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.
Pale Shelter
Curt Smith Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When your intrusion is my illusion?
How can I be sure
When all the time you changed my mind?
I asked for more and more
How can I be sure?
When you don't give me love
You don't give me love
You give me cold hands
And I can't operate
On this failure
When all I want to be is
Completely in command
How can I be sure
For all you say you keep me waiting?
How can I be sure
When all you do is see me through?
I asked for more and more
How can I be sure?
I've been here before
There is no why, no need to try
I thought you had it all
I'm calling you, I'm calling you
I ask for more and more
How can I be sure?
The lyrics of Curt Smith's song "Pale Shelter" depict a sense of confusion and doubt in a relationship. The singer questions how they can be sure of anything when the other person's intrusion feels like an illusion. The constant shift in the other person's actions makes it hard for them to trust in what they say or do. It seems as though the singer has asked for more attention and affection but has not received it, leaving them feeling like they're stuck in a pale shelter. The other person's inability to give them love has left them with cold hands and a feeling of failure.
The singer's frustration and confusion reach an all-time high when they ask how they can be sure of anything when the other person just keeps them waiting and only sees them through. They feel like they're not in control and just want to take command of the situation. They've been in this position before and feel like there's no point in trying to understand the other person's motives. They thought the other person had it all, but they've been left with more questions than answers. They continue to ask for more, but they don't know how they can be sure of anything.
Overall, the lyrics of "Pale Shelter" convey a sense of uncertainty and disappointment in a relationship. The constant changes and lack of affection from the other person have left the singer feeling vulnerable and insecure.
Line by Line Meaning
How can I be sure
Expressing uncertainty and distrust in the current situation
When your intrusion is my illusion?
Asking how to be sure when the other's presence feels like a trick
How can I be sure
Still expressing doubt and uncertainty
When all the time you changed my mind
Acknowledging the other's influence on one's thoughts and emotions
I asked for more and more
Admitting to seeking more from the other
How can I be sure?
Repeating the main concern of the song
When you don't give me love
Pointing out the lack of affection from the other
You gave me pale shelter
The other's presence isn't comforting but rather weak and inadequate
You don't give me love
Reiterating the lack of love or care from the other
You give me cold hands
The other is distant and unfeeling
And I can't operate
Feeling unable to function as desired
On this failure
The relationship or situation feels like a failure
When all I want to be is
Expressing a desire for control in a situation that feels chaotic
Completely in command
Wanting to be in control of one's own life and feelings
For all you say you keep me waiting?
Questioning the other's reliability and trustworthiness
When all you do is see me through?
Feeling like the other only sees through one's surface appearance
I've been here before
Recognizing that this situation has been experienced before
There is no why, no need to try
Feeling like there's no reason or effort to be made to change things
I thought you had it all
Believing that the other had everything desired or needed
I'm calling you, I'm calling you
Reaching out to the other for help or support
I ask for more and more
Repeating the desire for more from the other
How can I be sure?
Ending the song with the same question and expressing ongoing uncertainty and doubt
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: ROLAND ORZABAL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Marcys Helen0509
LYRICS
How can I be sure?
When your intrusion is my illusion
How can I be sure
When all the time you changed my mind
I asked for more and more
How can I be sure
When you don't give me love (You gave me pale shelter)
You don't give me love (you give me cold hands)
And I can't operate on this failure
When all I want to be is
Completely in command
How can I be sure
For all you say you keep me waiting
How can I be sure
When all you do is see me through
I asked for more and more
How can I be sure
When you don't give me love (You gave me pale shelter)
You don't give me love (you give me cold hands)
And I can't operate on this failure
When all I want to be is
Completely in command
I've been here before
There is no why, no need to try
I thought you had it all
I'm calling you, I'm calling you
I ask for more and more
How can I be sure
When you don't give me love (You gave me pale shelter)
You don't give me love (you give me cold hands)
And I can't operate on this failure
When all I want to be is
Completely in command
You don't give me love
You don't give me love
You don't give me love
You don't give me love
You don't give me love
You don't give me love
☻️☻️☻️☻️
Saraliza313
How can I be sure?
When your intrusion is my illusion
How can I be sure
When all the time you changed my mind
I asked for more and more
How can I be sure
When you don't give me love (You gave me pale shelter)
You don't give me love (you give me cold hands)
And I can't operate on this failure
When all I want to be is
Completely in command
How can I be sure
For all you say you keep me waiting
How can I be sure
When all you do is see me through
I asked for more and more
How can I be sure
When you don't give me love (You gave me pale shelter)
You don't give me love (you give me cold hands)
And I can't operate on this failure
When all I want to be is
Completely in command
I've been here before
There is no why, no need to try
I thought you had it all
I'm calling you, I'm calling you
I ask for more and more
How can I be sure
When you don't give me love (You gave me pale shelter)
You don't give me love (you give me cold hands)
And I can't operate on this failure
When all I want to be is
Completely in command
You don't give me love
You don't give me love
You don't give me love
You don't give me love
You don't give me love
You don't give me love
Source: LyricFind
Frankincensed
Not just a hit maker. These guys really knew how to arrange and produce songs, incorporating interesting breaks, instrumentation, lyrics, and passion that helped put them above the majority of 80s bands.
Diego Cardoso
#brasil
Chris Gribben
Well said.
Reuben Herrera
Always
John Pothen
The guy on keyboard is a producer
Sympathy ForTheDevil
To understand this song and the entire debut album it's on (The Hurting, 1983), one thing must be said: both members of the band were enchanted by the work of the psychotherapist Arthur Janov, whose most renowned book was Primal Scream (1970). Janov was the inventor of “primal therapy”, a treatment that encouraged the patient to explore his childhood traumas, experiencing them for a second time and then expressing the long-repressed pain. One way to release this pain is this primal scream. The same name of the duo, not by chance, comes from a psychotherapeutic treatment developed by Janov, during which the patient lives again the earliest sensations of the perinatal age, hence the name “Tears for Fears”. Both members felt that their parents had not given them love, but only a weak, “Pale Shelter”. Composing The Hurting was a way to throw out all the things they absorbed in the childhood, to take the feelings of abandonment, rejection and anger and turn them into something active. With its pure emotions, The Hurting is the album for those who have experienced what being imprisoned in our own emotions means; for those who have felt the desperation that makes its way, when you cannot escape, whether it comes from childhood or not. Source: auralcrave.com
Cary Heuchert
Of course, John and Yoko also did primal scream therapy with Dr. Janov, influencing the Plastic Ono Band album, released in October 1970.
jim voz heer
Thank you very much for this comment. Very important info!
guineawuv
Oh wow, that is really cool to know. Thanks.
Immahoodlum
Very impressed by your knowledge and thankful for your patient explanation.