The Cars’ Lyric That Looked at Lost Love in Typically Quirky Ric Ocasek Fashion

The love-gone-wrong song represents a rite of passage for just about every songwriter who has ever put pen to paper. Only a precious few writers can give those songs a spin that sounds like something different from the norm.

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Ric Ocasek of The Cars always stood out for his skewed perspective and unique way of putting things in his lyrics. That approach helped the band’s 1981 track “Since You’re Gone” stand out from the pack of rock weepers.

“Gone” Girl

To their lasting credit, The Cars, the Boston-based quintet who helped define the parameters of New Wave in America, never took the same approach twice on their albums. Most bands that released an album full of irresistible ear candy, like The Cars’ 1978 self-titled debut, would have repeated the formula until it lost its magic.

But The Cars proved too artistically restless to settle in any groove for too long. Their sophomore album, Candy-O, featured harder edges, avant-garde touches, and generally darker lyrics. And, in 1980, Panorama went even further in that direction.

Unfortunately, Panorama lacked the big hit single that would bring people into the record. Perhaps sensing that they needed to course-correct a bit, The Cars went for more of a pop sound on the 1981 album Shake It Up. This is evidenced by the hit title track, a song whose simplistic lyrics Ocasek later regretted.

Meanwhile, “Since You’re Gone”, the album’s second single, found a sweet spot between a topic relatable to pop audiences and Ocasek’s quirkier tendencies. The song barely missed out on the US Top 40. But the combination of its dynamic music and its bittersweet revelations on lost love rendered it one of the band’s most unforgettable tracks.

Examining the Lyrics of “Since You’re Gone”

“Since You’re Gone” features several Cars’ trademarks in terms of its sound. There’s a killer intro, with synthetic percussion somewhere between hand claps and hoofbeats, leading into crunching power chords. Elliot Easton offers a swerving guitar solo that illuminates the instrumental break. And the band’s trademark walled backing vocals second every one of Ocasek’s exhortations.

Lyrically, the story of “Since You’re Gone” is as old as the hills, as a guy bemoans the absence of his ex. It’s how Ocasek expresses it that stands out. “The nights are gettin’ strange,” he explains about what’s left behind in her wake. “I stumble in the shade,” he explains, before finding a grammatical way to express his sorrow: “Everything’s in perfect tense.”

“Throwin’ it all away,” Ocasek sings in the refrain. He could be referring to how he lost the girl. Or perhaps he’s trying to say that he’s ejecting any evidence of her from his life. After all, he doesn’t paint a pretty picture of her behavior. “You’re so treacherous,” he explains. “When it comes to tenderness.”

In the final verse, he starts piling on the observations, each one more telling than the next. “I missed the peak sensation,” Ocasek wails. “I took the big vacation.” The final couplet really hits home. “Well, never feel sedate,” he moans. “Well, the moonlight ain’t so great.”

Her departure has essentially changed everything about his life. Again, not a unique sentiment. But thanks to the genius of Ric Ocasek and The Cars, “Since You’re Gone” sure makes it sound like one.

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