page_title: Song for the Lonely
section_title: Background and release
hierarchical_section_title: Song for the Lonely / Background and release
caption_attribution_description: Picture of Rudy Giuliani
context_page_description: "Song for the Lonely" is a song by American singer Cher from her twenty-fourth studio album, Living Proof. It was written by Mark Taylor, Paul Barry and Steve Torch, and produced by Taylor. It released on March 19, 2002, as the second international single from the album, while in North America it was released as the lead single, by Warner Bros. Records and WEA. "Song for the Lonely" is a dance-pop song which was initially written as a love song, but after the September 11 attacks, Cher eventually saw it in a different way.
  "Song for the Lonely" was met with positive reviews, with music commentators complimenting its heartfelt lyrics and beat. Commercially, the song was a disappointment on the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 85, but it topped the Dance/Electronic Singles Sales and the Dance Club Songs charts. The accompanying music video for "Song for the Lonely" was recorded in New York City under the direction of Stu Maschwitz, and depicts Cher walking through the streets of the city since the 18th century until the modern days, while she is joined by several people from those times.
context_section_description: Cher recorded "Song for the Lonely" in the summer of 2001 in London and intended to include it on her twenty-fourth studio album Living Proof (2001), and it immediately became her favorite song from the album. However, after the September 11 attacks, she began thinking of it in a different way. In an interview with Larry King Live she said that after the attacks, she was listening to the album and when the track began, all of a sudden it took on a completely different meaning for her, specially because of the "when heroes fall in love and war, they live forever" lyric. Cher commented that "Song for the Lonely" was one of the best tracks she has ever had the opportunity to sing, because according to her, "we still lived in a world of innocence" before the attacks. According to the album liner notes, "Song for the Lonely" is "dedicated to the courageous people of New York especially the fire fighters, the police, Mayor Giuliani, Governor Pataki and my friend Liz".
  Since its release, the public's reaction to "Song for the Lonely" had been positive. James Lonten, manager of a Borders Books & Music store in New York City, which had been stocking Living Proof since its European release, commented, "That goes without saying. We play the track in-store, and it literally stops people dead in their tracks. It's an instantly affecting, highly emotional song". John Boulos, senior vice-president of promotion at Warner Bros. Records, commented that they were not exploiting the September 11 attacks as a selling point to the single, but it had drawn the interest of people. "We simply feel that we have an incredible song by a truly legendary artist. That's a pretty potent combination to take it to the street", he said. "Song for the Lonely" served as the lead American single from Living Proof, being released on March 19, 2002. In the European and international editions of Living Proof, it is listed as "(This Is) A Song for the Lonely".
caption: The song is dedicated to Rudy Giuliani (pictured) among others.
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