This is what the man himself has said about the song:
"About my biggest fear about the future: it was inspired by staring an old couple walking along the beach in front of my house." - Robert Smith
So I think we quite surely can say it is about a decaying and dying relationship. But what I find very interesting though, is that different people have so different interpretations of the song. It would be interesting to know what experience with relationships the people who find the song happy compared to those who find the song sad. I suspect that people who find it happy haven't experienced a hurtful end or a slowly decaying, dying relationship (whether it is a friendship or love, direct or indirect (example: parents divorce), doesn't matter) or are just really romantic, while those who find it sad have experienced a hurtful/slowly decaying end to a relationship.
I have to admit that in my opinion the more I listen to this song, the harder I find it to see the 'bright' interpretation in the lyrics.
"He looks up at the sky
She looks down at the ground"
&
"They wish for different worlds
She dreams him as a boy
And he loves her as a girl"
I think these lyrics are those that makes it clearest that this is not a happy love song. The first couple of lines shows that the couple views the world in different ways. The first line in the second couple of lines tells us that the couple wishes for different things in life and the next two lines tells us that the couple once loved each other a long time ago and still loves the person they fell in love with, however they are not the same anymore.
The repeat of "side by side in silence" shows that there is a silence between the couple. Since the silence is described as "it's the loudest sound I ever heard" it is clear that it is an unwanted silence, a silence which won't shut up because you know it shouldn't be there and it makes you uncomfortable.
This is what the man himself has said about the song: "About my biggest fear about the future: it was inspired by staring an old couple walking along the beach in front of my house." - Robert Smith
So I think we quite surely can say it is about a decaying and dying relationship. But what I find very interesting though, is that different people have so different interpretations of the song. It would be interesting to know what experience with relationships the people who find the song happy compared to those who find the song sad. I suspect that people who find it happy haven't experienced a hurtful end or a slowly decaying, dying relationship (whether it is a friendship or love, direct or indirect (example: parents divorce), doesn't matter) or are just really romantic, while those who find it sad have experienced a hurtful/slowly decaying end to a relationship.
I have to admit that in my opinion the more I listen to this song, the harder I find it to see the 'bright' interpretation in the lyrics. "He looks up at the sky She looks down at the ground" & "They wish for different worlds She dreams him as a boy And he loves her as a girl" I think these lyrics are those that makes it clearest that this is not a happy love song. The first couple of lines shows that the couple views the world in different ways. The first line in the second couple of lines tells us that the couple wishes for different things in life and the next two lines tells us that the couple once loved each other a long time ago and still loves the person they fell in love with, however they are not the same anymore.
The repeat of "side by side in silence" shows that there is a silence between the couple. Since the silence is described as "it's the loudest sound I ever heard" it is clear that it is an unwanted silence, a silence which won't shut up because you know it shouldn't be there and it makes you uncomfortable.