Robert Smith reveals the poem that inspired The Cure’s new single ‘Alone’
The Cure have finally released their new single, ‘Alone’, and officially confirmed the release of their long-awaited album, Songs of a Lost World. Additionally, the band have revealed how a poem helped ‘Alone’ come to fruition.
The LP, which marks The Cure’s first full-length release since 2008’s 4:13 Dream, is set to be shared on November 1st, 2024. Over recent weeks, the iconic British group have been sharing a series of cryptic teasers both on social media, and in real-world locations that have played a pivotal part in their musical journey.
Smith has been discussing Songs of a Lost World for many years now, and previously shared his desire for the album to see the light of day in 2022. However, delays hampered their plans to unveil the project, but once ‘Alone’ was completed, everything else fell into place, and Smith had a clear vision for the record.
With a running-time of close to seven minutes, ‘Alone’ represents a grand return for The Cure. Not only does the track represent their comeback, but for Smith, it’s the perfect way to introduce their forthcoming record due to it being the opening track.
In a statement, Smith shared: “‘Alone’ is the track that unlocked the record. As soon as we had that track recorded, I knew it was the opening song and I felt the whole album come into focus. I’d been struggling to find the right opening line for the right opening song for a while, working with the simple idea of being ‘Alone’ always in the back of my mind.”
Furthermore, Smith also revealed the surprising inspiration behind the lyrics, stating, “This nagging feeling that I already knew what the opening line should be. As soon as we finished recording, I remembered the poem, ‘Dregs’, by the English poet, Ernest Dowson, and it was in that moment that I knew the song and album were real.”
The opening line of ‘Alone’, “This is the end of every song that we sing”, is directly taken from Dowson’s poem, ‘Dregs’, which was published posthumously in 1902 after the English poet died in 1900 aged 33.
Songs of a Lost World has been written and arranged by Smith, who co-produced and mixed the record with Paul Crockett, who previously teamed up with The Cure on Bloodflowers. Furthermore, Smith was also the creative architect behind the concept for the sleeve art which Andy Vella brought to life.
The LP was recorded at Rockfield Studios in Wales, which is notably the studio where Oasis made Definitely Maybe. The Cure’s line-up for the recording sessions featured Smith alongside Simon Gallup, Roger O’Donnell, and Reeves Gabrels.
How The Cure announced Songs of a Lost World
Rather than adopting a traditional marketing strategy for the new record, The Cure have undertook a gorilla approach to promoting the release. Earlier this month, they began the album roll-out by delivering black postcards emblazoned with the title Songs of a Lost World to their most loyal fans. The release date, November 1st, 2024, is also listed in Roman numerals.
Furthermore, The Cure hung a poster outside of The Railway Inn in Crawley. The pub played an important part in their history, as it was the venue of the very first concert. They’ve also shared footage on social media of Blackpool, the city where Smith was born.
Before announcing the release of ‘Alone’, The Cure provided fans with a sneak peek at the song’s lyrics when they recently launched a new website and a WhatsApp channel. When entering the website, fans must enter the Roman numerals on the postcards to reveal a new promotional artwork alongside an invitation to join their community WhatsApp group, which unlocked the lyric from ‘Alone’, “This is the end of every song that we sing… Where did it go?”
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