All Cats Are Grey Lyrics
I never thought that I would find myself
In bed amongst the stones
The columns are all men begging to crush me
No shapes sail on the dark deep lakes
And no flags wave me home
[Chorus]
In the caves, all cats are grey
In the caves, the texture coats my skin
In the death cell, a single note rings on and on and on
About
The early demos being written for the band’s third album Faith were upbeat, but one night Robert Smith wrote “All Cats Are Grey” (and “The Funeral Party”) and “that really set the tone for the album”, which ended up very somber.
In 1989, Smith explained the song is about being ‘trapped in caves’ (and about ‘growing old’). This supports the claim from fans the song was inspired by Gormenghast novels where one of the characters lives in seclusion in caves. Lol Tolhurst shared in 2016 that “All Cats Are Grey” was written about his mother’s death.
“All cats are grey in the dark” is a proverb that goes back as far the 16th century and professes that physical appearance is meaningless.
Founding member Lol Tolhurst’s mother Daphne, who was also the inspiration behind the content, told him she used to use the phrase ‘all cats are grey’.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
Robert Smith said in a 1989 fanzine that the song is about:
a nightmare of being lost / trapped in caves – echoes of the grave and of prison cells and again of growing old.
Lol Tolhurst shared in 2016:
I had a hand in some Cure lyrics so obviously they were from my own experiences, like “All Cats are Grey” which was about my mother’s death. But also Robert’s words have always helped me too. We went through many of the same things together growing up so they are relevant to me also.
- 2.Primary
- 3.Other Voices
- 4.All Cats Are Grey
- 6.Doubt
- 8.Faith
