☝️ Key Points
- Memory and deep longing for a lost person, represented through photos (Pictures of You).
- Reliving old shared times, including the love and closeness of the person depicted.
- Expression of deep pain and loss, as well as portraying the person as lost and fragile.
- The singer expresses regret for not finding the right words to sustain the love.
- Longing and desire to no longer feel the pain left by the loss and to always keep the depicted person in the heart.
Interpretation
The song lyrics 'Pictures of You' by
The Cure is an emotional ballad about loss, memory, and regret. The singer describes his deep connection to someone who is no longer there - likely due to a breakup or death. He only has photos ('pictures of you') that remind him of this person. The photos are so real to him that he almost believes they are the actual person ('That I almost believe that they're real').
He reminisces about shared times, the silence in the rain, their shared kisses, and the closeness they had ('You standing quiet in the rain... And we kissed as the sky fell in'). There is also a memory of courage and letting go ('And you finally found all your courage To let it all go').
The verses express sadness and loss as he remembers how the person fell into his arms and cried for the 'death of your heart' ('You fallen into my arms Crying for the death of your heart'). The person is portrayed as lost and fragile ('You were stone white So delicate Lost in the cold').
The singer expresses regret and remorse for not finding the right words to hold onto the person's heart ('If only I'd thought of the right words I could have held on to your heart'). He feels broken and shattered by the loss ('I wouldn't be breaking apart All my pictures of you').
At the end of the song, the lyrics show a longing and unspoken desire to feel the person deep in his heart and never experience the pain of breaking apart again ('There was nothing in the world That I ever wanted more Than to never feel the breaking apart All my pictures of you').