Crying Lightning

"Crying Lightning" is a song by the English indie rock band Arctic Monkeys, released as the first single from their third album Humbug. It was first played on Zane Lowe's show on BBC Radio 1 on 6 July 2009 and was then made available on iTunes to download the same day. Physical copies of the single were made available on 17 August, one week before the release of the album.^[2] The vinyl was made available in Oxfam shops and sold with a download code for fans to get a free MP3 version of the song.^[3]

"Crying Lightning"
Single by Arctic Monkeys
from the album Humbug
B-side	"Red Right Hand" "I Haven't Got My Strange"
Released	6 July 2009
Length	3:43
Label	Domino
Composer(s)	Jamie Cook Matt Helders Nick O'Malley Alex Turner[1]
Lyricist(s)	Alex Turner
Producer(s)	Josh Homme
Arctic Monkeys singles chronology
"Teddy Picker" (2007) "Crying Lightning" (2009) "Cornerstone" (2009)
Music video
"Crying Lightning" on YouTube

The single debuted at number 12 on the UK Singles Chart on 12 July 2009 by downloads alone.

Music video

The music video for the single debuted on Channel 4 in UK on 24 July 2009.

The music video, directed by Richard Ayoade (who worked with the band previously on the video for "Fluorescent Adolescent", as well as their At the Apollo live DVD), shows the band performing the song on a boat on a rough sea. During a short instrumental interlude, a large figure rises up from the sea in the form of frontman, Turner. He falls to his knees where the boat passes between his legs before the other three band members (Cook, Helders and O'Malley) also rise up out from the water.^[4]

Track listing

10", MP3 digital download

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
1.	"Crying Lightning"	Alex Turner	Arctic Monkeys	3:43
2.	"Red Right Hand"	Nick Cave	Nick Cave Mick Harvey Conway Savage Thomas Wydler	4:19
3.	"I Haven't Got My Strange"	Alex Turner	Arctic Monkeys	1:29

7"

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
1.	"Crying Lightning"	Alex Turner	Arctic Monkeys	3:43
2.	"Red Right Hand"	Nick Cave	Nick Cave Mick Harvey Conway Savage Thomas Wydler	4:19

Credits and personnel

Arctic Monkeys

• Alex Turner – lead vocals, lead and rhythm guitar, Vox Super Continental Organ (track two)
• Jamie Cook – lead and rhythm guitar, baritone guitar (track two)
• Nick O'Malley – bass guitar, backing vocals
• Matt Helders – drums

Additional musicians

• Josh Homme – backing vocals (track three)
• John Ashton – keyboards, backing vocals (track one)

Charts

Chart (2009)	Peak position
Austrian Singles Chart[5]	70
Belgium Singles Chart (Flanders)[6]	63
Belgium Singles Chart (Wallonia)[7]	49
Canadian Singles Chart	15
French Singles Chart[8]	23
Japan Hot 100 (Billboard)[9]	44
Switzerland Airplay (Swiss Hitparade)[10]	86
UK Indie Chart	1
UK Singles Chart	12

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[11]	Gold	40,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[12]	Platinum	600,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.