I love this song, too and always subscribed to the idea that it's about a breakup BUT tonight I listened and wondered if it's actually not about a romantic breakup but rather about the trappings of fame and his role as a pop idol (he was a BIG star in the UK at least, at this time) and how disgusting some of it is to him...
Read the lyrics again and try putting them in these terms, the backstabbing references and the references to crowds cheering...references to addiction and duplicity ...very possibly talking about the trappings of pop stardom and dealing with industry types.
This song works on the level of a troubled pop star who wants to get out, who is sick of the carousel of band members and the pressure ...he doesn't necessarily want to keep doing it over and over and never made that promise to begin with.
If anyone is remotely interested I can go through line by line and explain why I think this is about his career and not a breakup with a girlfriend.
Another example would be:
"through the eye
Of the needle it's easier for me to get closer to
Heaven than ever feel whole again"
A (biblical) reference to being rich and how empty he feels now that he's achieved that material goal.
I absolutely agree with diamondbollox's interpretation about this being about fame and not a romantic relationship. A line that sticks out for me would be about the younger meat and how the entertainment industry is always looking for the newest/latest greatest.
I absolutely agree with diamondbollox's interpretation about this being about fame and not a romantic relationship. A line that sticks out for me would be about the younger meat and how the entertainment industry is always looking for the newest/latest greatest.
I believe the party piece line is how he is seen as an entertainer for the enjoyment of others. I also don't believe that the reference to babies is literal. Babies could refer to the songs he writes.
I believe the party piece line is how he is seen as an entertainer for the enjoyment of others. I also don't believe that the reference to babies is literal. Babies could refer to the songs he writes.
The lyrics that stand out to me the most are "Crocodiles cry for the love of the crowd and the...
The lyrics that stand out to me the most are "Crocodiles cry for the love of the crowd and the three cheers from everyone" Crocodile tears are insincere.... leading me to believe this is referring to how he feigns caring about how fans/audience sees him.
I absolutely agree with the two of you, since the way I interpret it is that Robert's talking about his fame, corporate greed, and his fans. I feel like he may have developed this song with dual meanings in mind as well though.
I absolutely agree with the two of you, since the way I interpret it is that Robert's talking about his fame, corporate greed, and his fans. I feel like he may have developed this song with dual meanings in mind as well though.
But really, I think it fits, with everything going on with the band at the time. Robert had a love/hate relationship with the fame and was conflicted in his feelings about whether or not he actually wanted one of his songs to be a number one hit. He was sick of the entertainment industry and...
But really, I think it fits, with everything going on with the band at the time. Robert had a love/hate relationship with the fame and was conflicted in his feelings about whether or not he actually wanted one of his songs to be a number one hit. He was sick of the entertainment industry and their greedy tactics, and copycat bands and the bastardization of their act. He was probably sick of the media, and in fact some of his casual fans that didn't quite 'get' the band - misinterpreting him and taking the band too seriously, or not seriously enough, or in the wrong way. He had debated making several of their albums The Cure's 'final' album, and said the same thing after they released Disintegration. And of course, there was the 'revolving-door' of band members in the group, and Rob having to recently kick his buddy Lol out of the group for his alcoholism.
Robert also wrote the album with the intent of creating something really refined and sincere, as he approached his 30th birthday. It seems that old age was something he always dreaded, and he was eager to make the most of his youth with this album. This was Robert leaving behind, essentially, a decade of dreary songs and a depressed persona that was really only a small part of who he was becoming now. He tied the knot and even wrote a love song for his wife for Disintegration. So in a way this was kind of the melancholy ending to the definitive 80's sound of The Cure - a fact further reiterated by the group's more upbeat and experimental albums in the 90's.
I love this song, too and always subscribed to the idea that it's about a breakup BUT tonight I listened and wondered if it's actually not about a romantic breakup but rather about the trappings of fame and his role as a pop idol (he was a BIG star in the UK at least, at this time) and how disgusting some of it is to him...
Read the lyrics again and try putting them in these terms, the backstabbing references and the references to crowds cheering...references to addiction and duplicity ...very possibly talking about the trappings of pop stardom and dealing with industry types.
This song works on the level of a troubled pop star who wants to get out, who is sick of the carousel of band members and the pressure ...he doesn't necessarily want to keep doing it over and over and never made that promise to begin with.
If anyone is remotely interested I can go through line by line and explain why I think this is about his career and not a breakup with a girlfriend.
Another example would be:
"through the eye Of the needle it's easier for me to get closer to Heaven than ever feel whole again"
A (biblical) reference to being rich and how empty he feels now that he's achieved that material goal.
Had to share...Let me know what you think.
I absolutely agree with diamondbollox's interpretation about this being about fame and not a romantic relationship. A line that sticks out for me would be about the younger meat and how the entertainment industry is always looking for the newest/latest greatest.
I absolutely agree with diamondbollox's interpretation about this being about fame and not a romantic relationship. A line that sticks out for me would be about the younger meat and how the entertainment industry is always looking for the newest/latest greatest.
I believe the party piece line is how he is seen as an entertainer for the enjoyment of others. I also don't believe that the reference to babies is literal. Babies could refer to the songs he writes.
I believe the party piece line is how he is seen as an entertainer for the enjoyment of others. I also don't believe that the reference to babies is literal. Babies could refer to the songs he writes.
The lyrics that stand out to me the most are "Crocodiles cry for the love of the crowd and the...
The lyrics that stand out to me the most are "Crocodiles cry for the love of the crowd and the three cheers from everyone" Crocodile tears are insincere.... leading me to believe this is referring to how he feigns caring about how fans/audience sees him.
I absolutely agree with the two of you, since the way I interpret it is that Robert's talking about his fame, corporate greed, and his fans. I feel like he may have developed this song with dual meanings in mind as well though.
I absolutely agree with the two of you, since the way I interpret it is that Robert's talking about his fame, corporate greed, and his fans. I feel like he may have developed this song with dual meanings in mind as well though.
But really, I think it fits, with everything going on with the band at the time. Robert had a love/hate relationship with the fame and was conflicted in his feelings about whether or not he actually wanted one of his songs to be a number one hit. He was sick of the entertainment industry and...
But really, I think it fits, with everything going on with the band at the time. Robert had a love/hate relationship with the fame and was conflicted in his feelings about whether or not he actually wanted one of his songs to be a number one hit. He was sick of the entertainment industry and their greedy tactics, and copycat bands and the bastardization of their act. He was probably sick of the media, and in fact some of his casual fans that didn't quite 'get' the band - misinterpreting him and taking the band too seriously, or not seriously enough, or in the wrong way. He had debated making several of their albums The Cure's 'final' album, and said the same thing after they released Disintegration. And of course, there was the 'revolving-door' of band members in the group, and Rob having to recently kick his buddy Lol out of the group for his alcoholism.
Robert also wrote the album with the intent of creating something really refined and sincere, as he approached his 30th birthday. It seems that old age was something he always dreaded, and he was eager to make the most of his youth with this album. This was Robert leaving behind, essentially, a decade of dreary songs and a depressed persona that was really only a small part of who he was becoming now. He tied the knot and even wrote a love song for his wife for Disintegration. So in a way this was kind of the melancholy ending to the definitive 80's sound of The Cure - a fact further reiterated by the group's more upbeat and experimental albums in the 90's.