Formada en Chicago en 1988, The Smashing Pumpkins surgió como una de las bandas más influyentes del rock alternativo de la década de 1990. Billy Corgan (voz y guitarra), James Iha (guitarra), D'arcy Wretzky (bajo) y Jimmy Chamberlin (batería) fueron los miembros originales, y juntos crearon un sonido que mezclaba elementos de rock gótico, heavy metal y dream pop.
En 1991, lanzaron su álbum debut, Gish. Aunque no fue un éxito inmediato, estableció a la banda como una fuerza emergente en el rock alternativo. Pero fue su segundo álbum, Siamese Dream (1993), el que los catapultó a la fama. Canciones como "Today" y "Disarm" se convirtieron en éxitos masivos, ayudando a que el álbum vendiera más de cuatro millones de copias en los Estados Unidos.
El lanzamiento en 1995 de Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, un álbum doble, consolidó la reputación de la banda como innovadores musicales. Este trabajo incluyó éxitos como "1979", "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" y "Tonight, Tonight". Ganó múltiples premios y vendió más de diez millones de copias en todo el mundo.
Lover, lover, let's pretend we're born as innocents,
Cast into the world with apple eyes.
To wish, wish dangerous, my dear delirious,
To try and leave the rest of us behind.
Shot full of diamonds and a million years,
The disappointed disappear as if they were never here.
Kiss, kiss all of this, the hiss that we had missed,
And understand what can't be understood.
Sear those thoughts of me, alone and unhappy.
I never liked me anyway.
If by chance or circumstance, we should fall, don't be too sad.
Shot full of diamonds and a million years,
The disappointed disappear like they were never here.
In a dream, we are connected.
Siamese twins at the wrist.
That's when I knew we had been forsaken, expelled from paradise.
I can't believe them when they say it's all right.
Words can't define what I feel inside.
Who needs them?
Caught with this virus of my mind,
I give in to my disease of my needs,
To my disease of my needs.
She really loves to break, her dad says it's okay.
She really loves to break, and give it all away.
Her mom says she's a flake, what more can she be?
She really needs to break, and give us all away.
She gave it all away,
She gave it all away,
She gave it all away,
We really love the U.S.A.