Jump to content

Plainsong (song)

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Plainsong"
Song by The Cure
from the album Disintegration
Released2 May 1989
Genre
Length5:12
LabelFiction
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)

"Plainsong" is a song by English rock band the Cure. It serves as the opening track to the band's eighth studio album Disintegration (1989). The song has often been regarded as one of the band's greatest and has been described as the "perfect opener" for the album[1] and even some have called it one of the greatest opening tracks of all time[2] with Vice claiming it to be a "one-two punch" alongside the second track "Pictures of You", finding it "makes for one of the most evocative introductions ever committed to tape".[3]

The song was also released as the B-side to the single release of "Disintegration", which was released in 1989 exclusively in Spain.[4] The song was also remixed on the remix album Torn Down (2018).

Composition and themes

[edit]

Much like the rest of the album, the song exhibits dark themes such as depression and ageing. These themes were brought upon by frontman Robert Smith turning 30, along with the increased success and fame the band were brought with their previous album Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me (1987), leading him to resort to psychedelic drugs.[5]Reviewer Serg Childed referred to the lyrics "a dialogue in which the first speaker describes natural phenomena such as darkness, cold, and rain while their companion dramatizes the situation by comparing each event to the end of the world and portending death"[6] Another reviewer felt Smith's age added "a sort-of oblivious sex appeal, a cool that wouldn’t work had Smith been a few years older", while calling the song "incomparably epic in its intro".[7]

The song is noted for its lengthy intro, which starts with quiet wind chimes and then the crash of a drum followed by soaring synthesisers, pounding drums and heavy bass. The vocals are quiet and appear after two minutes into the song, which has been seen as "the voice [...] struggling to make itself heard through the distorted meteorology of a storm"[8],with critic Neil Crossley calling it "a deft touch that heightens the intensity of his voice, stripped bare and deadpan despite the sumptuous layers of echo" and also described it as "immersing the listener in Smith’s turbulent, doom-laden world", feeling the lyrics portrayed "a girl who compares the weather to death and complains about feeling old".[9] Biographer Jeff Apter described the song as "unravelling ever so slowly in a shower of synths and guitars" while Robert Smith himself described it as "very lush and orchestral".[10] Treblezine felt the song was "a mesmerising opening statement that’s gothic in the manner of a cathedral".[11]John Freeman of The Quietus noted keyboardist Roger O'Donnell's "‘walls of synthesizers'" and called the song a "gothic funeral march".[12]

Legacy

[edit]

The song was covered by American rock band Cave In for the tribute album Disintegrated - A Cure Tribute Compilation (2000).[13][14]

In 2010, Robert Smith donated handwritten and autographed lyrics of the song along with a promotional poster for deluxe edition of Disintegration to the “Art of the Song” auction, a fundraiser for the Teenage Cancer Trust.[15]

The song plays a role in the climax of the film Ant-Man (2015), playing when an iPhone's Siri mishears the villain, Corey Stoll's Darren Cross, saying "I'm going to disintegrate you"; director Peyton Reed said that "It's such an epic song that it transcended the joke".[16]

In 2023, Smith was seen singing the last lines of the song to his wife Mary Poole, who was backstage, on one of their shows on the Shows of a Lost World tour.[17] He was also seen crying onstage while playing the song on a later date in the tour.[18]

The song has featured on many song ranking lists for the band, with The Ringer ranking it number 4 out of 50, saying the intro "is what it would sound like if the heavens were to suddenly burst open".[19] Billboard ranked it number 5 out of 40 and described it as " a slowly unfolding poem for the apocalypse" and compared it to the work of the Scottish rock band Cocteau Twins.[20]

Personnel

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Golsen, Tyler (2022-05-02). "Ranking every song on The Cure album 'Disintegration'". faroutmagazine.co.uk. Retrieved 2025-07-18.
  2. ^ "Classic Album Review: The Cure's Disintegration Remains a Record for Hopeless Romantics of all Generations". 2019-05-04. Retrieved 2025-07-19.
  3. ^ "The Guide to Getting into The Cure". VICE. 2017-11-08. Retrieved 2025-07-18.
  4. ^ The Cure - Disintegration / Plain Song, 1989, retrieved 2025-07-18
  5. ^ Fleischer, Norman (2019-05-01). "'Disintegration' By The Cure Turns 30 And It's Still THE Essential Dark Pop Album". NBHAP (in German). Retrieved 2025-07-18.
  6. ^ "Plainsong: The Cure's psychedelic liturgy on the edge of the world | Music Tales". musictales.club. Retrieved 2025-07-18.
  7. ^ Reynolds, James (2019-05-07). "Album Review: Disintegration // The Cure". The Indiependent. Retrieved 2025-07-18.
  8. ^ altrockchick (2020-04-26). "The Cure – Disintegration – Classic Music Review". altrockchick. Retrieved 2025-07-18.
  9. ^ Pop, Classic (2021-07-12). "Classic Album: The Cure - Disintegration". Classic Pop Magazine. Retrieved 2025-07-18.
  10. ^ Apter 2005, pp. 242–243.
  11. ^ Terich, Jeff (2024-07-25). "The Cure : Disintegration | Treble 100, No. 2". Treble. Retrieved 2025-07-18.
  12. ^ Quietus, The (2014-05-07). "So Much More Than Anything: The Cure's Disintegration 30 Years On". The Quietus. Retrieved 2025-07-18.
  13. ^ audioeclectica (2018-08-29). "Cover Song: Cave In (The Cure)- Plainsong". audioeclectica. Retrieved 2025-07-18.
  14. ^ Various - Disintegrated - A Cure Tribute Compilation, 2000, retrieved 2025-07-18
  15. ^ "The Cure's Robert Smith donates handwritten 'Plainsong' lyrics to U.K. charity auciton – Slicing Up Eyeballs". Retrieved 2025-07-18.
  16. ^ Smith, Thompson (2021-07-23). "Songs In The MCU That Mean More Than You Realize". Looper.com. Retrieved 2022-08-08.
  17. ^ Scarlettpublished, Liz (2023-06-12). "Watch The Cure's Robert Smith serenade his wife at LA show". Louder. Retrieved 2025-07-18.
  18. ^ Scarlettpublished, Liz (2023-07-20). "Watch The Cure's Robert Smith burst into tears during a recent US show". Louder. Retrieved 2025-07-18.
  19. ^ "The Cure's 50 Best Songs, Ranked". www.theringer.com. 2023-05-10. Retrieved 2025-07-19.
  20. ^ Unterberger, Andrew (2019-03-29). "The Cure's 40 Best Songs: Critic's Picks". Billboard. Retrieved 2025-07-19.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Plainsong_(song)&oldid=1301737008"