Troy (song)

"Troy"
Single by Sinéad O'Connor
from the album The Lion and the Cobra
B-side "Still Listening"
Released 1987
Format 7" vinyl, 12" vinyl, CD single
Genre Pop rock
Length 6:34
Label Chrysalis
Writer(s) Sinéad O'Connor
Producer(s) Sinéad O'Connor
Kevin Mooney
Sinéad O'Connor singles chronology
"Heroine"
(1986)
"Troy"
(1987)
"Mandinka"
(1987)

"Troy" is a song written and recorded by Sinéad O'Connor, the first single from her 1987 debut album, The Lion and the Cobra. In 2002, a dance version of the song released as "Troy (The Phoenix from the Flame)" becoming a top 10 hit on several international dance charts including the US.

Background

The song uses the story of the ancient city of Troy as a metaphor. The lyric "Being what you are, there is no other Troy for you to burn" is a reference to the poem "No Second Troy" by William Butler Yeats ("Why, what could she have done being what she is?/Was there another Troy for her to burn?").

Music video

The video featured O'Connor, completely bald and covered with gold and silver body paint, singing to a background of moving images including flames. The video's striking imagery of this angry, bald young woman was for many their first and most striking introduction to O'Connor.

Live performances

O'Connor only sang "Troy" live the year after it was released, after that she refused to perform "Troy" again until 2008 when she performed at the Night of the Proms in Belgium and The Netherlands.

Chart performance

Chart (1988)
(Original version)
Peak
position
Dutch Top 40[1] 5
Dutch GfK Singles Chart[2] 8
Flemish Singles Chart[3] 12
Chart (2002)
(Remix version)
Peak
position
Flemish Singles Chart[4] 35
UK Singles Chart[5] 48
US Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play[6] 3
US Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales[6] 6

References

  1. "De Nederlandse Top 40, week 3, 1988". Retrieved January 19, 2016.
  2. "dutchcharts.nl". Retrieved January 3, 2009.
  3. "ultratop.be". Retrieved January 3, 2009.
  4. "ultratop.be". Retrieved January 3, 2009.
  5. "charts-surfer.de search results". Retrieved January 3, 2009.
  6. 1 2 "Allmusic – Sinéad O'Connor – Billboard singles". Retrieved January 3, 2009. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
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