Smith, now a naturalized U.S. citizen, originally hails from Bath, England, where he and Roland Orzabal met when both were teenagers. They first formed a band at school, for which Smith taught himself to play bass guitar, and later formed the band Graduate, which achieved minor fame in continental Europe, and released one album in 1980. After disbanding Graduate, Smith and Orzabal founded Tears for Fears. TFF’s debut album, 1983’s The Hurting, was a UK number one and produced three international hit singles –"Mad World", "Change", and "Pale Shelter" – each with lead vocals performed by Smith.
Their second album, 1985's Songs from the Big Chair was even more successful, yielding hits including "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" (sung by Smith), "Shout," and "Head Over Heels" (which Smith co-wrote). The duo spent the next several years recording their 1989 album The Seeds of Love, which proved to be another international bestseller, but Smith left the band a year after its release and moved to New York.
Smith released his first solo album, Soul On Board, in 1993, but the album was a commercial failure. Smith later claimed he hated the album and made it purely to fulfill his contract with Phonogram Records (the label to which Tears For Fears had signed to in 1981). He acclimated to life in New York by hosting an MTV show, as well as a new music radio show that was syndicated to over 300 U.S. colleges, and by teaching a music industry course at New York University. In 1995, a mutual friend introduced Smith to songwriter-guitarist Charlton Pettus. They began writing together and formed a band called Mayfield, which released a self-titled album in 1997.
Smith moved to Los Angeles in 1998, and began work on what was to become "Halfway, pleased" a few years later, but the project was put on hold after he had begun speaking to Roland Orzabal again in 2000 after nearly a decade of silence. Their conversations culminated in the duo reforming Tears For Fears for a new album, 2004’s Everybody Loves A Happy Ending, which led to a worldwide tour. Smith resumed work on "Halfway, pleased" in 2006. The semi-autobiographical album explores Smith’s relationships with his children, parents and friends. Halfway, pleased was released in May 2008, via Smith’s own KOOK Media imprint. It is available in CD and download configurations from major online retailers and from select retail locations.
In May 2013, Smith confirmed that he was writing and recording new Tears for Fears material with Orzabal and Charlton Pettus. 3-4 songs were worked on in the UK at Orzabal’s home studio, Neptune’s Kitchen, in April of 2013. Further work on a new Tears For Fears album commenced in L.A. in July of 2013. According to Orzabal, they have been producing of more dark, dramatic pieces of music, which gave the pending album the tongue-in-cheek working title of Tears for Fears: The Musical. “There’s one track that’s a combination of Portishead and Queen. It’s just crazy,” Orzabal stated.
To commemorate the 30th anniversary of TFF’s debut album The Hurting, Universal Music are re-releasing it in two Deluxe Editions (one a 2-disc set and the other a 4-disc set with a DVD of the 1983 In My Mind’s Eye concert) in October 2013.
In August 2013, Tears For Fears released their first newly recorded material in nearly decade, with a cover of Arcade Fire’s “Ready to Start” made available on SoundCloud.
I Don't Want To Be Around
Curt Smith Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When you come down
I don't want to be around
You shine
You keen
You're nowhere in between
You rise
On dead-wood days
I don't want to be around
When you come down
I don't want to be around
You blind
You' glaze
You fire until you craze
You are my
Malaise
On dead-wood days
Parading Pollyanna's blister and hide away
You're valedictory and vertigo eyed today
Your grace with gravity is starting to slide
You sway
You wind
From torment to define
You pray
You find
A paradigm to redefine
You take
You find
It all goes by
I don't want to be around
In Curt Smith's song "I Don't Want To Be Around," the singer is expressing a desire to distance themselves from someone when they are going through a difficult time. The repeated statement, "I don't want to be around when you come down," emphasizes the singer's reluctance to be a witness to this person's struggles. The first stanza describes the subject's inconsistent behavior - they shine and keen, but also have dead-wood days. The singer seems wary of this person's instability and doesn't want to get caught up in their ups and downs.
