The Cure's full lineup history is as follows: Robert Smith (vocals, guitar 1976-present), Lol Tolhurst (drums, keyboards 1976-1989), Michael Dempsey (bass 1976-1979), Porl Thompson (guitar, keyboards 1976-1978, 1983-1992, 2005 -2010), Simon Gallup (bass, keyboards 1979-1982, 1985-present), Matthieu Hartley (keyboards 1979 -1980), Andy Anderson (drums 1983-1984), Phil Thornalley (bass 1983-1984), Boris Williams (drums 1984-1994), Roger O'Donnell (keyboards 1987 -1990, 1995-2005, 2011-present), Perry Bamonte (guitar, keyboards 1990-2005), Jason Cooper drums 1995-present) and Reeves Gabrels (guitar 2012-present)
Just as the group's lineup has changed, the band's sound has evolved throughout the years, starting off as a post-punk band similar to Wire and Gang of Four before morphing into a gothic rock band in the early 80's, to a synthpop group in the mid-80's and a power-pop-alternative band in the early 90's. The Cure has always been an alternative and very independent band which was evident from the early days. Shunning the anarchistic tendencies of many punk bands after their formation in 1976 , The Cure's first release was Killing an Arab, based on material from French writer Albert Camus' "L'Etranger" (translated into English as The Stranger or The Outsider). This track courted controversy because of its theme (misinterpreted as racist, it was in fact, about the futility of killing any ethnicity), but it started to secure a small following, which grew following the release of debut album Three Imaginary Boys and non-LP single Boys Don't Cry in 1979, the latter of which would become one of The Cure's most famous songs. At that time, The Cure embarked on tour as the support for Siouxsie & the Banshees' Join Hands Tour. After the sudden departure of guitarist John McKay, Robert was recruited as guitarist for the Banshees as the band 'felt he was the only person capable of taking on the task.' As a result, Robert completed the tour playing two sets a night with The Cure and Siouxsie and the Banshees.
Following this, The Cure moved from their punk leanings into the portentous post-punk territory, releasing three albums of doom-laden rock in three years, Seventeen Seconds, Faith and Pornography, the latter of which charted inside the UK top 10, though the band were repeatedly dogged by the "Second-class Joy Division" tag. Following their third set of line-up changes, the group released Japanese Whispers, a compilation of three singles and their b-sides. Through their desire to escape the Joy Division description, the singles were a poppier effort, featuring danceable tracks like Let's Go To Bed alongside pop songs like Love Cats. Following the commercial disappointment of follow-up album The Top in 1984, The Cure returned to form with 1985's The Head On The Door. Featuring the singles In Between Days and Close To Me, The Head on the Door was distant from the band's punk roots, having more in common with successful alternative bands like The Smiths and Echo & The Bunnymen than their gloomier roots.
Two years later, the eighth studio album Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me was a more stadium-sized effort, though featuring audacious pop songs like Why Can't I Be You, it was seemingly caught between two styles. However, it was the band's ninth effort (following the departure of last surviving founder member other than Robert Smith, Lol Tolhurst), Disintegration, that would be their greatest success, both critically and commercially. Disintegration spawned hit singles like Lullaby (no.5 in the UK), Love Song (an impressive no. 2 in the USA), Pictures of You, and Fascination Street. The album itself was a culmination of The Cure's directions through the eighties, featuring the poppier side combined with the more tender aspects, as well as the gloomier facets.
Following this, a remix compilation named Mixed Up was released in 1990, featuring one new track, Never Enough, and two years later tenth studio album Wish surfaced, which was a hit mainly from the momentum gained by Disintegration, though it also featured their most famous pop song, Friday I'm In Love (no.6 in the UK and no.18 in the US). During the years following this, the band became distracted and discouraged by the lawsuit launched by former member Lol Tolhurst, who felt he had been deprived of royalties. As a result, the 1996 album Wild Mood Swings felt unfocused, and was a critical and commercial failure, though the single Mint Car was a moderate hit.
In 1997, The Cure released the compilation Galore, featuring new song Wrong Number. Three years later, at the release of original album Bloodflowers, Robert Smith announced it would be the last album for the band, the album itself being a return to the gloomier rock of Pornography and Faith. Resultantly, another hits compilation was released in 2001. However, in 2004, the band surprised all by returning with a self-titled album, their twelfth studio album, which was a surprise hit, reaching the US Top 10, its lead single - The End of the World - becoming a modest hit on Modern Rock radio, and receiving a relatively warm reception from the press.
In May 2005, Smith fired Roger O'Donnell and Perry Bamonte from the band, along with Bamonte's brother Daryl, who had been The Cure's tour manager for many years. The remaining members of the band (Robert Smith, longtime bassist Simon Gallup and Jason Cooper) made a few appearances as a trio before it was announced that founding member Porl Thompson would be returning to The Cure.
In early 2007 the band toured Asia and Oceania, but a planned North American tour in Autumn 2007 was delayed until Spring 2008 so the band could continue recording their next album.
The band released their thirteenth album 4:13 Dream on 27 October 2008. Four singles and a remix EP called "Hypnagogic States" were releases on the 13th of each month preceding the album's release.
