This article will focus on the song “Alone” by The Cry, an American indie rock band from San Diego. It appears on their 1990 album Beautiful Reasons. Although the band isn’t particularly well-known internationally, it holds a special place in skate culture. Their album gained cult status after some of its tracks were featured in “Hokus Pokus,” an iconic 90s video produced by H-Street.
Anyway, that’s not the point of this article. I don’t remember exactly where I first heard this song, but I was hooked from the very first few seconds. At the start, the opening guitar riffs set a melancholic tone right away, then the sounds of the drums, bass, and second guitar come in, thickening the melody.
The lyrics immediately spoke to me.
Have you ever sat on an empty beach with the sun and the stars and the sea so deep
And asked yourself again, “is this for me?”
Actually, the mention of a deserted beach under the stars and the sea brought back a memory. It was a few years ago; I was on vacation in France on the Atlantic coast visiting family. My cousin and I had gone out that evening with her boyfriend and their group of friends. After spending a lovely evening celebrating, we headed back to go to bed. But when we passed by the ocean, I was suddenly overcome by an irresistible urge to take a midnight swim. So we went to the beach, and I went for it.
The memory is still vivid in my mind : I waded into the water naked and looked up at the sky. It was a summer night; the air was warm, and not a single cloud obscured the stars. There I stood, half in the water, with not a prying eye in sight. I felt so light.
The second line of the verse reinforces my connection to that memory. Just like the lyrics, I asked myself, “Is this really for me?” I felt so grateful to be there and to be able to have this experience that I questioned my right to this kind of happiness.
The second verse really resonated with me, too.
Do you wish you had all the things you need?
Do you wish you had all the things you seek?
And ask yourself again, “Is this for me?”
There have been many times in difficult moments when I’ve longed for all the things that were missing. Then the repetition of the last line, in my understanding of the song, conveys this desire to be fulfilled and to be able to ask oneself if one deserves it.
Is it enough now, to be alone?
Is it enough now, to be on your own?
Is it enough now, to be alone?
Is it enough now, to be on your own?
To be on your own?
I do know
Then the chorus, very repetitive, with an emphasis on the feeling of loneliness. It seems to me that the lyrics convey a kind of weariness about being alone. Then the music resumes, repeating the first verse and the chorus. That’s where my favorite part of the song is, at around 2:29, on the penultimate line of the chorus. The singer’s voice intensifies, transforming into a kind of lament or desperate cry reaching up toward the sky. It’s this vulnerability in the voice that speaks to me; to me, it reflects the beauty of such a fragile moment.