How Long's a Tear Take to Dry?

"How Long's a Tear Take to Dry?" is a single by British pop group The Beautiful South from their album Quench. 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 twelfth and final top-twenty hit.

"How Long's a Tear Take to Dry?"
Single by The Beautiful South
from the album Quench
Released1999 (UK)
GenrePop rock
Length3:20
LabelMercury, Go! Discs
Songwriter(s)Paul Heaton, Dave Rotheray
The Beautiful South singles chronology
"Dumb"
(1998)		 "How Long's a Tear Take to Dry?"
(1999)		 "The Table"
(1999)

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's 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.

Charts
Chart (1999) Peak
position
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[1] 51
Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[2] 26
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[3] 13
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[4] 12
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References
  1. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 16 no. 13. 27 March 1999. p. 10. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  2. "Íslenski Listinn (6.5–13.5. 1999)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 7 May 1999. p. 10. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  3. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  4. "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)
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