The second stanza describes the subject in emotional terms. They are blind, glaze over, and fire until they craze - they are the singer's "malaise." The third stanza continues to describe the subject's behavior more in depth, suggesting that they are putting on a front ("parading Pollyanna's blister and hide away"). The line "your grace with gravity is starting to slide" suggests that the subject is losing control of their emotions and behavior. Finally, the last stanza seems to suggest that the subject is searching for something to define themselves or their purpose, but ultimately everything "goes by" without them finding it.
Line by Line Meaning
I don't want to be around
I prefer not to be in your company
When you come down
When your high fades and you return to reality
I don't want to be around
I really don't want to be near you
You shine
You radiate a bright light
You keen
You are sharp and observant
You're nowhere in between
You have no middle ground, it's all or nothing
You rise
You ascend to greater heights
And phase
You transition from one state to another
On dead-wood days
On days that feel lifeless and unproductive
You blind
You obscure the truth, you are unaware
You' glaze
You have a glossy or shiny appearance
You fire until you craze
You push too hard and become crazed or frenzied
You are my
You represent
Malaise
A feeling of discomfort or unease
On dead-wood days
On days when nothing seems to go right
Parading Pollyanna's blister and hide away
You mask your true self behind an overly optimistic facade
You're valedictory and vertigo eyed today
You are both triumphant and disoriented at the same time
Your grace with gravity is starting to slide
Your ability to handle difficult situations with ease is slipping
You sway
You move back and forth in indecision
You wind
You twist and turn, changing direction
From torment to define
From pain and suffering to clarity and understanding
You pray
You hope or wish fervently for something
You find
You discover
A paradigm to redefine
A new way of thinking that challenges the old way
You take
You seize an opportunity
You find
You come across
It all goes by
Time passes quickly
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
heartlandqueen82
Such a beautiful song. One of my favourite songs from the Mayfield album and definitely worth listening to. Thanks for the upload! :)
heartlandqueen82
@Chad Hurley Hi, Steven. No, for some reason, I didn't get notified. But I was busy with school. Oh, I know My Girls, a friend recommended it to me. I like it a lot. And Calling Out, I already know, I bought Soul on Board four years ago. I love it.
Chad Hurley
"Calling Out." I replied 2 months ago, been on vacation? Oh, by the way. When an http is high lighted in blue, you can just open it !. My Girls, Tears for Fears is another that is kinda nice.@heartlandqueen82
heartlandqueen82
Chad Hurley Hi, Steven. What song is it called? I might've heard it before.
Chad Hurley
Found you again. This is another Curt Smith you may not have heard, https://youtu.be/vzAc7bw3rXU
Andrezza Parlatore
Eu não quero estar por perto / quando você desce/ eu não quero estar por perto/ quando você desce
você brilha/ está interessado/ você está em nenhum lugar/ você se levanta
Kurt e Roland se completam! Podem ser geniais, mas parece que falta alguma coisa quando estão separados. Que bom que acharam uma forma inteligente se não brigar! São gênios, são lindos e juntos são insuperáveis!!!
Chad Hurley
I don’t want to be around
When you come down
I don’t want to be around
When you come down
You shine
You keen
You’re nowhere in between
You rise
And phase
On dead-wood days
I don’t want to be around
When you come down
I don’t want to be around
When you come down
You blind
You glaze
You fire until you craze
You are my Malaise
On dead-wood days
Parading Pollyanna’s blister and hide away
You’re valedictory and vertigo eyed today
Your grace with gravity is starting to slide
You sway
You wind
From torment to define
You pray
You find
A paradigm to redefine
You take
You find
It all goes by
I don’t want to be around
When you come down
Tina Jane Oxnam.
What a beautiful song .much better than lordes version of everybody wants to rule the world. I wonder why he don't wanna be around.
heartlandqueen82
Tina Jane Oxnam. He said this song is about a manic-depressive time. I found that out on memoriesfade.com, a Tears For Fears website. Give it a look when you have the chance.