Here Is No Why
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Here Is No Why" | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
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| Song by The Smashing Pumpkins | ||
| from the album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness | ||
| Released | 24 October 1995 | |
| Recorded | March - August 1995 | |
| Genre | Alternative Rock | |
| Length | 3:45 | |
| Label | Virgin Records | |
| Writer(s) | Billy Corgan | |
| Producer(s) | Alan Moulder, Billy Corgan, Flood | |
| Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness track listing | ||
| Zero (4) |
"Here Is No Why" (5) |
Bullet with Butterfly Wings (6) |
"Here Is No Why" is a song off the album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness by The Smashing Pumpkins. Many 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, It is believed that the song is describing teenagers as such.
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 Jr.'s Slaughterhouse-Five, in which aliens capture a man named Billy Pilgrim and when he asks why, they respond "There is no why."