In 2009, Robert Smith won the Godlike Genius award at the NME Awards. On April 19, 2009, the band performed at the Coachella Festival in California.
During 2010, Robert Smith contributed songs to the soundtrack of the Tim Burton film "Alice in Wonderland" and provided guest vocals on the songs "Not in Love" by Crystal Castles and "Come to Me" by 65daysofstatic.
Between 31 May 2011 and 1 June 2011, the band performed three concerts at the Sydney Opera House performing the entirety of one of their first three albums on each night. Porl Thompson did not perform with the band at any of the concerts, but Roger O'Donnell performed with the band for the "Seventeen Seconds" and "Faith" concerts, and co-founding member Lol Tulhurst performed with the band for the first time since 1988 for the "Faith" concert. As of 2011, O'Donnell has returned to the lineup officially. In 2012, the band added former Tin Machine guitarist Reeves Gabrels to the lineup.
In 2013 The Cure started The Great Circle Tour, headlining festivals in Japan, South Korea and North America. In 2014 Robert Smith announced the upcoming release of a new album, to be called 4:14 Scream, featuring 14 songs recorded during the 4:13 Dream sessions and also an accompanying double album 4:26 Dream containing all the tracks from those sessions.
The Cure official website: www.thecure.com
The Cure official Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/thecure
The Cure on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/thecure?ref=ts
The Cure - Disintegration Microsite: http://www.thecuredisintegration.com/bin/thecure
The Drowning Man
The Cure Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She stares
Alone
Across the water
The loneliness grows and slowly
Fills her frozen body
Sliding downwards
The memories fade
And leave her eyes
Still seeing worlds that never were
And one by one the bright birds leave her
Starting at the violent sound
She tries to turn
But final
Noiseless
Slips and strikes her soft dark head
The water bows
Receives her
And drowns her at its ease
Drowns her at its ease
I would have left the world all bleeding
Could I only help you love
The fleeting shapes
So many years ago
So young and beautiful and brave
Everything was true
It couldn't be a story
I wish it was all true
I wish it couldn't be a story
The words all left me
Lifeless
Hoping
Breathing like the drowning man
Oh Fushia
You leave me
Breathing like the drowning man
Breathing like the drowning man
The lyrics of The Drowning Man by The Cure paint a picture of a woman who is standing alone, twelve feet above a flood. As she stares across the water, feelings of loneliness overcome her, and her body becomes frozen. Slowly but surely, her senses begin to die one by one as memories fade away, but the worlds that never were still remain in her eyes. As bright birds leave her one by one, the woman begins to hear a violent sound and tries to turn, but it's too late. Without a sound, she slips and strikes her soft, dark head, and the water instantly receives her, drowning her with ease.
The second half of the lyrics is sung by the lead singer, who expresses his desire to have helped this woman love the fleeting shapes so many years ago. He wishes that everything was true and that it couldn't be just a story. The words have left him lifeless, but he continues to hope and breathe like the drowning man. The lyrics end with the woman's name, Fushia, and the singer declaring that she leaves him breathing like the drowning man.
Line by Line Meaning
She stands twelve feet above the flood
She is standing 12 feet above a flood of water.
She stares
She is looking at something intently.
Alone
She is by herself.
Across the water
She is looking at something on the other side of the water.
The loneliness grows and slowly
Her feeling of loneliness is getting stronger and slowly.
Fills her frozen body
Her body is becoming filled with a feeling of being frozen.
Sliding downwards
She is descending downwards.
One by one her senses die
Her senses are dying one after another.
The memories fade
Her memories are becoming less vivid.
And leave her eyes
Her eyes are becoming empty.
Still seeing worlds that never were
She is still seeing things that never existed.
And one by one the bright birds leave her
The bright birds are leaving her one after another.
Starting at the violent sound
She is startled by a loud sound.
She tries to turn
She attempts to turn around.
But final
In the end.
Noiseless
Without making any noise.
Slips and strikes her soft dark head
She falls and hits her soft, dark head.
The water bows
The water moves down.
Receives her
The water takes her in.
And drowns her at its ease
The water drowns her comfortably.
Drowns her at its ease
The water drowns her comfortably.
I would have left the world all bleeding
The artist would have died painfully.
Could I only help you love
If only the singer could help the person they are addressing to love.
The fleeting shapes
The temporary forms.
So many years ago
A long time ago.
So young and beautiful and brave
At a time when they were young, beautiful, and brave.
Everything was true
Everything was real.
It couldn't be a story
It could not have been made up.
I wish it was all true
The artist wishes that it was all real.
I wish it couldn't be a story
The singer wishes that it could not have been made up.
The words all left me
The singer cannot find the right words to express themselves.
Lifeless
Drained of life.
Hoping
Feeling hopeful.
Breathing like the drowning man
Breathing heavily, like someone who is drowning.
Oh Fushia
The singer is addressing someone named Fushia.
You leave me
Fushia has left the artist alone.
Breathing like the drowning man
Breathing heavily, like someone who is drowning.
Breathing like the drowning man
Breathing heavily, like someone who is drowning.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ROBERT JAMES SMITH, LAURENCE ANDREW TOLHURST, SIMON GALLUP
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind