"The Sound of Crying" is a single by English pop band Prefab Sprout, released by Kitchenware Records in June 1992.

Paddy McAloon originally wrote the song in April 1990[2] for a proposed biographical album about Michael Jackson, whom he was fascinated by.

[2] "The Sound of Crying" received significant airplay on BBC Radio 1,[7] and became Prefab Sprout's first top 30 hit on the UK Singles Chart since "The King of Rock 'n' Roll" reached number 7 four years earlier.

Upon release, Jim Lawn of the Lennox Herald called "The Sound of Crying" "Paddy McAloon's best chance of a hit single in ages".

[9] The Times' Alan Jackson commented that the song's "lush production and glorious melody" were used "to sneak one of the oldest debates in Christendom before millions of Radio 1 listeners"[10] while David Cavanagh of Select praised how the song "manages to include ice-cool phraseology like 'the music of the spheres' while still being catchy enough to be this week’s third most played single on Radio 1".