Doing the Unstuck by The Cure Lyrics Meaning – Embracing Liberation with Every Beat
Lyrics
For setting fire to bridges
Boats
And other dreary worlds you know
Let’s get happy
It’s a perfect day for making out
To wake up with a smile without a doubt
To burst grin giggle bliss skip jump and sing and shout
Let’s get happy
But it’s much to late you say
For doing this now
We should have done it then
Well it just goes to show
How wrong you can be
And how you really should know
That it’s never too late
To get up and go
It’s a perfect day for kiss and swell
For rip-zipping button-popping kiss and well
There’s loads of other stuff can make you yell
Let’s get happy
It’s a perfect day for doing the unstuck
For dancing like you can’t hear the beat
And you don’t give a further thought
To things like feet
Let’s get happy
But it’s much too late you say
For doing this now
We should have done it then
Well it just goes to show
How wrong you can be
And how you really should know
That it’s never too late
To get up and go
Kick out the gloom
Kick out the blues
Tear out the pages with all the bad news
Pull down the mirrors and pull down the walls
Tear up the stairs and tear up the floors
Oh just burn down the house
Burn down the street
Turn everything red and the beat is complete
With the sound of your world
Going up in fire
It’s a perfect day to throw back your head
And kiss it all goodbye
It’s a perfect day for getting old
Forgetting all your worries
Life
And everything that makes you cry
Let’s get happy
It’s a perfect day for dreams come true
For thinking big
And doing anything you want to do
Let’s get happy
But it’s much too late you say
For doing this now
We should have done it then
Well it just goes to show
How wrong you can be
And how you really should know
That it’s never too late
To get up and go
Kick out the gloom
Kick out the blues
Tear out the pages with all the bad news
Pull down the mirrors and pull down the walls
Tear up the stairs and tear up the floors
Oh just burn down the house
Burn down the street
Turn everything red and the dream is complete
With the sound of your world
Going up in fire
It’s a perfect day to throw back your head
And kiss it all goodbye
The Cure, an emblematic band that spearheaded the post-punk movement with haunting melodies and introspective lyrics, often illustrates an atmosphere tinged with melancholy. Yet, in the midst of their iconic discography lies a hidden gem that flips the script: ‘Doing the Unstuck.’ This track from ‘Wish,’ their 1992 album, presents a narrative that blossoms with optimism, a stark departure from the gothic rock rulers’ typical brooding style.
In ‘Doing the Unstuck,’ lead singer Robert Smith invites listeners into a day so perfect it incites a metaphysical and emotional cleansing, urging an escape from the shadows into luminous revelry. The song’s vibrant energy dances between the chords, providing a rallying cry for seizing the day and shedding the weight of yesterday’s sorrows.
Burn Down the Past: A Call for Cathartic Rebellion
The enigmatic lyricism of The Cure has often explored the depths of desolation and despair, yet ‘Doing the Unstuck’ seems to set these familiar themes ablaze. The act of ‘setting fire to bridges, boats’ is emblematic of a dramatic severance from the drear of bygone days. Smith doesn’t just suggest moving on; he invokes a radical disassociation from the past—a rebirth born of fire and abandon.
The imagery is visceral, urging a destruction of negativity so complete that it leaves no stone unturned—or rather, no dreary world unscorched. There is an almost apocalyptic pleasure in the undoing of one’s former boundaries, an infectious defiance that pulses throughout the tune, dismantling sorrow with a pyrotechnic joy.
‘Kick Out the Gloom’: The Cure’s Prescription for Happiness
The track’s chorus reads like an indie manifesto for psychological uplift. With a direct simplicity, Smith’s lyrics command us to ‘kick out the gloom, kick out the blues.’ It’s not a suggestion but an imperative, leading a battle against the somber with an arsenal of positivity. The song becomes a wilderness where contemplation gives way to action, emboldening the listener to take tangible steps—tearing, pulling down, burning—to articulate their own joy.
The act of literally tearing out the pages with all the bad news is not just a commentary on changing one’s mindset, but a deeper social critique on consciously choosing to ignore the discouraging narratives that often populate media and public discourse, advocating for an inner revolution.
Dance to Your Own Rhythm: Freedom from Conformity
In ‘Doing the Unstuck,’ The Cure delves into the exuberance of nonconformity. The song’s buoyant directive to ‘dance like you can’t hear the beat’ encapsulates the sheer bliss of self-expression unfettered by societal expectations. It lifts the soul into an enclave where the awkward, the out-of-step, and the unconventional are not just accepted but celebrated.
Smith’s refusal to give ‘a further thought to things like feet’ is a poetic dismissal of perfection and precision, advocating a carefree abandon where one’s internal rhythm and raw emotion dictate the dance. The sentiment captures the heart of The Cure’s message in this song: embrace your authenticity, even if it means skipping to a beat only you can hear.
A Perfect Day to Kiss It All Goodbye: The Song’s Hidden Meaning
Amidst the rosy calls to action, ‘Doing the Unstuck’ hides a deeper undercurrent, a subtext that speaks to the transient nature of happiness. The perfect day ‘to throw back your head and kiss it all goodbye’ hints at a liberating impermanence—that moments of joy, like everything else, eventually fade. But rather than mourn their passing, Smith suggests we welcome them with open arms, embracing the ephemeral peaks with the same vigor we disdain our valleys.
This duality provides a mature reckoning with reality: it is an acknowledgment of life’s inherent flux and an invitation to worship at the altar of the present. In doing so, The Cure transforms the song from a simple anthem of happiness to a profound contemplation on the philosophy of living.
Memorable Lines that Define a Generation’s Zeal for Life
The Cure has never shied away from crafting lyrics that resonate with the emotional zeitgeist of their audience. In ‘Doing the Unstuck,’ the straightforward yet potent ‘Let’s get happy!’ becomes a rallying cry that transcends the song’s four-minute confinement, etching itself in the cultural lexicon. It appears not as a simple suggestion but as a movement, an awakening that channels the collective yearning for brightness within a world often shaded gray.
‘Doing the Unstuck’ emerges as more than just a track. It solidifies its place in the annals of music history as a timeless ode to the power of optimism, an ode that continues to inspire those who refuse to remain tethered to nostalgia or despair. The Cure’s song is an unapologetic celebration of change, a soundtrack for the undaunted spirits daring to transform their stitch in time with jubilant revolt.
