Just like Heaven

by The Cure

A cascade of shimmering guitars and a driving rhythm create a euphoric yet bittersweet ode to a perfect, dreamlike moment of love.
Release Date May 25, 1987
Duration 03:32
Album Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me
Language EN

Emotions

anger
bittersweet
calm
excitement
fear
hope
joy
longing
love
nostalgia
sadness
sensual
tension
triumph

Mood

positive
negative
neutral
mixed

Song Analysis for Just like Heaven

"Just Like Heaven" is predominantly a song about a moment of pure, ecstatic joy and love, so perfect it feels unreal. Robert Smith, the band's frontman and lyricist, has stated the song was inspired by a trip to the seaside at Beachy Head with his then-girlfriend and future wife, Mary Poole. The lyrics capture a feeling of being dizzyingly in love, a state Smith described as "hyperventilating — kissing and fainting to the floor." The opening lines, "Show me, show me, show me how you do that trick," have a dual meaning, referring both to childhood magic tricks and the 'seduction trick' of love.

However, the song is layered with a characteristic Cure-like melancholy and ambiguity. The blissful memory is framed by a sudden awakening to solitude. The final verse, "found myself alone, alone, alone above a raging sea / That stole the only girl I loved / And drowned her deep inside of me," shifts the tone dramatically. This has led to interpretations of the song being about a love that is lost, or a moment so perfect it can only exist in memory or a dream. The girl isn't literally dead; rather, the perfect moment is gone, and she now exists only within him, a cherished but painful memory. It encapsulates the bittersweet nature of happiness, the idea that such perfect moments are ephemeral, making the experience both euphoric and heartbreaking.

Was this analysis helpful?

Most Frequently Used Words in This Song

like alone kissed love soft lost lonely dream spinning dizzy edge face head dreamed different ways make glow far away said won ever know strange angels dancing deepest oceans twisting

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about this song

Released on the same day as Just like Heaven (May 25)

Songs released on this date in history

Song Discussion - Just like Heaven by The Cure

Leave a comment

No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!