnel are adapted from the Quench liner notes.

Charts

Chart (1999) Peak
position
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) 51
Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40) 26
Scotland (OCC) 13
UK Singles (OCC) 12

References

  1. "New Releases – For Week Starting 8 March, 1999: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 6 March 1999. p. 25. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  2. How Long's a Tear Take to Dry? (UK CD1 liner notes). The Beautiful South. Mercury Records, Go! Discs. 1999. 870 821-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  3. How Long's a Tear Take to Dry? (UK CD2 liner notes). The Beautiful South. Mercury Records, Go! Discs. 1999. 870 823-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  4. How Long's a Tear Take to Dry? (UK cassette single sleeve). The Beautiful South. Mercury Records, Go! Discs. 1999. 870 820-4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  5. How Long's a Tear Take to Dry? (European CD single liner notes). The Beautiful South. Mercury Records, Go! Discs. 1999. 870 863-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  6. How Long's a Tear Take to Dry? (German CD single liner notes). The Beautiful South. Mercury Records, Go! Discs. 1999. 563 447-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  7. Quench (UK CD album booklet). The Beautiful South. Mercury Records, Go! Discs. 1998. 538 166-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  8. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 16, no. 13. 27 March 1999. p. 10. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  9. "Íslenski Listinn (6.5–13.5. 1999)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 7 May 1999. p. 10. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  10. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  11. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  • Pattenden, Mike - Last Orders at the Liars Bar: the Official Story of the Beautiful South (ISBN 0-575-06739-X)
The Beautiful South
Studio albums
Compilation albums
Singles
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