Dry Your Eyes

This article is about the song by The Streets. For the BBC Northern Ireland comedy series, see Dry Your Eyes (TV series). For the song by Neil Diamond and Robbie Robertson, see The Last Waltz.

"Dry Your Eyes" is a single by English rapper and producer Mike Skinner under the music project the Streets. The song describes the protagonist trying to cope with his girlfriend breaking up with him. It was released in the UK on 19 July 2004. The song is the Streets' most successful single, reaching number one in the United Kingdom on 25 July 2004, six days after its release. "Dry Your Eyes" also went straight to number one in Ireland staying there for three weeks in a row.

"Dry Your Eyes"
Single by the Streets
from the album A Grand Don't Come for Free
Released	19 July 2004 (2004-07-19)
Length	4:32
Label	Locked On 679
Songwriter(s)	The Streets
Producer(s)	The Streets
The Streets singles chronology
"Fit but You Know It" (2004) "Dry Your Eyes" (2004) "Blinded by the Lights" (2004)

In Australia, the song was ranked number 19 on Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2004.^[1] In October 2011, NME placed it at number 87 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".^[2]

Music structure

"Dry Your Eyes" is composed in the key of A major. It is written in common time and moves at a slow tempo of 80 beats per minute. The song is carried by a first inversion triad.^[3] The radio edit of the song, lasting 3:22, omits the bridge and third verse. The official video uses this edit. However, some radio edits move the interlude after the second chorus to the beginning of the song.

The melody was taken straight from a royalty-free samples CD released in 1999.^[4] A plagiarism claim by unknown artist Epic was reported in the press in 2004, but no case was ever made.^[5]

Critical reception

Leonie Cooper of NME called "those violins, bringing all of the emotions" the best part of the song.^[6] Tony Naylor of NME called the song, "a hairs-on-the-back-of-your-neck ballad for jilted lovers" and stated, "rarely has Skinner sounded so vulnerable, poignant and, well, normal."^[7]

Track listings

UK CD1

1. "Dry Your Eyes"
2. "It's Too Late" (live radio session)

UK CD2 and Australian CD single

1. "Dry Your Eyes"
2. "Let's Push Things Forward" (live radio session)
3. "Has It Come To This?" (live radio session)
4. "Dry Your Eyes" (enhanced video)

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2004) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[8] 42 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[9] 5 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[10] 48 Croatia (HRT)[11] 6 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[12] 3 Germany (GfK)[13] 53 Ireland (IRMA)[14] 1 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[15] 24 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[16] 11 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[17] 15 Scotland (OCC)[18] 1 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[19] 24 UK Singles (OCC)[20] 1

Year-end charts Chart (2004) Position Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[21] 58 UK Singles (OCC)[22] 20 Certifications Region Certification Certified units/sales United Kingdom (BPI)[23] Platinum 600,000‡ ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United Kingdom	19 July 2004 (2004-07-19)	CD	Locked On 679	[24]
Australia	9 August 2004 (2004-08-09)			[25]

Cover versions

• A version of "Dry Your Eyes" featuring Chris Martin of Coldplay singing the chorus surfaced on the internet and received airplay on Los Angeles radio station Indie 103.1. This version was recorded for a BBC Radio 1 competition (listeners were told to call in when they heard this version of the song) and was never officially released, because Chris Martin did not agree with his vocal performance. This version frequently found American airplay on WFNX after its release.
• Brian Kennedy on Even Better than the Real Thing Vol. 2
• A parody version was performed by comedian Adam Buxton on the TV Show 2004: The Stupid Version, with the lyrics being about a man getting kicked out by his girlfriend because he repeatedly urinates on the toilet seat and wets the bed.
• "Dry Your Eyes" was performed in a scene from the 2021 comedy film People Just Do Nothing: Big in Japan, in which characters DJ Beats and DJ Steves cover the song in a karaoke bar.

References

1. "Hottest 100 2004". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
2. "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years". NME. 26 March 2014. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
3. Sheet music for "Dry Your Eyes". Hal Leonard Corporation. 2004.
4. "Streets Star: I'm Confused About Plagiarism Claims". Contactmusic.com. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
5. "Streets Star Hits Back at Plagiarism Claims". Contactmusic.com. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
6. Cooper, Leonie (13 October 2017). "The Streets' 10 best songs". NME. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
7. Naylor, Tony (12 September 2005). "Streets : Dry Your Eyes". NME. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
8. "The Streets – Dry Your Eyes". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
9. "The Streets – Dry Your Eyes" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
10. "The Streets – Dry Your Eyes" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
11. "Top Lista Hrvatskog Radija". Croatian Radiotelevision. Archived from the original on 29 September 2004. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
12. "Hits of the World – Eurocharts" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 116, no. 32. 7 August 2004. p. 61. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
13. "The Streets – Dry Your Eyes" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
14. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Dry Your Eyes". Irish Singles Chart.
15. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 36, 2004" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
16. "The Streets – Dry Your Eyes" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
17. "The Streets – Dry Your Eyes". Top 40 Singles.
18. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
19. "The Streets – Dry Your Eyes". Singles Top 100.
20. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
21. "Jahreshitparade Single 2004" (in German). Retrieved 7 July 2018.
22. "The Official UK Singles Chart 2004" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
23. "British single certifications – Streets – Dry Your Eyes". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
24. "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 17 July 2004. p. 39.
25. "The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 9th August 2004" (PDF). ARIA. 9 August 2004. p. 28. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 August 2004. Retrieved 7 October 2021.