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

Pam Tillis

Pam TillisSongwriter Interviews

The country sweetheart opines about the demands of touring and talks about writing songs with her famous father.

Rob Halford of Judas Priest

Rob Halford of Judas PriestSongwriter Interviews

Rob Halford dives into some of his Judas Priest lyrics, talking about his most personal songs and the message behind "You've Got Another Thing Comin'."

Classic Metal

Classic MetalFact or Fiction

Ozzy, Guns N' Roses, Judas Priest and even Michael Bolton show up in this Classic Metal quiz.

Artis the Spoonman

Artis the SpoonmanSong Writing

Even before Soundgarden wrote a song about him, Artis was the most famous spoon player of all time. So why has he always been broke?

Emilio Castillo from Tower of Power

Emilio Castillo from Tower of PowerSongwriter Interviews

Emilio talks about what it's like to write and perform with the Tower of Power horns, and why every struggling band should have a friend like Huey Lewis.

Rufus Wainwright

Rufus WainwrightSongwriter Interviews

Rufus Wainwright on "Hallelujah," his album Unfollow The Rules, and getting into his "lyric trance" on 12-hour walks.