This Is a Lie

this always reminds me of the Edgar Allen Poe's poem 'a dream within a dream'

All that we see or seem Is but a dream within a dream.

makes me think of relationships that arent/dont work but people stay with them...

why each of us must choose I've never understood one special friend one true love why each of us must lose everyone else in the world

while also addressing the greater grasp of life we (think) we have...

however unsure however unwise day after day we play out our lives however confused pretending to know to the end

and

how each of us believes I've never really known in heaven unseen and hell unknown how each of us dreams to understand anything at all

In The Cure's box set, I remember reading something about how this was the only song that Robert's wife ever confronted him about. I also think he said that afterward he regretted writing it. Really beautiful song, though.

the Ambient version is amazing

This is one of those overlooked Cure songs that never did get the attention it deserved. I think the line "why each of us must lose everyone else in the world" is very powerful. I mean, think of it, even if we find someone special in this life, there is an entire world of others that we miss out on. (Not that we could have everyone in the first place.) Maybe it's about the confusion surrounding life itself--how we ultimately choose one life and one path. The other paths are lost to us and in the end, nothing makes sense.

This song, though much more beautiful I think, reminds me of the other Cure song 'Spilt Milk' where it's about all the possibilities we lose when we make a single choice. Spilt Milk is more general though and this one is about love, I think. This song does terrible things to anybody having doubts about their relationship.

Yes I love the Ambient verison of this song...It sounds truly amazing...

I love both versions.. great song!

shakespeares "As you like it", there is a monologue, "all the men and women merely players" i think these are on asimilar vein. that people are too fake, that how can you love and not be true to yourself. In being fake think ofall the people we turn away. i also think its about how we wontget the chance to know all these amazing people, we may never meet our soul mate.

i think this song is about having to make a very difficult decision and reminds me about a situation that i was just in. person c is forced to choose between person a and b and wonders why they must choose just one person. after making their decision, they question it, and are struggling with the mistake they made. or something like that

This song is so potent, it's unbelievable. I've been reading Erich Fromm's The Art of Loving which corresponds with this song. People seem to be searching for the one, their soulmate. But by doing this we miss out on loving one another. It's like a dual seperateness, two people against the world. People believe that this is the way that God or whatever higher being, intended it to be, but why should this be so? There is no justification as to why two people should be as one against the world. It isn't right that we should ignore everyone else in the world for the sake of one person. That isn't love! I would suggest reading that section in The Art of Loving.