Robert Smith has never hidden his antipathy for religious belief. Nevertheless, 1981’s Faith echoes with spiritual longings as Smith gazes into the abyss. Not surprisingly, such existential questing emerged from the valley of the shadow of death.

All three of The Cure’s members lost loved ones around the time of Faith, including drummer Lol Tolhurst, whose mother died from cancer shortly after the album’s release. Although Smith has always been The Cure’s primary songwriter, Tolhurst actually wrote the lyrics to “All Cats Are Grey” in light of his mom’s impending death, and they’re some of the most somber words to be found in the band’s extensive catalog.

“No shapes sail on the dark deep lakes/And no flags wave me home,” Smith sings forlornly as Tolhurst’s drumming and Gallup’s bass move at a gracefully solemn pace and soft synths fill the air with grief and mourning. Many of The Cure’s songs express lament, but none more clearly and powerfully than “All Cats Are Grey.”