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, 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."

Theories about the 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 could also be a reference to 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').

It could also be a reference to Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five, in which aliens capture a man named Billy Pilgrim and when he asks why, they respond "There is no why."

Additionally, in The Empire Strikes Back, Luke Skywalker asks Yoda why he cannot use The Force for attack purposes, to which Yoda replies, "No, no, there is no why. Nothing more will I teach you today. Clear your mind of questions."