The Cure's best lyrics: 25 classic lines from Robert Smith

21 April 2024, 9:00

Robert Smith of The Cure in 2001. Picture: Tim Roney/Getty Images

Robert Smith celebrates his birthday on 21st April, so let's have a look back at some of his finest couplets.

Robert Smith is the songwriting mastermind behind The Cure. Since 1978, he's been carving a unique niche in British music. Radio X takes a look at some of his most memorable lyrics.

  1. "I've waited hours for this I've made myself so sick / I wish I'd stayed asleep today"

    Close To Me (from The Head On The Door, 1985; released as a single on 13th September 1985)

  2. "Spinning on that dizzy edge I kissed her face and kissed her head"

    Just Like Heaven (from Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me, 1987; released as a single on 5th October 1987)

  3. "However far away I will always love you / However long I stay I will always love you / Whatever words I say I will always love you."

    Lovesong (from Disintegration, 1989; released as a single on 21st August 1989)

  4. "We should have each other for dinner / We should have each other with cream."

    The Love Cats (single, released 21st October1983)

  5. “Dressed up to the eyes / It’s a wonderful surprise / To see your shoes and your spirits rise.”

    Friday I'm In Love (from Wish, 1992; released as a single on 15th May 1992)

  6. "I would do most anything / To get you back by my side / But I just keep on laughing / Hiding the tears in my eyes / 'Cause boys don't cry."

    Boys Don't Cry (single, released 29th June 1979)

  7. "If only I'd thought of the right words, I could have held on to your heart."

    Pictures Of You (from Disintegration, 1989; released as a single19th March 1990)

  8. "Yesterday I got so old I felt like I could die."

    In Between Days (from The Head On The Door, 1985; released as a single on 19th July 1985)

  9. "'I think it's dark, and it looks like rain,' you said... 'And the wind is blowing like it's the end of the world,' you said"

    Plainsong (from the album Disintegration, released on 2nd May 1989)

  10. "It doesn't matter if we all die."

    One Hundred Years (from Pornography, released 4th May 1982)

  11. "I used to sometimes try to catch her / But never even caught her name."

    Catch (from Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me, 1987; released as a single on 22nd June 1987)

  12. "Oh, I miss the kiss of treachery / The shameless kiss of vanity"

    Disintegration (the title track of the album Disintegration, released on 2nd May 1989)

  13. "Sunk deep in the night, I sink in the night"

    At Night (from the album Seventeen Seconds, released 18th April 1980

  14. "Give me your eyes that I might see / The blind man kissing my hands"

    A Strange Day (from the album Pornography, released 4th May 1982)

  15. "I went away alone, with nothing left but faith"

    Faith (the title track of the album Faith, released 17th April 1981

  16. "Deep inside the empty feeling / All the night time leaves me / Three imaginary boys"

    Three Imaginary Boys (the title track of the album Three Imaginary Boys, released 11th May 1979)

  17. "I called you after midnight / Then ran until I burst / I passed the howling woman / And stood outside your door"

    The Walk (released as a single on 1st July 1983)

  18. "On candy-stripe legs the spiderman comes / Softly through the shadow of the evening sun"

    Lullaby (from the album Disintegration, 1989; released as a single 10th April 1989)

  19. "When we look back at it all as I know we will / You and me wide-eyed / I wonder will we really remember / How it feels to be this alive?"

    Out Of This World (from the album Bloodflowers, released 14th February 2000)

  20. "We know we've reached the end, we just don't know how / Well at least we'll still be friends, yeah one last useless vow"

    Bare (from the album Wild Mood Swings, released 6th May 1996)

  21. "Don't look, don't look," the shadows breathe, whispering me away from you"

    Burn (from The Crow soundtrack, released 29th March 1994)

  22. "I've never been so colourfully see through head before / I've never been so wonderfully me you want some more"

    From The Edge Of The Deep Green Sea (from the album Wish, released 21st April 1992)

  23. "Come closer and see, see into the trees... find the girl, if you can"

    A Forest (from the album Seventeen Seconds, 1980; released as a single 5th April 1980)

  24. "Hopelessly fighting the devil futility / Feeling the monster climb deeper inside of me"

    Untitled (from the album Disintegration, released on 2nd May 1989)

  25. "The very first time I saw your face I thought of a song and quickly changed the tune"

    Primary (from the album Faith, 1981; released as a single 27th March 1981)