Sleep When I'm Dead

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"Sleep When I'm Dead"
Sleepwhenimdead.jpg
Single by The Cure
from the album 4:13 Dream
A-side "Sleep When I'm Dead" (Mix 13)
B-side "Down Under"
Released13 July 2008
Recorded2008
Length3:51
Label Geffen
Songwriter(s) Robert Smith, Simon Gallup, Jason Cooper, Porl Thompson
Producer(s) Robert Smith, Keith Uddin
The Cure singles chronology
"Freakshow"
(2008)
"Sleep When I'm Dead"
(2008)
"The Perfect Boy"
(2008)

"Sleep When I'm Dead" is a single by the British band The Cure released on 13 July 2008 on Geffen Records in the United Kingdom. It was pushed back to 15 July in the United States to comply with the tradition of releasing songs on a Tuesday. It has the distinction of including a keyboard part despite the fact that the band has not had a keyboardist in their lineup since 2005, although "The Only One" and "NY Trip" feature piano parts.

Contents

Robert Smith told Rolling Stone the song was originally written during sessions for the band's 1985 album The Head on the Door [1] and had the working title of "Kat 8." [2]

Reception

Anthony Strutt of Penny Black Music "It has a weird ‘The Top’-like essence to it, and an almost prayer style vocal from Robert Smith. The guitar is quite soft, but is wah-wah flavoured, giving it that mid 80’s Cure feel, which is a good thing." and said that the B-side "Down Under" "is more laid back and reflective in tone, but also has that classic Cure sound." [3]

God Is in the TV dismissed the song saying it "isn’t fit to lick the Doctor Marten boots of even the most dreadful songs from 1987’s Kiss me Kiss me Kiss me album, despite being written around that time and bearing all the generic low grind guitar menace, agitated vocals, and middle eastern jangle." [4] Uncut said the song had a "sky-scraping, obsolescence-defying chorus", feeling it was "excellent enough to join the classic Cure canon." [5]

Track listing

  1. "Sleep When I'm Dead (Mix 13)" – 3:51
  2. "Down Under" – 3:05

Written by Cooper/Gallup/Smith/Thompson

Charts

Weekly chart performance for "Sleep When I'm Dead"
Chart (2008–2009)Peak
position
Australia (ARIA) [6] 84
France (SNEP) [7] 36
Germany (GfK) [8] 80
Scotland (OCC) [9] 18
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [10] 1
UK Singles (OCC) [11] 68

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References

  1. "Fall Music Preview". Rolling Stone . October 2008. p. 34.
  2. "The Cure's Discography: Robert Smith Looks Back - Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone . It's from the Head on the Door period ... At the moment the working title is Kat 8.
  3. Strutt, Anthony. "Cure - Sleep, When I'm Dead". www.pennyblackmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  4. Collier·Reviews·, Fliss (10 February 2023). "Freakshow: The Cure - 4:13 Dream - God Is In The TV" . Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  5. Uncut (12 November 2008). "The Cure - 4:13 Dream". UNCUT. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  6. "Issue 960" ARIA Top 100 Singles. National Library of Australia. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  7. "The Cure – Sleep When I'm Dead" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  8. "The Cure – Sleep When I'm Dead" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  9. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  10. "The Cure – Sleep When I'm Dead" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  11. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 January 2018.