A Cure Song Supposedly About a Son Robert Smith Never Had

Wow. This one is deeply moving. Robert Smith has expressed that "A Boy I Never Knew," off of his upcoming album, was one of “the most depressing songs he’s ever made as it is supposedly about the son who he never had. It has been reported that he was crying when he recorded it.


Check out these lyrics:
He's my heart and my soul
He’s my blood and my bones
He’s my prayers and my hopes
My wishes and dreams
Seems so long ago

He’s my blood and my bones
He’s my heart and my soul
He’s my prayers and my hopes
My wishes and dreams

A boy I never knew
And the man I’ll never know
I’ll never know, I'll never know?
To have his arms around me, sense his perfect trust
I’d give all I ever had?

The Cure @ The Bowl 5/31

The question of the night: “How was it?” My response, after a long pause: “It was three hours, 35 songs and four encores of beautiful, romantic, dark bliss.”

The Hollywood Bowl provided the perfect setting for an epic and majestic night. Thankfully – unlike many of their contemporaries – The Cure refuse to fade gracefully into the twilight. Instead, they embrace their past by dipping equally into three decades-worth of their classic discography from Seventeen Seconds in 1980, to the new songs off of this year’s upcoming release. They led us on a 35-song, four-encore journey from the depths of despair to the hopelessly romantic, and very often even succeeded at riding the line between.

The set list-that delved into more than nine albums-started with a new song, which was followed by the 1989-gem, “Prayers for Rain.” Here, they decreased the tempo and rode the slowly undulating waves of deep bass that vacillate between glimpses of hope and an inevitable death. Somehow, however, this ride towards sheer desperation is not a turn-off… it’s one of beauty.

If there’s one other topic Smith knows how to write about-aside from epic, gothic songs of danceable-death – it’s the love song. Remember, it was Smith who wrote “Just like Heaven,” off of the 1987 album, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me. Oh, come on, you know the words: “Show me how you do that trick/’the one that makes me scream’ she said/’the one that makes me laugh’ she said/And threw her arms around my neck/Show me how you do it/And I promise you I promise that/I’ll run away with you.” Yep, I knew you’d remember…It’s a classic and is as romantic as it gets. Smith was, and is, a total mastermind when it comes to hopeless romanticism and even hopeful romanticism. What girl wouldn’t want the charismatic panda-bear to sing this to her?

This memorable night served as a reminder of not only the glory of The Cure and the breadth and depth of their catalogue, but also that they are not in the business of fading out. Their music has continued to shine throughout their 28 years of existence while falling in and out of light.