"Promises"
Single by the Cranberries
from the album Bury the Hatchet
B-side"The Sweetest Thing"
Released22 March 1999 (1999-03-22)
Length
  • 5:27 (album version)
  • 3:30 (radio edit)
Label
Songwriter(s)Dolores O'Riordan
Producer(s)
The Cranberries singles chronology
"Hollywood"
(1997)		 "Promises"
(1999)		 "Animal Instinct"
(1999)
Alternate covers
UK CD single 1
Music video
"Promises" on YouTube

"Promises" is a rock song by Irish rock band the Cranberries. It is the first single from the band's fourth album, Bury the Hatchet, released in 1999. The song was the only single from the album to chart in the US and the last single before their hiatus. The song, which has a heavy rock beat with strident lead guitar, deals with the subject of divorce. A music video involving a cowboy confronting a witch/scarecrow hybrid (played by Maïwenn), directed by Olivier Dahan, was released to promote the single.

"Promises" became the band's ninth and last UK top-forty hit, reaching number 13 on the UK Singles Charts and number 19 in Ireland. Elsewhere, the song peaked atop the Spanish Singles Chart and reached the top 20 in Canada, Iceland, New Zealand, Norway, and Switzerland while also charting in several other European countries.

Track listings

UK CD1[1]

  1. "Promises" (edit)
  2. "The Sweetest Thing" – 3:33
  3. "Linger" (live, August 1996)

UK CD2[2]

  1. "Promises"
  2. "Dreams" (live at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert, Oslo)
  3. "Promises" (live at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert, Oslo)

Canadian maxi-CD single[3]

  1. "Promises" (radio edit) – 3:30
  2. "The Sweetest Thing" – 3:33
  3. "Promises" – 5:27
  4. "Linger" (live) – 4:40

Music video

A music video directed by Olivier Dahan was released in 1999 to promote the single, shot in the style of an old western film. The sheriff of an unnamed town and one of his deputies are found inside the police station guarding what seems to be a ball of energy that is held prisoner inside a cell, while another deputy is far away in the desert picking up flowers. While the latter is completely absorbed in this endeavor, a nearby female scarecrow (played by Maïwenn) suddenly comes to life and starts chasing him. The cowboy quickly gets on his horse and makes haste back to town, trying to fend off the creature with his pistol along the way while she showers him with energy rays shot from her hands. Most of the video involves the chase between the scarecrow witch and the deputy, as well as the band members playing their instruments atop the town's water tower. The deputy finally makes it to town and enters the police station, where he quickly informs the sheriff about the incoming scarecrow and her apparent purpose to free the aforementioned energy orb. The sheriff, apparently very secure of his gun skills, calms down both of his men and exits the station to challenge the scarecrow to a duel. The sheriff is first to draw and shoot, but the scarecrow stops the bullet in midair with her teeth, much to the sheriff's bewilderment. She then shoots an energy ray from her mouth and disintegrates the sheriff, leaving only his smoking boots still standing behind. The scarecrow frees the energy orb from its captivity and both then fly away, with the words "The End" appearing on the screen.

Charts

Release history

Release dates and formats for "Promises"
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref(s).
United States 8–9 March 1999 Radio Island [28][29]
Europe 22 March 1999 Maxi-CD [28]
Canada 23 March 1999
[30]
Japan 1 April 1999 Island [31]
United Kingdom 5 April 1999
  • CD
  • cassette
[32]

References

  1. ↑ Promises (UK CD1 liner notes). The Cranberries. Island Records. 1999. 572 591-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  2. ↑ Promises (UK CD2 liner notes). The Cranberries. Island Records. 1999. 572 593-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  3. ↑ Promises (Canadian maxi-CD single disc notes). The Cranberries. Island Records. 1999. 314 572 569-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  4. ↑ "ariaNET The Chart! Top 100 Singles – Week Commencing 5th April 1999". ARIA. Retrieved 13 September 2016 – via Imgur.
  5. ↑ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  6. ↑ "The Cranberries – Promises" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  7. ↑ "The Cranberries – Promises" (in Dutch). Ultratip.
  8. ↑ "The Cranberries – Promises" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  9. ↑ "The Cranberries Chart History (Canadian Digital Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  10. ↑ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 16, no. 17. 24 April 1999. p. 12. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  11. ↑ "The Cranberries – Promises" (in French). Les classement single.
  12. ↑ "The Cranberries – Promises" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  13. ↑ "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 16, no. 19. 8 May 1999. p. 10. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  14. ↑ "Íslenski Listinn (27.5–3.6. 1999)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 28 May 1999. p. 10. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  15. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Promises". Irish Singles Chart.
  16. ↑ "History" (in Italian). FIMI. Retrieved 30 May 2022. Set "Ricerca per" on "Titolo", search "Promises" and click "Classifiche".
  17. ↑ "Tipparade-lijst van week 19, 1999" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  18. ↑ "The Cranberries – Promises" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  19. ↑ "The Cranberries – Promises". Top 40 Singles.
  20. ↑ "The Cranberries – Promises". VG-lista.
  21. ↑ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  22. ↑ "The Cranberries – Promises" Canciones Top 50.
  23. ↑ "The Cranberries – Promises". Singles Top 100.
  24. ↑ "The Cranberries – Promises". Swiss Singles Chart.
  25. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  26. ↑ "The Cranberries Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  27. ↑ "Most Played Modern Rock Songs of 1999". Airplay Monitor. Vol. 7, no. 52. 24 December 1999. p. 36.
  28. 1 2 Sexton, Paul (13 March 1999). "Island's Cranberries Make a Fresh Start with Fourth Release". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 11. p. 104.
  29. ↑ "New Releases". Radio & Records. No. 1289. 5 March 1999. p. 42.
  30. ↑ "Album Releases: March 1999". Jam!. Archived from the original on 17 August 2000. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  31. ↑ "プロミセズ | ザ・クランベリーズ" [Promises | The Cranberries] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  32. ↑ "New Releases – For Week Starting 5 April, 1999: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 3 April 1999. p. 23. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
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