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Better Be Home Soon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the album by George Canyon, see Better Be Home Soon (album).
"Better Be Home Soon"
Single by Crowded House
from the album Temple of Low Men
B-side"Kill Eye"
Released12 June 1988 (1988-06-12)[1]
Length3:07
LabelCapitol
Songwriter(s)Neil Finn
Producer(s)Mitchell Froom
Crowded House singles chronology
"Something So Strong"
(1987) 		"Better Be Home Soon"
(1988) 		"When You Come"
(1988)

"Better Be Home Soon" is a song written by Neil Finn and performed by rock band Crowded House. It appears on their second studio album, Temple of Low Men, which was later released in July 1988. The song was issued as a single in June 1988 by Capitol Records, peaking at number two on the Australian and New Zealand charts, number one on Canada's The Record chart, and number 42 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

In 2001, the song was voted by members of Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) as the 33rd-best New Zealand song of the 20th century. In 2005, following drummer Paul Hester's death, Finn performed the song solo at the ARIA Awards while a montage of Hester's life was played in the background.

Music video

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Nick Seymour attempted to explain the concept of the video in a 1988 issue of Smash Hits. He likened it to the INXS video he worked on for Listen Like Thieves: "only theirs was sort of macho." He called it a fun video with the Dickensian style clothes people were wearing. Seymour says it this way:

"Basically a film clip just makes people see things that the song's not really about. This song is definitely not about being in a theatre stuck out in the desert! It's about being home, how it's better being home.[2]

The reason Seymour played the double bass for the video was because "it just looks better".[2]

Notable performances

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"Better Be Home Soon" was performed by Crowded House in their 1996 charity performance Farewell to the World. As a song commonly performed by the band, this was to be expected, however the end of this version featured a country or polka style double-time feeling at the end, possibly in joking retort to some criticisms of the song when initially released that it was a bit "country-ish". They also performed it as an encore at the Sydney Live Earth concert. At the 2005 ARIA Awards program, Neil Finn performed the song as a memorial to Paul Hester. It was performed as part of their setlist at the 2022 Glastonbury Festival.

Track listings

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All songs were written by Neil Finn. All tracks from the album Temple of Low Men except "Don't Dream It's Over" were recorded at The Roxy, Los Angeles, on 26 February 1987.

UK 7-inch and US cassette single

  1. "Better Be Home Soon" – 3:08
  2. "Kill Eye" – 3:12

UK 12-inch and CD single

  1. "Better Be Home Soon" – 3:08
  2. "Kill Eye" – 3:12
  3. "Don't Dream It's Over" – 5:55 (live)
  4. "Better Be Home Soon" – 3:08

Charts

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Cover versions

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Crowded House – Better Be Home Soon". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  2. ^ a b Smash Hits magazine, 1988. Crowded House – making of video, page 13.
  3. ^ "Crowded House – Better Be Home Soon" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  4. ^ "Hits of the World: Canada". Billboard. Vol. 100, no. 42. 15 October 1988. p. 68.
  5. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 8570." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  6. ^ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 8576." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  7. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 39, 1988" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  8. ^ "Crowded House – Better Be Home Soon" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  9. ^ "Crowded House – Better Be Home Soon". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  10. ^ "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. 13 August 1988. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  11. ^ "Hot Adult Contemporary". Billboard. Vol. 100, no. 35. 27 August 1988. p. 16.
  12. ^ "Album Rock Tracks". Billboard. Vol. 100, no. 33. 13 August 1988. p. 19.
  13. ^ "Modern Rock Tracks". Billboard. Vol. 100, no. 37. 10 September 1988. p. 16.
  14. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Crowded House – Better Be Home Soon" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  15. ^ "ARIA Top 50 Singles for 1988". ARIA. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  16. ^ "Top 100 Singles of '88". RPM. Vol. 49, no. 10. 24 December 1988. p. 9.
  17. ^ "End of Year Charts 1988". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  18. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 264. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
  19. ^ "George Canyon Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 22 March 2011.
  20. ^ "Listen: Budjerah and WILSN Combine to Cover Crowded House for Mushroom 50". Rolling Stone Australia. 30 June 2023. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
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