Songfacts®:

• The song's music video is a reimagining of Godly & Creme's 1985 clip for "Cry," which blended various faces that morphed from one to another as they mimed the lyrics to the song. The four Elbow band members feature in the new version, as well as Sherlock actor Benedict Cumberbatch plus other friends and family members. Kevin Godley was recruited to direct the promo.
• The idea to re-boot the "Cry" video came from Elbow frontman Guy Garvey. He said: "'Gentle Storm' reminded me of something but I couldn't work it out for a bit, the yearning and the sparsity of the sound I so I thought 'I'll be a cheeky bastard and get in touch with him (Godley) and see if he is up for doing it again for our track.'"
  
  "It was amazing that he was up for it," Garvey added. "We got a load of our friends and family involved so they also are in it. The shoot day was incredible, video shoots can be quite grim but it was such a great atmosphere that Kevin created and the finished film is something we are amazingly proud to be involved with."
• Godley admitted that at first he was surprised by the Elbow singer's request. "When Guy Garvey called me and said: 'Would you consider recreating the 'Cry' video for our new song 'Gentle Storm'?', I was a bit puzzled," he said. "Why would he want something that was already out there? Then I realised…out there really meant out there since 1985 and a whole generation or three wouldn't have seen the original, or have a clue who Godley & Creme were, so to a world of millennials it would probably be who the f--k?"
• The lyrics were inspired by the love the newly married Guy Garvey has for his wife, the actress Rachel Stirling. Elbow's Craig Potter told Artist Direct:
  
  "That song came from a very natural place for him at the time. He's very much in love and he was… well, he's actually got married, so it was a very honest place. He sang it down, he had a lot of the verse lyrics, which were very, very romantic, and then we had some chorus chords which were very simple.
  
  He just sang over and over again, and we all looked at each other and we were all thinking 'can we do this?' Because it came naturally to him, because there was nothing forced about it, and because it was exactly how he felt - a desperate 'fall in love with me' made a lot of sense for use.
  
  It came from a really honest place, and I think the simple, romantic stuff is something that came throughout this album because of it."