‘96 Tears’ by ? and the Mysterians is considered to be a one hit wonder, although they did have a few other songs that made the charts. This song appeared on their 1966 debut album which was titled ? & the Mysterians featuring 96 Tears. The single went to #1 in the IS, bit it only made it to #37 in the UK. This song was written by their mysterious front man Rudy Martinez who is better known as Question Mark. ‘96 Tears’ was backed with a cover of ‘Midnight Hour’ on the independent label Pa-Go-Go Records. Billboard ranked the record as the #5 song for 1966. It is ranked #213 on the Rolling Stone list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. This song ranked #5 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 year end chart and it went to #19 on the U.S. Cash Box year end chart.
This song involves a man who was dumped by his woman, and all he can think about is putting her back in her place and making her “cry 96 tears”. There is another way of looking at this song, as it could be about two people who are competitors not lovers, they are working in the same field, although whatever that is, I have no clue. They are both ambitious and she got way ahead of him and he is feeling remorse over that and he wants revenge, because he is jealous of her success. He vows that he will catch up to her and then he will surpass her. He dreams of being on top of her and looking down at her. He can’t accept that she is better than he is and he is fixated on becoming better than she is, but for the time being, all he can do is cry. The only way he will ever be happy again, is when he can make her cry eight dozen, or 96 tears. There is no reason for this guy to want to make this girl cry, as it is not her fault that she is better than he is. Misery loves company and this deranged dude feels pain because she is successful and he is not, so he is lashing out against her.
All of the Mysterians were Mexican-American teenagers. They were the sons of migrant farm workers who’d found jobs in Michigan’s Saginaw Valley, working at a GM plant there. In the early 1960s, teenagers Bobby Balderrama, Larry Borjas, and Robert Martinez formed a trio, playing covers of Duane Eddy and The Venures. The teens decided to call themselves The Mysterians after watching a Japanese sci-fi movie of the same name. Soon, they recruited Martinez’s older brother Rudy to be the band’s singer. Rudy used the stage name Question Mark to be anonymous and to create mystery about him, and he legally changed his name to be Question Mark. ? and the Mysterians (or Question Mark and the Mysterians) are an American garage rock band from Bay City and Saginaw in Michigan, initially active between 1962 and 1969. Much of the band’s music consisted of electric organ-driven garage rock and an enigmatic image inspired by the 1957 Japanese science fiction film The Mysterians. Oddly, this alien race known as the Mysterians, whose bodies were so damaged by radiation that they could no longer produce healthy offspring decided to kidnap some Earth women and then they demand land in Japan.
Too many teardrops for one heart to be crying
Too many teardrops for one heart to carry on
You’re way on top now since you left me
You’re always laughing way down at me
But watch out now, I’m gonna get there
We’ll be together for just a little while
And then I’m gonna put you way down here
And you’ll start crying ninety-six tears
Cry, cry
And when the sun comes up, I’ll be on top
You’ll be right down there, looking up
And I might wave, come up here
But I don’t see you waving now
I’m way down here, wondering how
I’m gonna get you but I know now
I’ll just cry, cry, I’ll just cry
Too many teardrops for one heart to be crying
Too many teardrops for one heart to carry on
You’re gonna cry ninety-six tears
You’re gonna cry ninety-six tears
You’re gonna cry, cry, cry, cry now
You’re gonna cry, cry, cry, cry
Ninety-six tears
Come on and let me hear you cry, now
Ninety-six tears, woo
I wanna hear you cry
Night and day, yeah, all night long
Uh, ninety-six tears, cry, cry, cry
Come on, baby, let me hear you cry now, all night long
Uh, ninety-six tears, yeah, come on now
Uh, ninety-six tears
Written for Song Lyric Sunday where the theme today is One Hit Wonders.