Meaning of Don't You (Forget About Me) by Simple Minds

In 1985, director John Hughes directed the film The Breakfast Club, which is critically acclaimed as one of his best works. The comedy-drama about five teenagers who spent the weekend at school as punishment has become a cult classic for the younger generation. With a budget of one million dollars, it grossed fifty million at the box office and had an incredible impact on the development of the youth film genre.

Don’t You (Forget About Me) Song Story

A resounding success was the title track of The Breakfast Club soundtrack, which was the song Don’t You (Forget About Me). Producer Keith Forsey and guitarist Steve Schiff of Nina Hagen’s band wrote it specifically for the film. Before taking on the composition, Keith Forsey studied the script and visited the set, where he spoke with the lead actors. He also took into account the wishes of the director, who asked to write a song in the spirit of the British indie pop style.

When the track was ready, unexpected difficulties arose with the choice of an artist. Don’t You (Forget About Me) was written under Bryan Ferry, but the British singer could not sing it due to the death of his father. Billy Idol and The Fixx also refused to play it.

Then the producers approached with a proposal to record a song for the Simple Minds group. At first, the idea did not arouse enthusiasm among the Scottish rockers. Singer Jim Kerr went into great detail about the history of the recording of Don’t You (Forget About Me) in an interview with The Guardian:

In the mid-eighties, we came close to global popularity, having just released Sparkle in the Rain. But, as is often the case with British bands, conquering the US proved difficult. Then our record company came up with an idea for us. Director John Hughes was making a movie called The Breakfast Club and they thought it would be a great advertisement for their bands. It all seemed fine until they said, “And we have a song for you.”
As warlike Glaswegians, we said, “What? Nah, we write our own songs.” But Bruce Findlay, our manager, said: “Listen, go and see a movie, if only for the sake of appearances.” They rented a movie theater in the West End to show us a rough cut, but we didn’t really care about American schoolchildren.

The musicians refused to perform the composition, but they continued to put pressure on them from all sides. Even Jim’s wife convinced him that the song should be sung. Then the author of the song showed up. Keith Forsey spent some time with the group, looking forward to a future collaboration, and Kerr gave in:

Ultimately, I felt sorry for him. I said, “Maybe we should go into the studio in the afternoon and play this tune down.” At that stage the song was just a demo on a worn cassette, where Keith sang it along with the keyboards. It sounded completely different from what we were doing, but in the joint sessions with our new best bud, we showed ingenuity. At the end, I added a long “la-la-la-la-la” because I had no words. I promised to write something, but Keith said, “Only over my dead body. We will leave it.”

The band members were not impressed with the result and did not even include the track on the Once Upon a Time album. Guitarist Charlie Burchill recalls:

At the time, we thought the song didn’t suit us because we were under the illusion that we were ultra-stylish. When I listen to it now, I can see that it’s a really great, masterfully recorded pop song. I’m ashamed that we insulted her so much.

The Guardian

Release and achievements

In early 1985, immediately after the premiere of The Breakfast Club, the song Don’t You (Forget About Me) was released as a single. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 in the US and climbed to number seven in the UK.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jlHz0wF0Ig

Clip Don’t You (Forget About Me)

The music video for Don’t You (Forget About Me) was directed by Daniel Kleinman. Let’s watch.

Interesting Facts

The popularity of the track was facilitated by extensive rotation on radio stations that played music of different genres.
The composition was included in the soundtracks of American Pie, Pitch Perfect and other popular films.

Don’t You (Forget About Me) Lyrics

Won’t you come see about me?
I’ll be alone, dancing you know it baby
Tell me your troubles and doubts
Giving me everything inside and out and
Love’s strange so real in the dark
Think of the tender things that we were working on
Slow change may pull us apart
When the light gets into your heart, baby

Don’t you, forget about me
Don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t
Don’t you, forget about me

Will you stand above me?
Look my way, never love me
Rain keeps falling, rain keeps falling
Down, down, down

Will you recognize me?
Call my name or walk on by
Rain keeps falling, rain keeps falling
Down, down, down, down

Don’t you try and pretend
It’s my feeling we’ll win in the end
I won’t harm you or touch your defenses
Vanity and security
Don’t you forget about me
I’ll be alone, dancing you know it baby
Going to take you apart
I’ll put us back together at heart, baby

Don’t you, forget about me
Don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t
Don’t you, forget about me

As you walk on by
Will you call my name?
As you walk on by
Will you call my name?
When you walk away

Or will you walk away?
Will you walk on by?
Come on, call my name
Will you call my name?

I say
(Lala la la lala la la)
Will you call my name?
As you walk on by

Don’t You (Forget About Me) Lyrics

Would you like to come and take care of me?
I will dance alone, you know baby
Tell me about your worries and doubts
Lay it all clean for me
Love is wonderful and so authentic in the dark
Think of how we were tender to each other
Slow change can tear us apart
When the light shines on your heart, baby

Just don’t forget me
Only, only, only, only
Just don’t forget me

Will you look down?
Will you look in my direction without loving
It’s raining, it’s raining, it’s raining
Goes, goes and goes

Do you recognize me?
Call or walk by
It’s raining, it’s raining, it’s raining
Goes, goes and goes

Just don’t try to pretend
I think we will win in the end
I won’t offend or touch your protection
Vanity and prosperity
Just don’t forget me
I will dance alone, you know baby
Gonna smash you to smithereens
In my heart I will bring us together again

Just don’t forget me
Only, only, only, only
Just don’t forget me

Passing,
Will you call me?
Passing,
Will you call me?
When you pass by

Or will you just leave?
Will you pass by?
Come on call me
Will you call me?

I say…
(La-la, la-la, la-la, la-la)
Will you call me
When will you pass by?

Song quote

The song and the film are almost cult for certain generations, especially in America. It’s wonderful when everything fits together and works so well. It’s nice to see how much joy this song brings to so many people.

Jim Kerr, Song-Facts.com