The lyrics tell a vague story about a man looking for a girl in a forest. He hears her calling for him, and as he chases her, he suddenly stops and realizes that he is lost and that the girl is not there. The song is fairly upbeat compared to the other material on the album, and Lol Tolhurst's machine-like steady beat together with Simon Gallup's minimalistic bassline gives this nervous chase more depth and keeps the song on the edge of a frantic groove until the end.
Though not their biggest hit, it is regarded by many fans and critics as one of the best examples of The Cure's sound. The song is also notable for securing the band its first slot on BBC's "Top of the Pops".
The track has been re-recorded a number of times by The Cure. In 1990 the track was re-recorded and remixed as the "Tree mix" on the band's "Mixed Up" album. It was redone for the second time on the Join the Dots box set this time remixed by Mark Plati and featuring Earl Slick on guitar. Robert Smith supplied vocals for a Blank & Jones cover version in 2003. The song has also been covered by Nouvelle Vague on their first album Nouvelle Vague and by Carpathian Forest on their debut album Black Shining Leather. The song "Dead Disco" by the Canadian rock group Metric borrows heavily from the song. Many have said this is in reference to the group and the genre.
A Forest
The Cure Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
See into the trees
Find the girl
While you can
Come closer and see
See into the dark
Just follow your eyes
Just follow your eyes
I hear her voice
Calling my name
The sound is deep
In the dark
I hear her voice
And start to run
Into the trees
Into the trees
Into the trees
Suddenly, I stop
But I know it's too late
I'm lost in a forest
All alone
The girl was never there
It's always the same
I'm running towards nothing
Again and again and again and again
And again and again and again and again
And again-gain-gain and again and again
And again and again-gain-gain and again
And again and again and again and again
And again
The song A Forest by The Cure tells the story of a man who is lost in a dark forest, searching for a girl. The first verse encourages him to come closer and look into the trees to find the girl. He’s urged to follow his eyes and he hears her voice calling his name, which is deep in the dark. The second verse sees him running towards the trees and into the dark, but suddenly he stops. He knows it’s too late, as he has become lost in the forest, all alone. The girl was never there, and he keeps running towards nothing, again and again.
The song is often interpreted as a metaphor for addiction, depression, and the feeling of being lost. It’s a classic example of how The Cure’s music connected with people on an emotional level, expressing feelings of longing and despair that many could relate to. Robert Smith’s haunting vocals and the energetic, urgent guitars convey a sense of urgency and confusion that makes the song so effective.
Line by Line Meaning
Come closer and see
Step closer to observe your surroundings
See into the trees
Pay attention to the nature around you
Find the girl
Search for a young woman who is lost in the woods
While you can
Before she disappears
See into the dark
Look beyond the lighted paths
Just follow your eyes
Trust your instincts and continue looking
I hear her voice
I am intrigued by the sound of her voice
Calling my name
She's seemingly beckoning for me
The sound is deep
It comes from far away or has an eerie quality
In the dark
She's hidden from my sight
And start to run
I'm excited and anxious to find her
Into the trees
I chase after her into the forest
Suddenly I stop
I realize that something is not right
But I know it's too late
I am trapped and can't turn back
I'm lost in a forest
I am disoriented and can't find my way back out
All alone
I am by myself in the eerie forest
The girl was never there
She was only a figment of my imagination
It's always the same
I keep getting lost in the forest and chasing after something that does not exist
I'm running towards nothing
My pursuit has no reward
Again and again and again and again
The cycle repeats
And again and again and again and again
The cycle continues
And again and again and again and again
The cycle persists
And again and again and again and again
The cycle endures
And again and again
The cycle repeats over and over
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Robert James Smith, Laurence Andrew Tolhurst, Matthieu Aiden Hartley, Simon Johnathon Gallup
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
deano hall
I Remember being off my face on Ketamin & Nitros Oxide
When i 1st heard this amazing
Ch👀N
And it has never got old
Also
Don't Do DruG's
Trust Me
You Are Not MissinG Out On Anything Special
Except A Life Of MeSSeD Up
ShiT & Pure Upset .....
✌💗😊😇
VietManchuHanSinhalaAkka
Come closer and see
See into the trees
Find the girl
While you can
Come closer and see
See into the dark
Just follow your eyes
Just follow your eyes
I hear her voice
Calling my name
The sound is deep
In the dark
I hear her voice
And start to run
Into the trees
Into the trees
Into the trees
Suddenly I stop
But I know it's too late
I'm lost in a forest
All alone
The girl was never there
It's always the same
I'm running towards nothing
Again and again and again and again...
BLACK EAGLE
The Cure
A Forest
Come closer and see
See into the trees
Find the girl
If you can
Come closer and see
See into the dark
Just follow your eyes
Just follow your eyes
I hear her voice
Calling my name
The sound is deep
In the dark
I hear her voice
And start to run
Into the trees
Into the trees
Into the trees
Suddenly I stop
But I know it's too late
I'm lost in a forest
All alone
The girl was never there
It's always the same
I'm running towards nothing
(Again and again and again and again)
And again
Paola Bruna
Come closer and see
See into the trees
Find the girl
While you can
Come closer and see
See into the dark
Just follow your eyes
Just follow your eyes
I hear her voice
Calling my name
The sound is deep
In the dark
I hear her voice
And start to run
Into the trees
Into the trees
Into the trees
Suddenly I stop
But I know it's too late
I'm lost in a forest
All alone
The girl was never there
It's always the same
I'm running towards nothing
Again and again and again and again
Jack Cravford
The atmosphere on this one is really something else. One of the best songs i ever heard, top notch bass line and mysterious, meditative vocals.
Jose Ramon Cases perez
Estratosferico
Scooter Grammy
The bass 👌
It's a vibe
Latitudes e Longitudes
Yes,the sad,melodic,atmospheric bass,guitar or keyboard sounds that are so iconic of 1980s british bands
Jack Cravford
@Latitudes e Longitudes i dont think it is that sad. The whole record has really cool, foggy realm i love to be lost in it. I just love Forest for how adventure it sounds.
Janique Vaillot
🙂😆🤣🤣
Jamie Stein
Growing up, art was always my thing, and when I was 15 years old, this song inspired me to draw a strange picture of a boy in the woods, which I still have. I swear I was so haunted by this song, and I used to listen to it with my headset on, over and over. We lived in the mountains, and we frequently drove through the forest. I would look into the thick trees and try to imagine what was maybe out there that people just never noticed…
Luly Reynoso
A mí también me retrotrae a mi adolescencia , entre a escucharla ... Magia magia ! Lo que me genera es difícil de poner en palabras .✨
Jan Kohudy
I was 14 or 15. Pure psychodelic... The next one is Killing an Arab. Speechless. Still... Hypnotic. Now Im 53. Awesome.
Conner Smith
I would love to see that drawing