Sound-wise, it continues in the same vein as “One Hundred Years”, sustaining the already-intense atmosphere with a quick, driving drum pattern and screaming, backward guitar noises. The major triad that opens the track also strikes an unsettling dissonance with the dark, whirring backing.
In a 1989 fanzine, Smith shared:
“a short-term effect” is about a drug and its effect. short-term i thought.“
A Short Term Effect
The Cure Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Cold as it hits the bleeding ground
He lived and died
Catch sight, cover me with earth
Draped in black
Static white sound
A day without substance
An atmosphere that rots with time
Colors that flicker in water
A short term effect
Scream, as she tries to push him over
Helpless and sick
With teeth of madness
Jump, jump dance and sing
Sideways across the desert
A charcoal face bites my hand
Time is sweet
Derange and disengage everything
A day without substance
A change of thought
The atmosphere rots with time
Colors that flicker in water
A short term effect
A short term effect
An echo and a stranger's hand
A short term effect
An echo and a stranger's hand
A short term effect
The Cure's "A Short Term Effect" is a powerful and haunting song that appears on their 1982 album "Pornography." The lyrics are full of vivid and disturbing imagery, and the overall mood is one of despair and nihilism. The first verse describes a falling bird, which hits the ground and dies, visually representing the fragility and transience of life. The mournful tone is further emphasized by the draping of black over the deceased bird's body. The second verse features a series of disconnected images, suggesting a lack of coherence and meaning in the world. The colors flicker in the water, the atmosphere rots with time, and the effect is short-term.
The chorus repeats the phrase "A day without substance, a change of thought," emphasizing the emptiness and pointlessness of existence. The bridge then takes a turn towards violence, with screams and teeth of madness. The image of a charcoal face biting the singer's hand is jarring and disorienting. The final verse returns to the sense of decay and disintegration from the second verse, with the repeated phrase "derange and disengage everything."
Overall, "A Short Term Effect" is a powerful reflection on the emptiness of modern life and the sense of despair that can arise when faced with the inevitability of mortality and decay.
Line by Line Meaning
Movement, no movement, just a falling bird
The feeling of being stuck, not moving but falling like a bird.
Cold as it hits the bleeding ground
The painful and abrupt end that leaves one feeling cold and numb.
He lived and died
A somber reflection on the briefness and fragility of life.
Catch sight, cover me with earth
Desiring a release from the weight of existence.
Draped in black
Symbolic mourning and grief.
Static white sound
An eerie and unsettling feeling of emptiness.
A day without substance
The emptiness and mundanity of everyday life.
A change of thought
The need for a mental shift, changing one's perspective or attitude.
An atmosphere that rots with time
The decay and decline of the environment or mindset over time.
Colors that flicker in water
The transience and fragility of beauty.
A short term effect
The temporary nature of things, everything fades, nothing is permanent.
Scream, as she tries to push him over
A desperate attempt to escape a situation or person.
Helpless and sick, with teeth of madness
Being consumed by desperation and insanity.
Jump, jump dance and sing, sideways across the desert
Embracing freedom, pushing past limitations, and living life to the fullest.
A charcoal face bites my hand
A haunting and surreal experience.
Time is sweet, derange and disengage everything
The bittersweet knowledge that time heals everything but that it also changes everything.
An echo and a stranger's hand
A sense of loneliness and isolation, a fleeting connection with someone unknown.
A short term effect, an echo and a stranger's hand
The knowledge that all experiences, all connections, and all life itself, are fleeting and temporary.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Laurence Andrew Tolhurst, Robert James Smith, Simon Gallup
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind