Don't Marry Her

"Don't Marry Her"
Single by the Beautiful South
from the album Blue Is the Colour
B-side
  • "God Bless the Child"
  • "Without Her"
  • "Dream a Little Dream"
  • "Les yeux ouverts"
Released2 December 1996 (1996-12-02)[1]
Length3:23
LabelGo! Discs
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Jon Kelly
The Beautiful South singles chronology
"Rotterdam"
(1996) 		"Don't Marry Her"
(1996) 		"Blackbird on the Wire"
(1997)
Music video
"Don't Marry Her" on YouTube

"Don't Marry Her" is a song by English pop rock group the Beautiful South and the opening track on their fifth studio album, Blue Is the Colour (1996).[2] It was written by Paul Heaton and Dave Rotheray, and produced by Jon Kelly. Vocalist Jacqui Abbott begs a man to run away with her from the woman he is going to marry and attempts to sway him by describing what she thinks married life with the other woman will be like, painting an uninviting picture. Released on 2 December 1996 by Go! Discs, the single peaked at number eight on the UK Singles Chart and was certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry.

Background

The song's lyrics were substantially altered for the release as a single – changing from "Don't marry her, fuck me" to "Don't marry her, have me", and with "sweaty bollocks" becoming "Sandra Bullocks". The song spent 10 weeks on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number eight, and also charted within the lower reaches of several European charts. The single version appears on the best of album Solid Bronze: Great Hits, while Soup features the original album version.

Critical reception

Jennifer Nine from Melody Maker noted the "gleefully repetitive chorus" in the "syrup-and-venom" song.[3] A reviewer from Music Week gave "Don't Marry Her" three out of five, writing, "Some strong guitar riffs appear in this country-tinged follow up to their huge radio hit 'Rotterdam', but Jacqueline Abbot's vocal will be too saccharine for some ears."[4]

Track listings

  1. "Don't Marry Her"
  2. "God Bless the Child"
  3. "Without Her"
  1. "Don't Marry Her"
  2. "Dream a Little Dream"
  3. "Les yeux ouverts"
  • UK cassette single[7]
  1. "Don't Marry Her"
  2. "Dream a Little Dream"
  3. "God Bless the Child"

Charts

Chart (1996–1997) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[8] 50
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[9] 41
Germany (GfK)[10] 89
Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[11] 30
Ireland (IRMA)[12] 11
Scotland (OCC)[13] 3
UK Singles (OCC)[14] 8

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[15] Platinum 600,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 30 November 1996. p. 45. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  2. ^ "The Beautiful South – Blue Is the Colour". AllMusic. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  3. ^ Nine, Jennifer (9 November 1996). "Albums". Melody Maker. p. 51. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
  4. ^ "Reviews: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 23 November 1996. p. 24. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  5. ^ Don't Marry Her (UK CD1 liner notes). The Beautiful South. Go! Discs. 1996. GODCD 158, 850 785-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  6. ^ Don't Marry Her (UK CD2 liner notes). The Beautiful South. Go! Discs. 1996. GOLCD 158, 850 787-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  7. ^ Don't Marry Her (UK cassette single cassette notes). The Beautiful South. Go! Discs. 1996. GODMC 158, 850 785-4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  8. ^ "The Beautiful South – Don't Marry Her" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  9. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 14, no. 1–3. 18 January 1997. p. 21. Retrieved 8 May 2020. See last week column.
  10. ^ "The Beautiful South – Don't Marry Her" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  11. ^ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (6.3. '97 – 12.3. '97)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 7 March 1997. p. 16. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  12. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Don't Marry Her". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  13. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  14. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  15. ^ "British single certifications – Beautiful South – Don't Marry Her". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 15 April 2024.