To Forgive
"To Forgive" is a song from The Smashing Pumpkins' third studio album, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. It is a slow song written by Billy Corgan about his childhood. It is a reference to the themes of teenage angst and depression. The title may be a play on the idiom "forgive and forget", while the lyrics describe Billy Corgan forgiving himself for past regrets.
Unlike many other songs on the album, "To Forgive" doesn't feature multi-layered guitar production, and features only drums, bass, one live clean electric guitar and an e-bow track by James Iha, as well as layers of organ and Mellotron strings. Reportedly the guitar was recorded in one live take.[1]
Equipment[edit | edit source]
In a 2016 interview with Tape-Op, Corgan said he used a Fender Bassman amp on "To Forgive". It occasionally malfunctioned, producing a sound "like a storm coming" which at points can be heard in the recording.[2]
Lyrics[edit | edit source]
ten times removed
i forget about where it all began
bastard son of a bastard son of
a wild eyed child of the sun
and right as rain, i'm not the same but
i feel the same, i feel nothing
holding back the fool again
holding back the fool pretends
i forget to forget nothing is important
holding back the fool again
i sensed my loss
before i even learned to talk
and i remember my birthdays
empty party afternoons won't come back
holding back the fool again
holding back the fool pretends
i forget to forget nothing is important
holding back the fool again
i forget to forget me
i forget to forget you see
nothing is important to me
i knew my loss
before i even learned to speak
and all along, i knew it was wrong
but i played along, with my birthday song
holding back the fool again
holding back the fool pretends
i forget to forget nothing is important
holding back the fool again
Availability
| Title | Notes | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago Tapes and Unreleased Demos | Bootleg | |
| Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness | Disc one – Dawn to Dusk | Studio |
| MCIS Demos I | Bootleg | |
| The Aeroplane Flies High | 2013 Reissue CD 3: Zero | Box set |
| Billy's Gravity Demos I | Bootleg | |
| Thirty Days | Video | |
| MCIS Demos III |
Tour stats
- Total plays: 138 plays (136 full, 1 tease, 1 abandoned), 27 acoustic, 1 piano, 2 artists
- First performance: The Smashing Pumpkins 1995-02-20 at Double Door, Chicago, IL, US
- Last performance: The Smashing Pumpkins 2024-09-28 at Petco Park, San Diego, CA, US (VIP)
- Last non-VIP performance: Billy Corgan 2019-11-20 at Gramercy Theatre, New York, NY, US
Personnel[edit | edit source]
- Billy Corgan – guitar, vocals, organ, Mellotron, production, recording, mixing
- James Iha – guitar, recording
- D'arcy Wretzky – bass
- Jimmy Chamberlin – drums
- Flood – production, recording, mixing
- Alan Moulder – production, recording, mixing
- Chris Shepard – recording
- Barry Goldberg – recording, mixing assistance
- Dave Kresl – recording assistance
- Claudine Pontier – recording assistance
- Howie Weinberg – mastering
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Thomas, Richard. "Signal to Noise: The Sonic Diary of the Smashing Pumpkins". EQ Magazine. October 2008.
- ↑ Brown, Jake (October 2016). "Smashing Pumpkins: A studio history with Billy Corgan, Flood, Jimmy Chamberlin, Butch Vig, Alan Moulder, and Tommy Lee". Tape-Op. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
External links[edit | edit source]
- "To Forgive" at SPFC