The opening track of Wish, appropriately titled “Open”, first saw release when a remix of the track was the b-side on select releases of the album’s first single “High”.
In 1992, Rolling Stone described the track as:
…a portrayal of one man’s reflexive drinking done with a steady sway of drumming,...
[Verse 1]
I really don't know what I'm doing here
I really think I should've gone to bed tonight
But just one drink and there are some people to meet you
I think that you'll like them, I have to say, we do tonight
I promise in less than an hour, we will honestly go
Now why don't I just get you another
While you just say hello
Yeah, just say hello
Just say hello
[Verse 2]
So I'm clutching it tight, another glass in my hand
And my mouth and the smiles moving up as I stand up
Too close and too wide and the smiles are too bright
And I breathe in too deep and my head's getting light
But the air is getting heavier and it's closer
I'm starting to sway
And the hands all on my shoulders don't have names
And won't go away
So here I go
Here I go again
[Bridge 1]
Falling into strangers and it's only just eleven
I'm staring like a child until someone slips me Heaven
Take it on my knees just like a thousand times before
I get transfixed, that fixed
And I'm just looking at the floor
Just looking at the floor
Yeah, I look at the floor
[Verse 3]
I'm starting to laugh like an animal in pain
I've got blood on my hands, I've got hands in my brain
The first shot of retch leaves me gasping for more
I stagger over screaming on my way to the floor
And I'm back on my back
With the lights and the lies in my eyes
And the colour and the music's too loud
And my head's all the wrong size
So here I go, here I go again
[Bridge 2]
Yeah, I laugh and I jump, and I sing and I laugh
And I dance and I laugh, and I laugh and I laugh
And I can't seem to think where this is
Who I am, why I'm keeping this going
Keep pouring it out, keep pouring it down
Keeping it going, keep pouring it down
And the way the rain comes down hard
That's the way I feel inside
[Verse 4]
I can't take it anymore, this it I've become
This is it like I get when my life's going numb
I just keep moving my mouth, I just keep moving my feet
I say, "I'm loving you to death like I'm losing my breath"
And all the smiles that I wear and all the games that I play
And all the drinks that I mix and I drink until I'm sick
And all the faces I make and all the shapes that I throw
And all the people I meet and all the words that I know
Makes me sick to the heart, oh, I feel so tired
And the rain comes down hard
That's how I feel inside
[Outro]
And the rain comes down hard
That's how I feel inside
And the rain comes down hard
That's how I feel inside
Open was written by Robert Smith & Simon Gallup & Perry Bamonte & Pearl Thompson & Boris Williams.
Open was produced by The Cure & Robert Smith & Dave Allen.
THIS SONG WAS ONE OF MINE… AS SOON AS I FOUND THIS TUNING ON MY GUITAR AND WROTE THE OPENING THREE CHORDS I KNEW IT WAS GOING TO BE THE ALBUM OPENER #TIMSTWITTERLISTENINGPARTY #WISHLISTENINGPARTY— The Cure (@thecure) November 25, 2022