The Reasons Why

Album: 4:13 Dream (2008)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The lyrics for this deceptively poppy song came from a real-life suicide note sent to Cure singer Robert Smith by a fan.
  • Smith originally intended for 4:13 Dream, The Cure's 13th and most recent studio album, to be a double album. The band recorded 33 songs for the project but Smith ultimately decided it would work better as a single CD and selected just 13 tracks.
  • Smith told Rolling Stone how the album came together in the studio from a limited palette of sounds. "We recorded everything together in the same studio. Probably 75 percent of what we've ended up with comes from the very first session we did because it had a really good feel to it. Even though we've refined some of it a bit later and changed the tempos and re-recorded, the bulk of what we've done has actually been our own demos," he explained.

    "The good thing about it sonically is that the slow songs and the fast songs and everything in between all hang together. We have a limited palette of sounds. We only used four keyboard sounds across 33 songs. I've used the same basic instruments. I've used like three amps. The room sounds the same. Even though the songs are very kind of weird and fit together uncomfortably, they do at least have the benefit of sounding the same."
  • The album peaked in #16 in America, where it sold just 97,000 copies. In the UK, it stalled at #33 - their worst chart entry since their 1978 debut, Three Imaginary Boys, went to #44.

Comments: 2

  • Betto from Ciudad De México, MexicoLa película El Rey León (The Lion King) menciona que, al morir, nos vamos a las estrellas. Esta canción me hace reflexionar que las estrellas me llaman y que deje de apegarme a quien no tiene ningún interés en mi. Una canción para divertirse, no para seguirla.
  • Brian from Alluhrst, Nji get the intro to this song confused with the intro from the prefect boy
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Chris Tomlin

Chris TomlinSongwriter Interviews

The king of Christian worship music explains talks about writing songs for troubled times.

John Kay of Steppenwolf

John Kay of SteppenwolfSongwriter Interviews

Steppenwolf frontman John Kay talks about "Magic Carpet Ride," "Born To Be Wild," and what he values more than awards and accolades.

Martyn Ware of Heaven 17

Martyn Ware of Heaven 17Songwriter Interviews

Martyn talks about producing Tina Turner, some Heaven 17 hits, and his work with the British Electric Foundation.

Sugarland

SugarlandSongwriter Interviews

Meet the "sassy basket" with the biggest voice in country music.

Song Titles That Inspired Movies

Song Titles That Inspired MoviesSong Writing

Famous songs that lent their titles - and in some cases storylines - to movies.

Director Paul Rachman on "Hunger Strike," "Man in the Box," Kiss

Director Paul Rachman on "Hunger Strike," "Man in the Box," KissSong Writing

After cutting his teeth on hardcore punk videos, Paul defined the grunge look with his work on "Hunger Strike" and "Man in the Box."