Here Is No Why
"Here Is No Why" is a song from The Smashing Pumpkins' third studio album, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.
When asked about the "the death-rock boy" lyrics, Billy Corgan told Rolling Stone, "There’s a lot of me in that lyric. There’s certainly an acknowledgment of that self-absorbed woe-is-me thing. The chorus says a lot: 'In your sad machines you’ll forever stay.' It’s a wink back at the overly dramatic 18-year-old me."[1]
Song title
Some believe the title is a nod to the phrase "There is no why" from The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury. The phrase, and the song, describes the mindset of people who simply live their lives without questioning their existence.
The title is also reminiscent of Primo Levi's If This Is a Man, about Levi's time as a prisoner in Auschwitz. In the book there is an incident where Levi is thirsty, and breaks off an icicle dangling on the windowsill. A Nazi guard then aims his gun at him. Levi asks him 'Why?' and the guard replies, 'Here there is no why' ('Hier ist kein warum').
In the 2012 reissue of Mellon Collie, Corgan clarified that the "title was appropriated from an article I'd read on an anniversary of the world's first nuclear attacks. A survivor, in surveying a legacy of near-total devastation, had remarked in broken English that 'Here is no why.'"[2]
Videos
Lyrics
the useless drag of another day
the endless drags of a death rock boy
mascara sure and lipstick lost
glitter burned by restless thoughts
of being forgotten
and in your sad machines
you'll forever stay
desperate and displeased-with whoever you are
and you're a star
somewhere-he pulls his hair down-over a frowning smile
a hidden diamond you cannot find
a secret star that cannot shine over to you
may the king of gloom, be forever doomed
and in your sad machines
you'll forever stay
burning up in speed
lost inside the dreams, of teen machines
the useless drags, the empty days
the lonely towers of long mistakes
to forgotten faces and faded loves
sitting still was never enough
and if you're giving in, then you're giving up
cause in your sad machines
you'll forever stay
burning up in speed
lost inside the dreams, of teen machines
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 |
| MCIS Demos II | Bootleg | |
| MCIS Demos III |
Tour stats
- Total plays: 38 plays (35 full, 3 tease), 2 acoustic, 2 artists
- First performance: Starchildren 1994-06-18 at Double Door, Chicago, IL, US
- Last performance: The Smashing Pumpkins 1997-01-28 at Mullins Center, Amherst, MA, US
Presonnel
- Billy Corgan – guitar, vocals, production, recording, mixing
- James Iha – guitar
- D'arcy Wretzky – bass
- Jimmy Chamberlin – drums
- Flood – production, recording, mixing
- Alan Moulder – production, recording
- Chris Shepard – recording
- Claudine Pontier – recording assistance
- Dave Kresl – recording assistance
- Barry Goldberg – mixing assistance
- Howie Weinberg – mastering
References
- ↑ Fricke, David. "Billy Corgan: The Rolling Stone Interview". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
- ↑ Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness 2012 reissue liner notes