Who Are The Cranberries, And What Are These 'Let It Linger' Memes?

If you're under 30 or were otherwise not paying attention to pop culture in 1993, the recent surge of memes about Letting It Linger might be confusing. Luckily, we at KnowYourMeme have an average age of 31 years old and have been dying to explain something like this. Allow us to introduce you to the wonder that is The Cranberries.

What Are "Let It Linger" Memes?

In the early '90s, there was an incredible band called The Cranberries, and one of their most popular hits was called "Linger." The chorus of the song ends with Dolores O'Ridian repeating the lyric, "Do you have to let it linger? Do you have to, do you have to, do you have to let it linger?"

For many people in the years since the release of "Linger," the song has become an intrinsic part of their youth. And it seems memers have set their sights on "Linger" in the same way they rediscovered songs like "Africa" and "Take On Me."

How Did "Let It Linger" Memes Start?

The song started making its way into ironic memes in the spring of 2022. On May 18th, Twitter user @lucyswift took the Staring Donkey image and captioned it, "Do you have to let it linger?"

Over the following months, the song's momentum began picking up, as though memers across social media suddenly remembered that the song is actually incredible. In most instances, the memes around "Linger" involve recaptioning pre-existing images to make them about the song.

Unlike some other memes centering around older songs, "Linger" memes don't seem to be poking fun at the song being dated. Instead, it seems most of the memes are expressing appreciation, albeit with 2023 layers of irony. And if memers are looking for more Cranberries songs to revive with memes, might we suggest "Ode to My Family" next?

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For more information, check out the Know Your Meme entry for "Let It Linger."