La Tristesse Durera (Scream to a Sigh)
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox song "La Tristesse Durera (Scream to a Sigh)" is a song by Welsh rock band Manic Street Preachers. It was released in July 1993 by record label Columbia as the second single from their second studio album, Gold Against the Soul (1993). It reached number 22 on the UK Singles Chart.
Content and composition
The song's title is taken from the reported last words of Vincent van Gogh, "La tristesse durera toujours", quoted in a letter from his younger brother Theo to their sister Elisabeth, using her nickname Lies.<ref name="TvGletter">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The letter was translated by Robert Harrison, who states that the phrase means "The sadness will last forever".<ref name="TvGletter"/>
The song lyrics are written from the perspective of a war veteran, containing the line "wheeled out once a year, a cenotaph souvenir" and tracking the bathetic progress of the former soldier's war medal: "It sells at market stalls/Parades Milan catwalks".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Sfn Richey Edwards told Melody Maker newspaper, "It's a beautiful image when the war veterans turn out at the Cenotaph, [...] and everyone pretends to care ... but then they're shuffled off again and forgotten."Template:Sfn According to Nicky Wire, he wrote much of the song and came up with its title, whilst Edwards contributed the "scream to a sigh" refrain. Wire has stated that his objective in writing the song was "to write about war heroes in a sympathetic way", an aim which he described as "non-trendy".<ref name="Wilding">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
According to Martin Power in his book Manic Street Preachers, the band "sounded at sixes and sevens" in the rest of the album, "Yet, as with Generation Terrorists, they had again produced one genuine classic in the form of 'La Tristessa Durera (Scream to a Sigh)'."Template:Sfn According to Sean Moore the track's drum part was the result of an attempt to copy a song by hip-hop group Arrested Development. James Dean Bradfield also cited the Clash's song "Car Jamming" as an influence.<ref name="Wilding"/>
Edwards, unusually, played rhythm guitar on the track.Template:Sfn Edwards was credited for rhythm guitar on all of the tracks released during his tenure with the band, but almost never actually performed the parts he was credited for due to his self-acknowledged lack of talent with the instrument. This would be only one of two tracks he would perform on, the other being a partial recording on Everything Must Go's "No Surface All Feeling".Template:Sfn
The B-side, "Patrick Bateman", is a "tribute" to the American Psycho character.
Release
"La Tristesse Durera (Scream to a Sigh)" was released as a single on 19 July 1993 by record label Columbia.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> It reached number 22 in the UK Singles Chart on 31 July.<ref name="UK"/> In the US, a promotional version was released as "Scream to a Sigh (La Tristesse Durera)".<ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref> The song made an appearance in edited form on Forever Delayed (28 October 2002), the Manics' greatest hits album. The remastered album version appeared on the National Treasures – The Complete Singles, compilation.
Accolades
"La Tristesse Durera (Scream to a Sigh)" was included in Robert Dimery's 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Track listings
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Charts
| Chart (1993) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Airplay (Music Week)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 29 |