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 Scream
The Cure Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But something down here changed
The spring sun hanging slower
Colder in the sky
And your voice sounds strange
Your voice sounds strange
Yeah I've been down here before
Something really isn't right
Summer sun hangs smaller
Paler in the sky
And your eyes are too bright
Your eyes are too bright
It's like everything I know
Is twisted out and wrong
The fall sun hanging flatter
Lower in the sky
And your smile is gone
Your smile is gone
It's like twisted out I know
Now I can't wake to
Break apart this dream
Winter sun hangs weaker
Older in the sky
And you start to scream
You start to scream
You start to scream
Scream and you scream
This is not a dream
This is how it really is
There isn't any other this
Is not a dream
Scream and you scream
Why you have this need
Why you can't be satisfied
Always want another why
You have this need
Scream and you scream
Dare me to believe
Dare me now to show I care
One last chance to make the dare
Me to believe
Scream and you scream
How we ended here
How we got from then to now
Never really followed how
We ended here
The lyrics of The Scream by The Cure depict confusion, fear, and despair in a relationship. The singer has been in similar situations before, but something has changed. The seasons have shifted, and the weather embodies the mood - the sun hangs slower and colder in spring, smaller and paler in summer, flatter and lower in fall, and weaker and older in winter. The person's voice sounds strange, their eyes are too bright, and their smile is gone. The singer is disoriented and feels like everything they know is twisted out of place. They are stuck in a dream-like trance that they cannot escape, and the only thing that finally snaps them out of it is the other person's scream.
The song is about the fear and frustration of not understanding what's going on with your partner when they're acting strangely. It's a plea for communication and honesty, as well as an acknowledgement that sometimes, no matter how hard you try, some relationships just don't work out.
Line by Line Meaning
Yeah I've been this way before
Expresses the feeling of familiarity with the current situation
But something down here changed
Conveys a feeling of uncertainty, a change in the environment
The spring sun hanging slower
Describes a gradual, negative change happening in the environment
Colder in the sky
Elaborates on the previous line, emphasizing the worsening of the situation
And your voice sounds strange
Points to a shift in interpersonal dynamics, with the individual noticing a difference in someone else's behavior
Your voice sounds strange
Echoes the previous line and emphasizes the feeling of discomfort
Yeah I've been down here before
Reiterates the familiarity with the current situation
But this time
Implies that something is different and that the situation is not exactly the same
Something really isn't right
Elaborates on the previous line, with the individual realizing that something is off
Summer sun hangs smaller
Describes another negative change in the environment
Paler in the sky
Further emphasizes the negative change, with the sun losing its brightness
And your eyes are too bright
Points to another shift in interpersonal dynamics, with the individual noticing that someone else's behavior is abnormal
Your eyes are too bright
Echoes the previous line, further emphasizing the abnormal behavior
It's like everything I know
Expresses a feeling of confusion, with the individual realizing that their previous knowledge does not apply to this current situation
Is twisted out and wrong
Elaborates on the previous line, with the individual realizing that their previous understanding of the world is flawed
The fall sun hanging flatter
Describes another negative change in the environment
Lower in the sky
Further emphasizes the negative change, with the sun losing its height in the sky
And your smile is gone
Points to another shift in interpersonal dynamics, with the individual noticing that someone else's behavior has changed for the worse
Your smile is gone
Echoes the previous line, emphasizes the loss of joy in the situation
It's like twisted out I know
Acknowledges the warped sense of reality that the individual is experiencing
Now I can't wake to
Expresses a desire to escape the current situation
Break apart this dream
Further emphasizes the previous line, with the individual wanting to wake up from this nightmare
Winter sun hangs weaker
Describes another negative change in the environment
Older in the sky
Emphasizes the advanced stage of the negative change, with the sun losing its energy
And you start to scream
Describes the climax of the situation, with the other person losing control and screaming
You start to scream
Echoes the previous line, emphasizes the loss of control
Scream and you scream
Reiterates the screaming, emphasizing the chaos of the situation
This is not a dream
The individual realizing that this situation is real and not a figment of their imagination
There isn't any other this
Expresses a feeling of hopelessness, with the individual realizing that there is no other reality than this one
Is not a dream
Echoes the previous line, emphasizes the reality of the situation
Scream and you scream
Reiterates the screaming, emphasizing the chaos of the situation
Why you have this need
The individual questioning why the other person feels the need to scream
Why you can't be satisfied
Further elaborates on the previous line, with the individual questioning the other person's inability to be content
Always want another why
Expresses a feeling of frustration, with the individual realizing that there is no satisfying the other person
You have this need
Echoes the previous lines, with the individual coming to terms with the other person's behavior
Scream and you scream
Reiterates the screaming, emphasizing the chaos of the situation
Dare me to believe
Expresses a challenge, with the other person daring the individual to believe them
Dare me now to show I care
Further elaborates on the previous line, with the other person daring the individual to show that they care
One last chance to make the dare
Describes the high stakes of the current situation, emphasizing the pressure to act in the face of chaos
Me to believe
Echoes the previous lines, highlighting the challenge facing the individual
Scream and you scream
Reiterates the screaming, emphasizing the chaos of the situation
How we ended here
The individual questioning how they arrived at this chaotic moment
How we got from then to now
Further elaborates on the previous line, with the individual reflecting on the choices that led to this point
Never really followed how
Expresses a feeling of regret, with the individual realizing that they did not pay enough attention to how they arrived at this point
We ended here
Echoes the previous line, emphasizing the gravity of the situation
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: DALLAS AUSTIN, DALLAS L AUSTIN, WILLARD C SMITH, KEVIN J WALES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind