Joy Division
Joy Division, the most cheerful band ever...
Apart being extremely gifted songwriter, Ian Curtis was very good singer
and he had unearthly ability to express very strong feelings while singing,
creating unique dark, merciless atmosphere.
Ian suffered from epilepsy which caused him to act erratically on stage,
giving Joy Division a reputation of being violent and aggressive stage
act. In fact, one song seems to hint that Ian acknowledged the fact that
his ilness was part of the attraction:
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Asylums with doors open wide
Where people could pay to see inside
For entertainment they watch his body twist
Behind his eyes he says: I still exist
This is the way - step inside
This is the way - step inside
Joy Division - Atrocity
Exhibition (first verse)
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Partly because of depression (caused by epilepsy drugs) and partly because
of some mental problems Ian Curtis committed suicide by self inflicted
hanging just few days before the band was to leave on tour to United States
on 1980. He was 23 years old at that time. He had always glamored death
at young age.
Here are few selected lyrics I found touching or otherwise significant.
Hopefully I someday have time to put up a few samples because reading
the lyrics without hearing the music gives only a glimpse what great and
influential band Joy Division really was.
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When routine bites hard, and ambitions are low
and resentment rides high, but emotions won't grow
And we're changing our ways, taking different roads
Then love, love will tear us apart again
Why is the bedroom so cold? You've turned away on your side
Is my timing that flawed - our respect run so dry?
Yet there's still this appeal that we've kept through our lives
Love, love will tear us apart again
You cry out in your sleep - all my failings exposed
There's a taste in my mouth, as desperation takes hold
Just that something so good just can't function no more
When love, love will tear us apart again
Joy Division - Love Will
Tear Us Apart
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This song is about slowly dying relationship and it really captures emotions
of man who can feel things are going wrong but he does not know how to
put things right. Name of this song, Love Will Tear Us Apart, is written
on the stone at Ian's grave.
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A change of speed, a change of style
A change of scene, with no regrets
A chance to watch, admire the distance
Still occupied, though you forget
Different colours, different shades
Over each mistakes were made - I took the blame
Directionless, so plain to see
A loaded gun won't set you free - so you say
We'll share a drink and step outside
An angry voice and one who cried
We'll give you everything and more
The strain's too much - can't take much more
I've walked on water, run through fire
Can't seem to feel it anymore
It was me-ee, waiting for me
Hoping for something more
Me-ee, seeing me this time
Hoping for something else
Joy Division - New Dawn
Fades
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This song must be heard, words simply cannot describe Ian's voice and
feeling it express.
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To the centre of the city where all roads meet - waiting for
you
To the depths of the ocean where all hopes sank - searching for
you
Moving through the silence without motion - waiting for you
In a room with a window in the corner I found truth
In the shadowplay, acting out your own death - knowing no more
As the assassins all grouped in four lines, dancing on the floor
And with cold steel, odour on their bodies, made a move to connect
I could only stare in disbelief as the crowds all left
I did everything, everything I wanted to
I let them use you for their own ends
To the centre of the city in the night - waiting for you
To the centre of the city in the night - waiting for you
Joy Division - Shadowplay
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So this is permanence - love's shattered pride
What once was innocence, turned on its side
Grey cloud hangs over me - marks every move
Deep in the memory of what once was love
Oh how I realised how I wanted time
Put into perspective - tried so hard to find
Just for one moment I thought I'd found my way
Destiny unfolded - I watched it slip away
Excessive flashpoints - beyond all reach
Solitary demands for all I'd like to keep
Let's take a ride out - see what we can find
A valueless collection of hopes and past desires
I never realised the lengths I'd have to go
All the darkest corners of a sense I didn't know
Just for one moment I heard someone call
Looked beyond the day in hand - there's nothing there at all
Now that I've realised how it's all gone wrong
Got to find some therapy - this treatment takes too long
Deep in the heart of where sympathy held sway
Got to find my destiny before it gets too late
Joy Division - Twenty
Four Hours
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This is perhaps the most depressing Joy Division song ever. It was released
on Closer album, shortly after Ian's death. |
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