THE CURE - A FOREST

"A Forest" is a song by the English band The Cure. it was released as a single from the band's second album “Seventeen Seconds” on 28 March 1980. It was their debut entry on the UK Singles Chart reaching #31. The track is representative of The Cure's 1980s gothic rock phase.

"A Forest," from The Cure's Seventeen Seconds album, tells a vague story of pursuit of a girl in a forest, which ends in loss. Many fans and critics regard this song in particular as a good example of The Cure's unique sound. Frontman Robert Smith described it as "a childhood dream (nightmare) that came true with adolescence." 

He also told Rockstar in 1984 that it was inspired by his experience of getting lost in the forest as a boy. "I try to capture that feeling of extreme fear I was being taken by and how - maybe in other ways - this type of unpleasant feeling can still be felt by anyone," he explained.

It was their first Top 40 hit on the UK singles chart, which garnered them their first appearance on the BBC's Top Of The Pops program. Also was the first Cure single to be released on the 12-inch single record format - the alternative 7-inch record single omits the initial guitar-and-keyboard introduction, skips a few bars between the verses, and it goes to a fade-out sooner in the guitar solo ending. All this makes it two minutes shorter on the smaller single.

This is one of The Cure's first hits, and certainly one of their most acclaimed songs. Today sounds as good as the first day.