Cry Little Sister is a song written by English singer songwriter Gerard McMahon (under the pseudonym Gerard McMann) and Michael Mainieri, and performed by McMahon for the soundtrack to the 1987 film The Lost Boys, which peaked at number 15 on the Billboard 200. The original song failed to chart, although it charted in Australia and the United Kingdom in 2003 when the track was remixed.
The track has been covered by several other bands. Aiden recorded a cover for the soundtrack to the 2008 sequel, Lost Boys: The Tribe and appeared again in the closing credits of Lost Boys: The Thirst. In 2010, Seasons After scored a top twenty hit on Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock Songs with their version of the track, after it was included on their 2010 album Through Tomorrow. Eight years later, Marilyn Manson released their version of the song as a single after it was featured in a promotional trailer for television series Titans. The song was predominantly composed by McMahon, who said that its refrain was:
“brewing in my head with the choir as a chorus backing me. That all seemed to come within half an hour.
Producer Mike Mainieri:
Had this hypnotic beat, we refined it together and my melody and chords melted right into it. Then I wrote the lyrics within an hour or two and recorded the demo”.
Despite appearing on the soundtrack to The Lost Boys, the song’s lyrics do not specifically reference vampires, as it was composed before McMahon had seen any footage from the film. After hearing the track, director Joel Schumacher commented:
“You nailed my theme song to The Lost Boys! I can’t believe you wrote this without seeing a frame of film!”.
McMahon additionally explained:
I always say that if I’d have seen the film first, I would probably not have written ‘Cry Little Sister’. I didn’t want the song to be specific to the vampire. I wanted it to be about the longing for family from a rejected youth’s perspective, which I went through myself and that many of us have felt.
Tracklist:
- Cry Little Sister (Theme from The Lost Boys)
- I Still Believe (performed by Tim Cappello)
Cry Little Sister by Gerard McMahon Lyrics
Last fire will rise behind those eyes
Black house will rock, blind boys don’t lie
Immortal fear, that voice so clear
Through broken walls, that scream I hear
Cry, little sister (Thou shall not fall)
Come, come to your brother (Thou shall not die)
Unchain me, sister (Thou shall not fear)
Love is with your brother (Thou shall not kill)
Blue masquerade, strangers look on
When will they learn this loneliness?
Temptation heat beats like a drum
Deep in your veins, I will not lie
Little sister (Thou shall not fall)
Come, come to your brother (Thou shall not die)
Unchain me, sister (Thou shall not fear)
Love is with your brother (Thou shall not kill)
My Shangri-La, I can’t forget
Why you were mine, I need you now
Cry, little sister (Thou shall not fall)
Come, come to your brother (Thou shall not die)
Unchain me, sister (Thou shall not fear)
Love is with your brother (Thou shall not kill)
Cry, little sister (Thou shall not fall)
Come, come to your brother (Thou shall not die)
Unchain me, sister (Thou shall not fear)
Love is with your brother (Thou shall not kill)
Cry, little sister (Thou shall not fall)
(Thou shall not die)
(Thou shall not fear)
Love is with your brother (Thou shall not kill)
Songwriters: Gerard Mcmahon, Mike Mainieri
