Never Enough by The Cure

Album: Galore (1990)

Charted: 13 72

License This Song

lyrics

artistfacts

Songfacts®:

Robert Smith explained: "The song is about excess. Anything I do is not enough, there always has to be something else or you'd stop, and the fact that there is always something else drives you into excess."
Smith wrote this song after they had been in the studio for three days trying to record a single for their album Mixed Up. He says, "We recorded four songs and they sounded like crap, and I was really depressed. Everyone knew it wasn't working. I wrote Never Enough that night and said, 'Let's record this.'" (Interview by Christina at a Pirate Radio broadcast in October 1990. Courtesy: www.musicfanclubs.org.)
Although Perry Bamonte is on the cover and music video, he is not included on the credits for this single. He only joined The Cure later in the year.
According to Smith, this song inspired The Cure to "become a guitar band again" following the gloomy sound of their 1989 album Disintergration. (Melody Maker, 1992)

Comments: 2

Mark Saunders from Stroud, UkThis is not exactly how it happened actually....I was there working with the band. It was just Robert and I working on a song called 'Harold and Joe' which later became a b-side. It was a quirky mostly programmed electronic track. The rest of the band were there and getting increasingly frustrated because they were not being used by Robert to play on anything. I could sense that they were not that happy with me, although it was Robert that was pushing to go in the more electronic direction....I personally loved the glorious sound of Robert with the full band. One day the band walked into the live room of the studio where I was working with Robert (we were in the control room). I remembered being glared at by Simon....they all looked pretty pissed off - understandably. They started jamming together. We couldn't hear it because the soundproofing between the rooms was great - I could just see them through the big window. After a while Robert went off to the bathroom. I was curious. We only had one vocal mic set up to record Robert - a beautiful vintage Neumann 47. I opened up that channel on the desk to hear what the band was playing and was blown away by what I heard. It sounded exactly like they looked - a combination of passion and anger. I think their intention was to blow what Robert and I were doing out of the water - and they certainly did that. When Robert can back into the room, I said 'Listen to this!'. He loved it and immediately went in and started working with them on the track. And as they worked out what would become 'Never Enough', myself and the studio assistant started furiously miking up the drums and guitar amps etc in an attempt to capture this glorious noise while the emotions were still raw. It was a wonderful experience to witness. In my memory, it all happened very quickly after that.....but maybe Robert wrote the lyric overnight and we recorded him sing the next day. One things for sure though, the main riff of the song was written while the band were jamming it out before Robert got involved.

Incidentally, the first day I walked into the studio for that session, I passed a room where Perry was on his own playing a keyboard with a pair of headphones on. the studio assistant told me that they'd just told him he was upgraded from roadie to keyboard player as Robert had just fired Roger. Quite the upgrade! Perry was extremely nervous and busy learning all the keyboard parts. He later switched to guitar. I was very happy for him, he's a lovely guy.
April from Houston, Txooops I had to edit it correctly. It will read correctly now. but i didn't like this song at first. it grated my nerves until i realized the song is about that feeling. it is never enough and that's frustrating.

see more comments

More Songfacts:

The UnforgivenMetallica

On Metallica's "The Unforgiven," James Hetfield modeled his vocals on Chris Isaak

I'll WaitVan Halen

Michael McDonald co-wrote the Van Halen song "I'll Wait."

Under The BridgeRed Hot Chili Peppers

The Red Hot Chili Peppers' biggest hit is "Under The Bridge," a ballad not typical of their sound. Frontman Anthony Kiedis wrote the lyric after an acute bout of loneliness.

Total Eclipse Of The HeartBonnie Tyler

"Total Eclipse Of The Heart" by Bonnie Tyler is a tribute to the vampire movie Nosferatu, depicting an immortal "love in the dark."

Hey MamaDavid Guetta

The bedrock of David Guetta's Nicki Minaj-featuring single "Hey Mama" is a sample of "Rosie," a 1940s prison recording from folk archivist Alan Lomax that songwriter Esther Dean first showed the French DJ on YouTube.

Rum and Coca-ColaThe Andrews Sisters

The '40s hit "Rum and Coca-Cola" is really about American soldiers soliciting prostitutes in Trinidad.

Editor's Picks

Susanna Hoffs - "Eternal Flame"They're Playing My Song

The Prince-penned "Manic Monday" was the first song The Bangles heard coming from a car radio, but "Eternal Flame" is closest to Susanna's heart, perhaps because she sang it in "various states of undress."

Christopher CrossSongwriter Interviews

The man who created Yacht Rock with "Sailing" wrote one of his biggest hits while on acid.

Tom Bailey of Thompson TwinsSongwriter Interviews

Tom stopped performing Thompson Twins songs in 1987, in part because of their personal nature: "Hold Me Now" came after an argument with his bandmate/girlfriend Alannah Currie.

Wolfgang Van HalenSongwriter Interviews

Wolfgang Van Halen breaks down the songs on his debut album, Mammoth WVH, and names the definitive Van Halen songs from the Sammy and Dave eras.

Emilio Castillo from Tower of PowerSongwriter Interviews

Emilio talks about what it's like to write and perform with the Tower of Power horns, and why every struggling band should have a friend like Huey Lewis.

Amy Lee of EvanescenceSongwriter Interviews

The Evanescence frontwoman on the songs that have shifted meaning and her foray into kids' music.