“Who’s Crying Now” was just one hit on Journey’s anthem-filled 1981 album, Escape. The song was penned by Steve Perry on a drive from Los Angeles. Despite how quickly the song came together, it became one of the band’s most enduring songs. Uncover the meaning behind this track, below.
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Behind the Meaning of Journey’s “Who’s Crying Now”
It’s been a mystery
And still they try to see
Why something good can hurt so bad
Caught on a one-way street
The taste of bittersweet
Love will survive somehow, some way
“One of the first things we did was a song called ‘Who’s Crying Now,’” Steve Perry once said of the Escape writing proccess. “Driving up from Los Angeles I was in my car, and I always keep a mini cassette player with me. I heard in my head the chorus – I heard the whole chorus. I don’t know where it came from!”
Despite this song seemingly coming together out of thin air, we can analyze the lyrics to find a bigger picture. Perry highlighted a powerful duality in a relationship. While one person might be giving it their all, the other is pulling away–and vice versa. In the end, we’re all left with one question: Who’ll be the lonely one?
One love feeds the fire
One heart burns desire
I wonder, who’s crying now?
Two hearts born to run
Who’ll be the lonely one?
I wonder who’s crying now?
In the second verse, Perry details a stormy fight. The crux of that fight is the same thing that ills many relationships. Neither could change / Their headstrong ways, he sings. Though the star of this song is the ear worm melody, the narrative Perry wrote is strong. It’s as powerful a vignette of relationships as any.
Revisit this Journey hit, below.
So many stormy nights
So many wrongs or rights
Neither could change
Their headstrong ways
And in a lover’s rage
They tore another page
The fighting is worth
The love they save
Only so many tears you can cry
‘Till the heartache is over
And now you can say your love
Will never die
One love, feeds the fire
One heart, burns desire
I wonder who’s crying now?
Two hearts, born to run
Who’ll be the lonely one?
I wonder who’s crying now?
(Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
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