About The Song
“Primary” is a song by English rock band The Cure, released as the sole single from their third studio album, Faith, on 27 March 1981. It reached number 43 in the UK Singles Chart.
The song is unusual in that both Simon Gallup and Robert Smith play bass, with the effects pedals on Smith’s giving the leads a unique sound. There are no guitars (other than bass) or keyboards played in the song.
“Primary” was the first song by The Cure to be remixed as a separate extended mix for release on 12″ single (and not co-released on other formats, in the way the 12″ version of “A Forest” was also the album version appearing on Seventeen Seconds, for example). In fact, the original 12″ extended mix is, to this day, still only available on the original 12″ single, which has never been reproduced on any other album, making it quite a rare item. The main difference between the 7″ mix (also the album mix) and the 12″ mix is that the extended mix lengthens the instrumental introductions to the song’s verses.
Upon the single release David Hepworth of Smash Hits expressed his admiration for Robert Smith and wondered “how long The Cure can continue to prop their songs against the same chord progression, with its clambering bass and deadpan drums.”
Video
Lyrics
The innocence of sleeping children
Dressed in white and slowly dreaming
Stops all time
I slow my steps and start to blur
So many years have filled my heart
I never thought I’d say those words
Further we go
And older we grow
The more we know
The less we show
Further we go
And older we grow
The more we know
The less we show
The very first time I saw your face
I thought of a song and quickly changed the tune
The very first time I touched your skin
I thought of a story and rushed to reach the end too soon
Oh, remember
Oh, please don’t change
And so the fall came, thirteen years
A shiny ring, and how I could forget your name
The air no longer in my throat
Another perfect lie is choked
But it always feels the same
So they, close together
Dressed in red and yellow
Innocent forever
Sleeping children, in their blue soft rooms
Still dream
Further we go
And older we grow
The more we know
The less we show
Further we go
And older we grow
The more we know
The less we show