When the Lady Smiles

"When the Lady Smiles" is a 1984 song by Dutch band Golden Earring. It was the first single from their album N.E.W.S. (NorthEastWestSouth). Following their United States top 10 hit "Twilight Zone", "When the Lady Smiles" was a chart disappointment in America, only reaching No. 76 on the Billboard Hot 100. However, the song became the band's fifth Hot 100 charter, making Golden Earring the most successful Dutch band on the United States singles chart.^[2]

"When the Lady Smiles"
Single by Golden Earring
from the album N.E.W.S.
B-side	"Orwell's Year"
Released	3 February 1984 (NL)[1]
Genre	Pop rock
Length	4:59 (Single Version) 5:39 (Album Version) 6:16 (12" Version)
Label	21 Records
Songwriter(s)	George Kooymans Barry Hay
Producer(s)	Shell Schellekens
Golden Earring singles chronology
"The Devil Made Me Do It" (1982) "When the Lady Smiles" (1984) "Clear Night, Moonlight" (1984)

In the Netherlands, "When the Lady Smiles" became Golden Earring's fifth number-one song. The song debuted at No. 9 on the United States Top Rock Tracks chart, but its controversial music video prevented the song from achieving further success in America.

Controversy

The commercial success of "When the Lady Smiles" in the United States was thwarted by the song's controversial music video. Directed by Dick Maas, one scene portrays Golden Earring lead singer Barry Hay attempting to rape a nun on a metro car. Because of the rape scene, the video was banned from MTV.^[3]

Dutch actor Huub Stapel has a cameo in the music video as an elevator mechanic, referencing the movie De Lift. Also appearing in several scenes (metro car, window washer) is Hans Vandenburg, lead singer of Gruppo Sportivo.

In the United States, the song debuted at No. 9 on the Top Rock Tracks chart (now Mainstream Rock Airplay), slipped to No. 11 in its second week and then fell off the chart completely because of the music video ban.^[4][5]

2008 Hillary Clinton presidential campaign

New York senator Hillary Clinton used "When the Lady Smiles" during her campaign for the US presidency of 2008. The decision led to criticism from both American and Dutch figures because of the song's lyrics and graphic controversial video.^[6][7][8] While the chorus contains the lyrics "When the lady smiles, I can't resist her call, as a matter of fact, I don't resist at all," other lines include "It drives me wild, her lips are warm and resourceful" and "My friends tell me, she's the beast inside your paradise."^[9]

Golden Earring's manager stated that "There’s been no contact between Clinton’s team and us" for usage of the song. Her husband Bill Clinton had previously used the band's 1973 hit single "Radar Love" in his 1992 presidential campaign.^[10]

However, "When the Lady Smiles" was pulled from Hillary Clinton's campaign after her team discovered the assault scene in the song's music video.^[11]

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1984) Peak position Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[12] 1 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[13] 1 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[14] 1 US Billboard Hot 100[15] 76 US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[16] 9

Year-end charts Chart (1984) Position Belgium (Ultratop Flanders)[17] 31 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[18] 21 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[19] 12

References

1. "Golden Earring singles".
2. "allmusic - Golden Earring > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". Retrieved 14 March 2009.
3. Boone, Brian (2011). I Love Rock 'n' Roll (Except When I Hate It): Extremely Important Stuff About the Songs and Bands You Love, Hate, Love to Hate, and Hate to Love. Penguin Publishing Group. ISBN 9781101517314.
4. "Nothing to smile about in this truly odd Golden Earring video". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
5. devops (2013-11-28). "Mainstream Rock Airplay". Billboard. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
6. "Hillary Clinton's Incredibly Obscene Soundtrack". HuffPost. 2008-03-28. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
7. Frauenfelder, Mark (2008-01-28). "Has Hillary Clinton seen the video for the Golden Earring song she plays?". Boing Boing. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
8. Pauw&Witteman 2008
9. "The very weird campaign song choice of Hillary Clinton". Daily Kos. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
10. "Golden Earring heralds Hillary Clinton". DutchNews.nl. 2008-01-29. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
11. "Er werd een non aangerand in de videoclip van 'When the lady smiles' en vijf andere weetjes over Golden Earring | Radio 2, de grootste familie". radio2.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 2022-01-03.
12. "Golden Earring – When the Lady Smiles" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
13. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 9, 1984" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
14. "Golden Earring – When the Lady Smiles" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
15. "Golden Earring Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
16. "Golden Earring Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
17. "Jaaroverzichten 1984". Ultratop. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
18. "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1984". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
19. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1984". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 10 September 2021.