Cheer up, honey, I hope you can
There is something wrong with me
My mind is filled with silvery stars
Honey, kisses, clouds of fog
Shoulders shrugging off

Cheer up, honey, I hope you can
There is something wrong wit h me
My mind is filled with radio cures
Electronic surgical words

Picking apples for kings and queens of things I have never seen
Oh, distance has no way of making love understandable

Cheer up, honey, I hope you can
There is something wrong with me
My mind is filled with silvery stars
Honey, kisses, clouds of fog

Picking apples for the kings and queens of things I've never seen
Oh, distance has no way of making love understandable
Oh, distance has no way of making love understandable
Oh, distance has no way of making love understandable
Oh, distance the way of making love understandable
Oh, distance the way of making love understandable

Cheer up honey, I hope you can



Lyrics submitted by jonesth

Track duration: 05:09

"Radio Cure" as written by Jeffrey Scott/bennett Tweedy

Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., BUG MUSIC

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


Radio Cure song meanings
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33 Comments

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  • 0
    My Interpretation:His lover is upset because she does not understand him. He is trying to tell her that he is a dreamer, a child of the glory days of radio songs, a simpleton. He is not a normal person and he doesn't care that he is not normal. This is the distance that they feel. It is a song about two people ending a relationship sadly, but amicably.
    Flag JustLikeYourOpinionManon December 02, 2010   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:Gosh. This song cuts straight through me and lifts me up at the same time, more than any other Wilco song.
    Rarely can we can pin down the meaning of a song, its more of how it resounds within us, deep in our gut.
    Radio Cure, to me, is about pain and separation within in a relationship. The "honey kisses, clouds of fog (other sites and my ears hear fluff?)" reminds me of the beginning of a relationship, you're mind gets taken over, your head is filled "with silvery stars". "distance has no way of making love understandable", whether this distance is figurative or literal, distance makes a relationship confusing and each person begins to see it differently, they begin to change and reflect. Even in the beginning of the song, before Tweedy begins to sing, you can feel this distance, you feel as if you're in space. Once the silvery stars go away, "my mind is filled with radio cures, electronic surgical words". He's uses music to soothe him, to heal the pain he's feeling in this separation, the electronic surgical words cut into him and and to heal him, he's using music to cure him. But even the music holds distance, because its electronic and coming from some other person you will probably never meet.
    Flag Seawolfinon November 03, 2010   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:I think that the song is about a man who has terminal cancer- "there is something wrong with me"- who is saying goodbye to his lover.
    "Radio Cures" could refer to radiation therapy he is undergoing. However, it is not working. These "electronic surgical words" have no direct impact on his health. Later on he begins to succumb to death's pull- "My mind is filled with silvery stars"- and he begins to see heaven- "Honey, kisses, clouds of fog". He goes on to suggest that despite his metaphorical distance from our normal perception of earth (he is going up to heaven) he still cannot comprehend the sheer beauty of love; "Oh, distance has no way of making love understandable".
    Finally, he says goodbye by wishing "Cheer up honey, I hope you can...", in the hope that his lover will move on and enjoy the rest of her life knowing that he loved her and still does.

    That is one interpretation anyway...
    Flag lwarneron February 24, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Beautifulest song ever
    Flag ExoM7on February 23, 2010   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:I really like "distance has A way of making love understandable" way better.
    Because anyone who's been in a long distance relationship with someone they truly loved knows this is true...
    Flag NewMoonon September 18, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I agree PhillipPrill, about wanting to ease the mind of the other person. That's always what I thought about the lines "cheer up honey, I hope you can, there is something wrong with me" It's like a (sincere) way of saying 'it's not you; it's me.' And your idea about a head full of radio cure and surgical words makes a lot of sense.

    I am torn over whether or not I think that there is hope for the relationship though. I'm leaning towards no, but either way, jesus, this song just kills me.
    Flag artsluton July 22, 2009   Link
  • +1
    My Opinion:He misses his wife when he's on tour, he did not get a divorce. "Picking apples for kings and queens of things I have never seen": him making money for the people above him to earn things he will never be able to enjoy.
    Flag musicjammer34on June 13, 2009   Link
  • +5
    My Interpretation:Hi there. I just joined because I'm impressed by the thought put into many of these interpretations. Many people overlook the genius behind Boss Tweedy's songwriting.
    I wanted to begin by addressing sugrpophrtstop's question regarding the lyric of "picking apples for the kings and queens of things I've never seen"
    I believe that to be Jeff's way of showing the faith that he still has in his wife and their relationship.
    Sometimes in a relationship you do things for the other person even though you may be at the point that you don't
    know why anymore. So it's like doing something in vain faith hoping that there will be some kind of benefit from it.
    Also, as a musician I garnered a slightly different interpretation of this song than the others. I certainly don't
    disagree with the fact that a radio cure is what we listen to in order to get us through the hard times. But from
    Jeff's perspective, a musicican, i think that what he means by his mind being filled with radio cures is that his
    mind is filled with songs he wants to write in order to ease his wife's mind even though she's probably tired of
    him using music as a way of apology and righting the wrong as opposed to him just using normal speech to say I'm sorry
    and I'll do better. The same way comedians have rough relationships because their spouses complain that to him/her,
    everything is a joke. Well, comedy is the only way that a comedian may know how to deal with problems. The same
    goes for musicians. Music may be the only way for that person to deal with problems. Regarding the lyric "my mind
    is filled with silvery stars..." I think Jeff is saying that his mind is filled with big ideas of how he can win
    his wife's heart with his music even though it hasn't worked before. It's a trippy song and just wonderful.
    Flag PhillipPrillon April 18, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:can someone explain the "picking apples for the kings and queens of things I've never seen" part? i don't quite understand it.
    Flag sugrpophrtstopon March 28, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:sometimes during live performances jeff changes the line to "distance has A way of making love understandable" and he'll changed between that and "distance has NO way of making love understandable".
    and then he'll kinda muddle the word so you can't tell the difference. making the line and meaning not understandable...not sure if i'm reading too much into that, but i like to think that he's that clever
    Flagged traceabideson February 26, 2009   Link

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