Released February 26 1990 Genre Hard rock | Recorded 1988 Label Beggars Banquet | |
Format Vinyl 7" and 12"
Cassette"
CD Length 3:32 (Single edit)
3:49 (video remix)
5:08 (Album version) | ||
"Sweet Soul Sister" is a song by English hard rock band The Cult. It was first released on their 1989 album Sonic Temple, and was later released as a single. It reached number 42 in the UK Singles Chart, while peaking at number 14 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in the US. In addition to the album version, there is a shorter single edit (which is approximately 3:30 long) and a remixed version called "Sweet Soul Sister (Rock's Mix)", approximately 6.00 long which was released as a B side on the vinyl 12" release of the single. The artwork displayed on this page is for the original single version, the "Rock's Mix" was released with a red cover. Although uncredited, there is also an alternate remix version used in the video which has an approximate playing time of 4 minutes. This version was also issued as a cassingle in the United States. The video was filmed at Wembley Arena in London on 25 November 1989.
Song meaning
Frontman Ian Astbury stated in an interview that he wrote the song about the Americanization of European culture.
"Several images sprang to mind as I was writing this song, it was kind of an observation of how European youth is becoming somewhat reluctantly Americanized. You know the references to the Star Spangled Banner. But again with all my lyrics I like to leave them open to people's interpretations and hope that people find themselves inside my songs." - Ian Astbury (1989)
During a 2010 live concert in The Hague, Netherlands, Astbury told the crowd "That song is written about Angela Davis, incredible woman, Black Panther, activist, feminist, radical thinker."