The Smashing Pumpkins - Tonight, Tonight
"Believe. Believe in me"
Album: Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness [3rd album]
Recorded: Los Angeles, California
Genre: Rock, Alternative Rock,
Album Release: October 24th 1995
Single Release: May 6th 1996 [4th single]
Length: 4.14
Producer: Billy Corgan, Alan Moulder & Flood
Vocalist: Billy Corgan [age 28]
Label: Virgin Records
Music Video
A Trip to the Moon (1902). A silent film by George Melies.
Live on MTV from 1996
Live from 1997
Charts, Streams & Sales
Australia (albums): #1
Canada (albums): #1
France (albums): #6
Holland: #5
Iceland: #1
Ireland: #13
UK (singles): #7
UK (albums): #4
UK (single): Certified silver in November 2016
UK (albums): Certified gold in February 1996
US (singles): #36
US (albums): #1
US (albums): Certified diamond in August 2012 (10 million copies sold)
Spotify: 202,000,000 +
YouTube Music: 122,000,000 +
MTV Video Music Awards Winner 1996: (Won 6 awards including Video of the Year)
Credits
30 piece string section (Chicago Symphony Orchestra)
Details
- "When we were still in the middle of Siamese Dream touring, I booked us into a Chicago studio to just put all of our ideas down to tape. I never thought “Tonight, Tonight” would be a single. I just didn’t think people would get it. Also, I have to say that recording the 30-piece string section was probably one of the most exciting recording experiences I have ever had." (Billy Corgan interview with Guitar World in 1997)
- The song was recorded during a night session and only took two takes.
- If you could go back in time and speak to your younger self what would you say? 'Tonight, Tonight' is Billy Corgan's answer to that question. In the song when he sings "you" he is referring to a younger version of himself. Billy has said he was raised in an abusive household and he wrote 'Tonight, Tonight' as a form of encouragement to his traumatised inner child. He would eventually move away from Chicago and live a fulfilling life as a rock star.
The lyrics reference Chicago, which sits beside Lake Michigan "and the embers never fade in your city by the lake, the place where you were born" and then features the refrain "believe, believe in me." Corgan is urging, almost like an angel from the future, urging his younger self forward, to believe. He's willing himself to persist through the abuse and the angst and the self doubt into the future life of his dreams (see Cherub Rock).
The fantastic adventures depicted in the music video, of explorers bravely visiting alien planets, represent what awaits Billy in the big city. The images portray a retro style that would have been popular when Corgan was young because the younger version of himself was the target audience. The song is like a fairy tale, with Billy playing his own fairy godfather, for the same reason. - The music video is an homage to George Melies' A Trip to the Moon. The short, silent film was released in 1902 and had a runtime of 13 minutes.
- The music video was directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. The pair would go on to direct hit feature films such as Little Miss Sunshine (2006).
- The male traveller from the music video, Tom Kenny, is the actor who voices Spongebob Squarepants. The female traveller, Jill Talley, and Tom are real life husband and wife.
- There is a cover version by Panic! at the Disco.
Artwork
