A Forest

"A Forest"
Single by The Cure
from the album Seventeen Seconds
Released	March 28, 1980 (UK)
Format	7", 12"
Genre	Gothic rock
Length	7" - 3:54 12" - 5:55
Label	Fiction
Producer	Mike Hedges Robert Smith
The Cure singles chronology
"Jumping Someone Else's Train" (1979) "A Forest" (1980) "Primary" (1981)

"A Forest" is a single by the English rock band The Cure, released on March 28, 1980 as the only single from their second album Seventeen Seconds. It was their first chart single in the UK, reaching #31; the song was also a hit in the Netherlands, reaching #26. It was also their first single to be released on the 12" single format, which was able to feature the un-edited album version. The 7" single version omits the initial guitar and keyboard introduction, removes a few bars between verses and fades out part way through the guitar solo ending, making it approximately two minutes shorter. Versions subsequently released on various compilations such as Standing on a Beach as the "single" version vary slightly from the 7" single edit in that they restore the guitar solo ending to its full length.

History

The lyrics tell a vague story about a man looking for a girl in a forest. He hears her calling for him, and as he chases her, he suddenly stops and realizes that he is lost and that the girl is not there. The song is fairly upbeat compared to the other material on the album, and Lol Tolhurst's machine-like steady beat together with Simon Gallup's minimalistic bassline gives this nervous chase more depth and keeps the song on the edge of a frantic groove until the end.^{[citation needed]} Former drummer for The Cure, Andy Anderson said A Forest was the first song by the band he ever heard. He "fell in love with it" and the songs vocals, Robert Smith's guitar work, and the keyboards, which he describes as "haunting." The drums, he believed were straightforward and "all that is needed on it."

Though not their biggest hit, it is regarded by many fans and critics as one of the best examples of The Cure's sound, particularly their use of chorusing effects. The song is also notable for securing the band its first slot on BBC's Top of the Pops.

Re-recordings and cover versions

The track has been re-recorded a number of times by The Cure. In 1990, the track was re-recorded and remixed as the "Tree mix" on the band's Mixed Up album. It was redone for the second time on the Join the Dots box set this time remixed by Mark Plati and featuring Earl Slick on guitar. An acoustic version was recorded and released on the bonus disc that came with some copies of the 2001 Greatest Hits CD. Robert Smith supplied vocals for a Blank & Jones cover version in 2003.

The song has also been covered by:

• Creaming Jesus on their 1990 EP Bark and it has been included on a number of compilations, including Zwischenfall - From The 80's To The 90's Vol. 2, Gothic Rock 3 - Black On Black - Best Of 80's Collection and Gothic Party Time
• Waltari on their 1994 album So Fine
• Mark Hoppus' first band, The Attic Children in 1989
• Carpathian Forest on their debut album Black Shining Leather (1998)
• Minimalistix in 2001, released by Sphear Records
• Nouvelle Vague on their first album Nouvelle Vague (2004)
• Ror-Shak, released in 2005, on their only album Deep
• Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree covered the song on the third release of his Cover Version series in 2006
• A Dream of Poe on their 2006 demo release Delirium Tremens
• Toadies on their 2008 album No Deliverance
• Bat for Lashes on the B-side of the 7" pressing of her 2009 single "Daniel"
• British Sea Power on the Pictures of You: Tribute to The Cure NME compilation CD
• Sophie Barker in 2011 as a double A-side single A Forest / Say Goodbye

1981 "Robert Palmer" version

The most notorious performance of this song is the so-called "Robert Palmer" version, performed at the Werchter Festival in Belgium, July 5, 1981. Everything was late at the festival, and the crowd was mostly there to see artists that were at the time bigger than The Cure, such as Dire Straits and Robert Palmer, of whom the latter happened to be the next on stage after The Cure. After twelve songs, Palmer's roadies said that if The Cure didn't stop playing soon, they would pull the plug. They reached a compromise that they would play one song before they left, opting for "A Forest", which they decided to play a lot longer than what was normal at the time (almost ten minutes), with Robert Smith adding some lyrics improvised on the spot (including the words: "Such a long end" repeated several times). When the band finally finished, bass player Simon Gallup yelled into the microphone: "Fuck Robert Palmer, and fuck rock 'n' roll!" Palmer's roadies responded by throwing The Cure's gear off the back of the stage [1].

References in popular culture

This track is featured in the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, released for the PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 2 consoles. The song can be heard on Wave 103 while driving. It also appeared on Trigger Happy TV.

The song is mentioned in the novel As Simple as Snow by Gregory Galloway.

Track listing

7" single

1. "A Forest" - single version
2. "Another Journey by Train"

12" single

1. "A Forest" - album version
2. "Another Journey by Train"

Personnel

• Robert Smith - voice, guitar
• Simon Gallup - bass
• Matthieu Hartley - keyboards
• Lol Tolhurst - drums

External links

• Lyrics for A Forest
• Video performance of A Forest from the Werchter Festival
• Video performance of A Forest Rare Acoustic Version