It Doesn't Have to Be

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"It Doesn't Have to Be"
Single by Erasure
from the album The Circus
B-side "In the Hall of the Mountain King"
Released 16 February 1987
Format 12", 7", CD
Recorded 1986
Genre Synthpop, new wave
Length 3:53
Label Mute (UK)
Sire (US)
Writer(s) Vince Clarke, Andy Bell
Producer(s) Flood
Erasure singles chronology
"Sometimes"
(1986)		 "It Doesn't Have to Be"
(1987)		 "Victim of Love"
(1987)


"It Doesn't Have to Be" is a song by British synthpop duo Erasure, released in February 1987. It was issued as a single six weeks before the release of the duo's second album, The Circus.

Following the number-two UK placing of previous single "Sometimes", "It Doesn't Have to Be" became Erasure's second Top 20 hit in the UK (peaking at number twelve) and their third German Top 20 hit (number sixteen).

The lyrics of the song refer to apartheid in Africa and explain the bit of the middle of the song, sung in Kiswahili that, while imperfect, still makes sense in the context of the song:
Lala pamoja na mimi / Nyumbani yako, nyumbani yako / Sababu wewe hapana kaa na mimi / Nyumbani yako, nyumbani yako
The rough translation of these lyrics is "Sleep (together) with me / At your place [house], at your place / Why don't you stay with me / At your place, at your place."

The single's B-side is a rendition of "In the Hall of the Mountain King", a piece taken from Grieg's Peer Gynt suite.


Track listings

7" single (MUTE56)

  1. "It Doesn't Have to Be"
  2. "In the Hall of the Mountain King"

12" single (12MUTE56)

  1. "It Doesn't Have to Be" (Boop Oopa Doo Mix)
  2. "Who Needs Love Like That" (Betty Boop Mix)
  3. "In the Hall of the Mountain King"

Limited 12" single (L12MUTE56)

  1. "It Doesn't Have to Be" (Cement Mix)
  2. "Heavenly Action" (Holger Hiller Mix)
  3. "In the Hall of the Mountain King" (New Version)

CD single (CDMUTE56)

  1. "It Doesn't Have to Be"
  2. "In the Hall of the Mountain King"
  3. "It Doesn't Have to Be" (Boop Oopa Doo Mix)
  4. "Who Needs Love Like That"

CD single (Special Edition CDMUTE56)

  1. "It Doesn't Have to Be"
  2. "Sometimes"
  3. "Oh L'amour"
  4. "Heavenly Action"
  5. "Who Needs Love Like That"
  6. "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" (Remix)
  7. "In the Hall of the Mountain King"

Chart performance

Chart (1987) Peak
position
Belgian Singles Chart[citation needed] 15
Dutch Singles Chart[1] 34
German Singles Chart[2] 16
Irish Singles Chart[3] 19
Spain (AFYVE)[4] 30
Swedish Singles Chart[citation needed] 10
Swiss Singles Chart[5] 19
UK Singles Chart[6] 12

References

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