The Cranberries’ Fergal Lawler on ‘Linger’ & ‘Dreams’ Resurfacing in Spanish for Gen Z: ‘It’s Really Cool’
The Irish band's drummer on the new versions of their classics featuring Mexican singers Bratty and ANASOF.
Black News 
“Linger” and “Dreams,” two of the most iconic songs of the 1990s performed by the late Irish singer Dolores O’Riordan and her band The Cranberries, are making waves again three decades later. Not only does their legacy endure, but it continues to grow — now also among new Hispanic generations, thanks to a deluxe edition of their debut album, Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?, which includes versions in Spanish.
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Mexican singer-songwriters Bratty and ANASOF are part of this project, supported by the band’s three remaining original members — brothers Noel and Mike Hogan, and drummer Fergal Lawler. Special editions of the band’s first album will be released on Friday (May 22) by Island/Universal Music, including one specifically aimed at Spanish-speaking audiences.
“Over the years many people have covered The Cranberries’ songs in their own language and it’s something that we always are flattered by, it’s something that you kind of go, ‘Oh wow, that’s really cool! It’s something different for us,” drummer Fergal Lawler tells Billboard Español in a video interview.
In Lawler’s opinion, the Spanish versions of two of the band’s most successful songs performed by young Latin female artists, are something O’Riordan — whose sudden death in 2018 at the age of 46 shocked her fans — would have supported.
“She always had big fondness for the Latin American community and we had great experiences all over South America when we toured. I think she would have loved the fact that younger artists are being inspired by The Cranberries,” he says. “And yeah, I think it’s something she would really liked and it’s different, I mean, because you have the Spanish vocal mixed in with Dolores’ vocal — it’s something really cool.”
“Linger” was the first song O’Riordan wrote after joining The Cranberries as their lead singer through an audition. Co-written with guitarist Noel Hogan, the song reached No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1993. Meanwhile, “Dreams” is a love song that served as the group’s debut single in 1992 and remains one of their most remembered and covered hits.
One of the seven commemorative editions of Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We? includes special mixes of both songs in Spanish with Bratty and ANASOF, two artists in their 20s. Bratty’s bedroom pop style transforms “Linger” into a beautiful ballad with touches of “Spanglish” as an homage to the original, while ANASOF embraces the ethereal lushness of “Dreams” and performs it sweetly.
“It’s a very melancholic song, which is why I connect with it so much,” Bratty tells Billboard Español about “Linger.” “They sent us the stems; not just anyone gets to hear those — the original, raw vocals. It was a moment we had to savor! That’s why I wanted to leave the original chorus intact, because it’s the most iconic part.”
Meanwhile, ANASOF recalls the emotional moment when she put on her headphones and listened to the original tracks sent by producer Stephen Street. “I cried a lot,” she confesses. “Dolores O’Riordan’s voice is intensely deep, very special. I had the privilege of hearing the voice I’ve admired without any effects — it was insane!”
Lawler shares that he first listened to Bratty’s remix. “I just thought it was really sweet because there’s almost an innocence. And the same with ANASOFI’s”.
The drummer adds that it’s both funny and surreal to see how songs The Cranberries recorded over 30 years ago are now being played everywhere, partly due to their exposure on TikTok and their use in TV series like Love Story and The Summer I Turned Pretty. Last March, sombr surprised his Irish fans on St. Patrick’s Day by inviting the Hogan brothers onstage to perform a version of “Linger” at Dublin’s Arena3.
“It’s like most of these people have never heard this song before, and suddenly it becomes this crazy [thing],” Lawler says. “I can’t understand it. It’s bizarre, but it’s fun”.
