Cry Little Sister

"Cry Little Sister"
Single by Gerard McMahon
from the album The Lost Boys: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Released	1987
Genre	Gothic rock dark wave
Length	4:44
Label	Atlantic Records
Songwriter(s)	McMahon Michael Mainieri
Producer(s)	McMahon Mainieri
Gerard McMahon singles chronology
"True to You" (1986) "Cry Little Sister" (1987)

"Cry Little Sister" is a song written by Gerard McMahon (under the pseudonym Gerard McMann) and Michael Mainieri, and performed by McMahon for the soundtrack to the 1987 film The Lost Boys, which peaked at number 15 on the Billboard 200.^[1] The original song failed to chart, although it charted in Australia and the United Kingdom in 2003 when the track was remixed.

The track has been covered by several other bands. Aiden recorded a cover for the soundtrack to the 2008 sequel, Lost Boys: The Tribe^[2] and appeared again in the closing credits of Lost Boys: The Thirst. In 2010, Seasons After scored a top twenty hit on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Songs with their version of the track,^[3] after it was included on their 2010 album Through Tomorrow. Eight years later, Marilyn Manson released their version of the song as a single after it was featured in a promotional trailer for television series Titans. His version is also due to be included as part of the soundtrack to the film The New Mutants.

Composition and style[]

The song was predominantly composed by McMahon, who said that its refrain was "brewing in my head with the choir as a chorus backing me. That all seemed to come within half an hour. [Producer] Mike Mainieri had this hypnotic beat, we refined it together and my melody and chords melted right into it. Then I wrote the lyrics within an hour or two [and] recorded the demo". Despite appearing on the soundtrack to The Lost Boys, the song's lyrics do not specifically reference vampires, as it was composed before McMahon had seen any footage from the film. After hearing the track, director Joel Schumacher commented: "You nailed my theme song to The Lost Boys! I can't believe you wrote this without seeing a frame of film!". McMahon additionally explained: "I always say that if I'd have seen the film first, I would probably not have written 'Cry Little Sister'. I didn't want the song to be specific to the vampire. I wanted it to be about the longing for family from a rejected youth's perspective, which I went through myself and that many of us have felt."^[4]

Remixes and re-releases[]

The track has been remixed on multiple occasions. It was remixed by The Lost Brothers and issued as a single in 2003 under the title "Cry Little Sister (I Need U Now)", crediting McMahon by the name of his current band, G Tom Mac.^[5] The remix peaked at number 21 on the UK Singles Chart,^[6] number fourteen in Scotland,^[7] and in the top forty of the Australian ARIA Charts.^[8] G Tom Mac subsequently released a number of other versions of the song. The "Rebel Angel Remix" was issued on their 2005 EP How to Be Pop, Stupid, Cool, while "Cry Little Sister... Thou Shalt Not (The Mash Up)" was included on the 2007 album Thou Shalt Not Fall. The latter version mashed the original recording with elements of the 2003 remix. A video for "Cry Little Sister (Club Cave Mix)" was produced by DJ Lee and G Tom Mac, and included as a bonus feature on the Lost Boys: The Tribe DVD in 2008. A blues-inspired acoustic rendition was released as a non-album single in 2009, subtitled the "Blood Swamp Version".^[9] In 2015, a remix of "Cry Little Sister" was featured on the trailer for the 'Definitive Edition' of the DmC: Devil May Cry video game.^[10]

Formats and track listings[]

• Original 7" single (EU: 789130–7 · UK: A9130)

1. "Cry Little Sister (Theme from The Lost Boys)" – 4:44
2. "I Still Believe" (performed by Tim Cappello) – 3:42

• 2003 CD single (Australia: 674871–2 · Scandinavia: TMC101202 · UK: CENT60CDS)

1. "Cry Little Sister (I Need U Now)" (Edit to Go) – 2:44
2. "U Don't Know Me" (performed by The Lost Brothers) – 8:10
3. "Cry Little Sister (I Need U Now)" (Club Mix) – 8:19
4. "Cry Little Sister (I Need U Now)" (Enhanced Music Video)

• 2004 Maxi-single (Germany: PULSIVE–022)

