Behind the Songs: Sleep Comes Down

A selection of quotes from The Psychedelic Furs on the song "Sleep Comes Down".

Richard Butler: "In 'Sleep Comes Down,' when it says, 'The orchestra's playing so very loud,' the cello builds a little orchestral part, and then sinks back down." (The Baltimore Sun 1983)

Richard Butler: "I was trying to get to sleep while my brother Tim and Vince Ely were in the next room rehearsing. I was wishing I could get to sleep, and I thought, 'Oh, "Sleep Comes Down" would be a great title.' So I got up and wrote it down to what they were playing, and then went in and sang it. Fit perfectly, especially when we added the cellos." (Boston Rock 1983)

Richard Butler (on being asked if the use of the cello on Forever Now was inspired by the psychedelic period of The Beatles): "It was a definite influence, though I don't think we used it like The Beatles, except for 'Sleep Comes Down' which is a lot like the end of 'A Day In The Life.' But that was just a lick that seemed perfect for the song, so I thought, 'Why not?'" (Creem 1983)

Tim Butler: "Have you seen the new [videos] yet, 'Run And Run' and 'Sleep Comes Down'? They're gonna start comin' on now. We've just finished them and they've given 'em to MTV. One of them's been played in L.A. or San Diego." (Public News 1983)

Tim Butler: "This song started out as a bass riff which had been kicking around in sound checks on the Talk Talk Talk tour. One night while rehearsing in Woodstock, for the Forever Now album, Vince and I were messing with it in the studio's rehearsal barn. Richard heard us while he was catching up on his lyric writing, and came down to the barn and started singing. P.S. The flanged bass filled up the sound so much there was no room for guitar (sorry John)." (Should God Forget liner notes, 1997)

Richard Butler (on the songs that stand out to him lyrically on Forever Now): "I always liked the mood of 'Sleep Comes Down' a lot, that was always very dreamy. 'No Easy Street' I also liked a lot. And there was a track that never made it onto the album, called 'I Don't Want To Be Your Shadow,' which I always loved the feeling of as well." (iJamming! 2001)

John Ashton: "That one's kind of a bit of a game-changer, I guess. That really featured the cello in a way in which we'd never featured it before on [Forever Now]. And it really kind of set the tone. It's a big favorite with a lot of people. I like it. There's not really any guitar playing on it on the album. There really wasn't time. I was trying to figure out something to do which was along the cello lines, but it never got done, and it was, like, 'Well, okay, it's good enough.' It's great live, though. I'm always trying to add stuff to it live. It's still a favorite today. A lot of people like it. It was a little bit of bother to me at the time, I think. At the time, I was, like, 'Well, I'm trying to find a part here,' and I couldn't find one. Really, what I ended up doing live was doubling what the cello was doing, anyway. So, y'know, I guess you don't really miss it on the record. But it's not there. Live, it just kind of made everything a little bit larger, a little bit bigger. I like the song a lot, though." (Popdose 2012)

Tim Butler: "I don't think there is guitar on ['Love My Way']. Live, we used to put guitar in it. The same thing with 'Sleep Comes Down' -- there's no guitar." (Westword 2013)