“Boys Don’t Cry” is a classic single by English rock band The Cure, first released in the UK on 12 June 1979, and later included as the title track of their American debut album Boys Don’t Cry (1980). Written by Robert Smith, Michael Dempsey, and Lol Tolhurst, and produced by Chris Parry, the song blends post‑punk, new wave, and jangle pop influences into a brisk 2:35 anthem about emotional repression and lost love, with lyrics portraying a man masking heartbreak behind laughter because “boys don’t cry.” Though initially modest in chart success, it became one of The Cure’s signature tracks, reissued in 1986 as “New Voice · New Mix” to wider acclaim, and is now regarded as a defining statement of the band’s early sound and Smith’s resistance to cultural norms discouraging men from showing vulnerability.