1. "Cry Little Sister (I Need U Now)" (Original Radio Mix) – 3:43
2. "Cry Little Sister (I Need U Now)" (Steve Murano Remix Edit) – 3:14
3. "Cry Little Sister (I Need U Now)" (Reeloop & Kaylab Remix Edit) – 3:46
4. "Cry Little Sister (I Need U Now)" (Original Club Mix) – 8:22
5. "Cry Little Sister (I Need U Now)" (Steve Murano Remix) – 7:41
6. "Cry Little Sister (I Need U Now)" (Reeloop & Kaylab Remix) – 7:33

• 2009 digital single

1. "Cry Little Sister" (Blood Swamp Version) – 4:13

Charts[]

Chart (2003–04)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)[8]	32
Scotland (OCC)[7]	14
United Kingdom (OCC)[6]	21

Marilyn Manson cover[]

"Cry Little Sister"
Single by Marilyn Manson
from the album The New Mutants Soundtrack
Released	June 15, 2018
Genre	Industrial[11]
Length	4:34
Label	Loma Vista
Songwriter(s)	McMahon Mainieri
Producer(s)	Tyler Bates[11]
Marilyn Manson singles chronology
"Kill4Me" (2017) "Cry Little Sister" (2018) "God's Gonna Cut You Down" (2019)
Music video
"Cry Little Sister" on YouTube

Marilyn Manson released a cover version of the song on June 15, 2018. It was the first single taken from the soundtrack to Josh Boone's then upcoming film, The New Mutants.^[12] The film was originally scheduled for an April 2018 release, but has since been delayed to August 28, 2020. According to Rolling Stone, the eponymous vocalist opted to release the song as originally planned, "rather than keeping [it] under wraps for another year".^[13] Despite the delay, Manson's version also appeared in another comic book adaption when it was played in the promo for the DC TV series Titans.^[14] The band had been performing the song live for several months during the "Heaven Upside Down Tour".^[15] A one-track digital single was issued on June 15.^[15] A music video for the song was released on June 28, and was directed by Bill Yukich.^[16]

Charts[]

Chart (2018)	Peak position
UK Download (OCC)[17]	87
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[18]	15
US Rock Digital Songs (Billboard)[19]	5

Other cover versions[]

• Charlie Sexton, on his 1989 self-titled album
• Mystic Circle, as a bonus track on their 2002 album Damien
• Zug Izland, on their 2003 album Cracked Tiles
• Blutengel, on their 2005 album The Oxidising Angel
• Nikki McKibbin, on her 2007 album, Unleashed
• Cover by Rock/Punk band Aiden for the 2007 film Lost Boys: The Tribe
• Vesperian Sorrow, on their 2007 album, Regenesis Creation (One of two bonus tracks)
• Joe Budden samples the track on his song "Thou Shall Not Fall" on his 2007 mixtape/album Mood Muzik 3.
• LA Guns, on their 2009 Album Covered in Guns
• I Will Never Be The Same, in 2009 on his debut album, Standby
• Eminem samples the track on his song "You're Never Over" on his 2010 album Recovery.
• Tangerine Dream, in their 2010 album Under Cover - Chapter One
• Celldweller released a "Klash-Up" in October 2012, featuring incidental music titled Hello Zepp from the first Saw movie.
• Krayzie Bone samples the track on his song "Hold on to Your Soul" on his 2015 album Chasing the Devil
• Dee Snider on the album Oculus Infernum, part of his side project Van Helsing's Curse.
• Tyga samples the track on "4 My Dawgs", a song on his 2015 album The Gold Album: 18th Dynasty.
• Lil B samples the track on "Unchain me", a song on his 2011 album I'm Gay (I'm Happy).
• Shining covers the song on their 2018 album X - Varg Utan Flock.
• Seasons After covers the song on their 2010 album Through Tomorrow.
• Ashbury Heights, on their official Youtube channel in 2019
• American metal band Ventana covered the song on their 2009 album American Survival Guide Vol. 1.
• American Metalvania Band Vomitron covered the song on their 2019 album, Vomitron 2, featuring Anneke van Giersbergen.
• Carfax Abbey, in 2004, on their album Second Skin.
• The Anix, in 2011, on their album Sleepwalker.
• Charlotte Wessels, formerly of Delain, in 2021 on her Patreon Page monthly song release.

References[]