You want to know why I hate you?
Well I'll try and explain.
You remember that day in Paris
When we wandered through the rain
And promised to each other
That we'd always think the same
And dreamed that dream
To be two souls as one
And stopped just as the sun set
And waited for the night
Outside a glittering building
Of glittering glass and burning light
And in the road before us
Stood a weary greyish man
Who held a child upon his back
A small boy by the hand
The three of them were dressed in rags
And thinner than the air
And all six eyes stared fixedly on you

The father's eyes said "Beautiful!
How beautiful you are!"
The boy's eyes said
"How beautiful!
She shimmers like a star!"
The childs eyes uttered nothing
But a mute and utter joy
And filled my heart with shame for us
At the way we are

I turned to look at you
To read my thoughts upon your face
And gazed so deep into your eyes
So beautiful and strange
Until you spoke
And showed me understanding is a dream
"I hate these people staring
Make them go away from me!"

The fathers eyes said "Beautiful!
How beautiful you are!"
The boys eyes said
"How beautiful! She glitters like a star!"
The child's eyes uttered joy
And stilled my heart with sadness
For the way we are

And this is why I hate you
And how I understand
That no one ever knows or loves another

Or loves another



Lyrics submitted by oofus

Track duration: 05:13

"How Beautiful You Are" as written by Robert James Smith, Simon Gallup, Porl Thompson, Laurence Andrew Tolhurst, Boris Williams

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


How Beautiful You Are... song meanings
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32 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:This music is soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo beautiful, so we could say and how beautiful is Robert Smith!
    Flag arlesgirl7on January 16, 2013   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:"Adapted from a short story by Baudelaire, Les Yeux des Pauvres. (Curenews -1992)

    It's from a Baudelaire short story. Someone gave me a book of Arthur Rimbaud, Baudelaire and Verlaine short stories and poems, and I read through them all and one just really struck me - because I'd actually written a song like that, round the time we were doing "Faith" about how you think that you really know someone, and you really love someone, and suddenly discover that they can react to something you find very important, and they react in a totally different way, and you can't believe that it's the same person.
    (Promotional 12" interview 1987)"

    excerpt.
    Flag Aybwashereon January 11, 2013   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I love Baudelaire, and I can't believe how beautiful this song is! The music, text and vocals are perfection!
    Flag Froggy77on October 15, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I love Baudelaire, and I can't believe how beautiful this song is! The music, text and vocals are perfection!
    Flag Froggy77on October 15, 2012   Link
  • 0
    My Opinion:I love Baudelaire, and I can't believe how beautiful this song is!!! The music, text and vocals are perfect!!!!
    Flag Froggy77on October 15, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I agree with many of the comments, except that the soul mate part of this song is really just a canvas for the picture of selfishness innately in humans. The singer is shamed by the recognition of his own selfish ugliness that takes more than it can use. His hatred of the woman is a result of her blindness to her own selfishness and good fortune. I don't think Boudelaire was a romantic in the sense he did not think we were all inherently beautiful.
    Flag reconcileon August 23, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Beautiful music, gorgeous voice and amazing band, still the best British band to this day!
    Flag happy7on April 16, 2012   Link
  • 0
    Song Meaning:I'm baffled by how every poster here totally ignores the two who cite the Baudelaire text, and continue to ascribe all that is good/ bad/ profound/ moving etc in this song to Robert Smith and the Cure, even though a glance at "The Eyes of the Poor" shows that the song is adopted practically verbatim from the piece in Spleen of Paris. It's a little bit like crediting Hendrix with the lyrics to "All Along the Watchtower" or complimenting Kenneth Branagh with coming up with such a great story for "Hamlet." I mean, I bet Robert Smith would be depressed or embarassed that his fans can't get up a little more curiousity than that - I'm sure he'd love to take credit for turning some folks on to Baudelaire, who totally rocks.
    Flag izviniteon October 27, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I don't understand how the man could sing a song like this without just breaking down in tears midway through the performance. That is real strength.
    Flag Nukuleleon September 01, 2011   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:I adore this song, and how poetic Robert truly is.. I agree with people on this one. It's about being so in love that you actually want this person you're with to be just like you. Like melting together in some way, as one person. You want the other person to be able to read your thoughts and the other way around - "understanding is a dream"... That's so true. It's mostly a dream when you're with somebody. Sometimes you're so in love with somebody that you can't or even refuse to see their true colors. Maybe that's why says in the end: "No one really knows or loves another" - It's all in our imagination. Pretty chynical though, but not far away from the truth. Love is a strange thing, and this song definetely makes you wonder.
    Amazing. The Cure is amazing!!
    Flag Unusualon March 29, 2011   Link

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