Troy

"Troy" is an angry review of Sinead O'Connor's hometown of Dublin and her mother who died in a car crash in 1985 when Sinead was 17. She claimed to have been physically, sexually and mentally abused by her mother, but her claims have been disputed by other members of her family.

The song uses the story of the historical city Troy as a metaphor for the betrayal of Sinead O'Connor's mother. Troy famously fell to the Greeks by the stratagem of leaving behind, in a feigned retreat, a wooden horse containing armed infiltrators to open the gates. This strategy became known as a "Trojan Horse."

"Troy" was the first single from O'Connor's debut album, The Lion And The Cobra. She was pregnant with her first child - a son named Jake - during recording and gave birth just a few weeks before it was released. She was 20 years old. The album got some positive attention in the press and earned O'Connor a gig opening for INXS. She had started shaving her head even before the album was issued, which seemed like a bad idea at the time but ended up being a mark of distinction that suited her distinctive voice and abstract lyrics quite well. This level of notoriety was about right for her, but with her next album, I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got in 1990, it went topsy turvy. "Nothing Compares 2 U" was a monster hit brought her a degree of scrutiny she couldn't handle. O'Connor became more of a protest singer and got even more outspoken. At times, she suffered breakdowns as it all took a toll on her mental health.