Lovesong

The most striking aspect of Lovesong is its apparent simplicity and directness, something that Robert Smith, leader of The Cure, himself acknowledged as a turning point in his career. He explained that it took him a decade to reach the point of feeling comfortable singing a straightforward love song, without trying to be witty or disguise his feelings. The lyrics, with a repetitive structure in their verses ("Whenever I'm alone with you / you make me feel like I am ... again"), aim to be an open expression of emotion, something he considered difficult to do due to the risk of being taken lightly. This quality, according to Smith, is what helps the album Disintegration not be perceived as a work of a single nuance, adding a warmth that contrasts with other pieces on the record.

This song was released as the third single from Disintegration, The Cure's eighth studio album, on August 21, 1989. It was composed by Robert Smith, Simon Gallup, Porl Thompson, Roger O'Donnell, and Boris Williams, with lyrics written by Smith. The recording took place at Hookend Recording Studios, in Checkendon, Oxfordshire, in late 1988 and early 1989, with production by David M. Allen and Robert Smith himself. Although Smith considered it the weakest track on the album, Lovesong achieved notable success in the United States, reaching second place on the Billboard Hot 100 in October 1989, thus becoming the band's only song to reach the top 10 of that chart. In the United Kingdom, the single ranked 18th, and also had a presence in the top 20 in Canada and Ireland. The single version features a slightly different mix than the album version, with more reverb and added vocal harmonies.