"When the Children Cry" is a power ballad performed by Danish-American glam metal band White Lion. It is the third single and closing track on their 1987 album, Pride. It peaked at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100, number two in Canada, and number 88 in the United Kingdom.

Background

The song was written immediately after Live Aid, and was partly influenced by singer Mike Tramp's childhood. He said, "“I was around five or six when my father left us. My mom was left with three boys. So without a doubt my own story is in that song." He also said, "Even though the words are simple, it has a very powerful lyric. Imagine being a kid from Copenhagen, Denmark, sitting there in Staten Island and writing, “No more presidents, and all the wars will end" at the time when Ronald Reagan is the president. But it was how I felt at the time. That song began by just sitting around and playing. Then Vito changed it to the fingerpicking style."

Versions

The song was re-recorded in 1999 on the album Remembering White Lion (also released as "Last Roar" in 2004) and a live version was released on the White Lion live album Rocking the USA. The re-recorded and live versions were both released as promo singles and later as iTunes singles. In 2004, an acoustic version of "When the Children Cry" was included on the VH1 Classic Metal Mania: Stripped compilation.

Track listing

7-inch single

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts