La Tristesse Durera (Scream to a Sigh)

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The song's title is taken from the reported last words of Vincent van Gogh, "La tristesse durera toujours", quoted in a letter from his younger brother Theo to their sister Elisabeth, using her nickname Lies. The letter was translated by Robert Harrison, who states that the phrase means "The sadness will last forever".

The song lyrics are written from the perspective of a war veteran, containing the line "wheeled out once a year, a cenotaph souvenir" and tracking the bathetic progress of the former soldier's war medal: "It sells at market stalls/Parades Milan catwalks". Richey Edwards told Melody Maker newspaper, "It's a beautiful image when the war veterans turn out at the Cenotaph, [...] and everyone pretends to care ... but then they're shuffled off again and forgotten." According to Martin Power in his book Manic Street Preachers, the band "sounded at sixes and sevens" in the rest of the album, "Yet, as with Generation Terrorists, they had again produced one genuine classic in the form of 'La Tristessa Durera (Scream To A Sigh)'."

Edwards, unusually, played rhythm guitar on the track.

The B-side, "Patrick Bateman", is a "tribute" to the American Psycho character.

Release

"La Tristesse Durera (Scream to a Sigh)" was released as a single in 1993 by record label Columbia. It reached number 22 in the UK Singles Chart on 31 July.

The song also made an appearance as track number four on Forever Delayed (28 October 2002), the Manics' greatest hits album.

Accolades

"La Tristesse Durera (Scream to a Sigh)" was included in Robert Dimery's 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die.

Track listing