Joy Division 1977-1980 Lyrics

History | People | Places | Discography | Songs | Sessions | Bootlegs | Lyrics | Concerts | Miscellaneous | Links | Home

Wise words and sympathy tell the story of our history


All of this for You

Seen the troubles and the evils of this world
I've seen the stretches between godliness and sin
I've had the promise and confessions of true faith
And the hypocrisy that always lies within
And they left it for you - all of this for you --

I've seen the products and the other world of waste
I've seen the colour of corruption deep within
I've seen them lose themselves in dignity and taste
To see in black and white and through to black again
And they left it for you - all of this for you --

And they left it for you - all of this for you
And they left it for you - everything for you
I've seen the troubles and the evils of this world
I've seen the ones who can succeed but always lose
I've seen what's left of poor technology and work
And watched them dying as they leave their ship of fools
And they left it for you - all of this for you --

A Means to an End

A legacy so far removed - one day will be improved
Eternal rights we left behind - we were the better kind
Two the same, set free too - I always looked to you --

We fought for good, stood side by side - our friendship never died
On stranger ways, the lows and highs - our vision touched the skies
Immortalists with points to prove - I put my trust in you --

A house somewhere on foreign soil, where ageing lovers call
Is this your goal, your final needs, where dogs and vultures eat?
Committed still, I turn to go - I put my trust in you --
In you, in you, in you - put my trust in you, in you

At a Later Date

Why must we be put down when we try to get away ?
Why must we all grow up when we could just play and play ?
Good things in life are free - can't buy everything, that's true
Only one thing wrong with that - what it don't buy I don't use

Only thing I'm thinking of is why are we all here ?
There must be more to do at nights than drinking rotten beer
The world's a very shady place, and you can't trust a soul
"Grin and bear it" seemed the thing, when it just gets a hold
At a later date - it might come out a fright
At a later date - I hope that you're alright

Human beings are dangerous and they call me in the dark
But everything gets twice as cold in marching for a lark
There's loads of things I'd like to do if I could find the time
Working really tires me and I think I'll turn to crime
At a later date - I hope they start it soon
At a later date - before we hit the moon

I just can't be bothered to make an effort here at all
People make you feel your contributions are too small
I just can't be bothered to make an effort here at all
People make you feel your contributions are too small
At a later date - I'll be awful great
At a later date, someone somewhere blew it
At a later date - at a later date

Atmosphere

Walk - in silence
Don't walk away - in silence
See the danger - always danger
Endless talking - life rebuilding
Don't walk away

Walk - in silence
Don't turn away - in silence
Your confusion - my illusion
Worn like a mask of self-hate
Confronts and then dies
Don't walk away

People like you - find it easy
Naked to see - walking on air
Hunting by rivers, through the streets, every corner
Abandoned too soon
Set down with due care
Don't walk away - in silence
Don't walk away

Atrocity Exhibition

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 --

In arenas he kills for a prize
Wins a minute to add to his life
But the sickness is drowned by cries for more
Pray to God, make it quick - watch him fall
This is the way, step inside --

You'll see the horrors of a faraway place
Meet the architects of law face to face
See mass murder on a scale you've never seen
And all the ones who try hard to succeed
This is the way, step inside --

And I picked on the whims of a thousand more
Still pursuing the path that's been buried for years
All the dead wood from jungles and cities on fire,
Can't replace or relate, can't release or repair.
Take my hand, and I'll show you what was and will be.

Autosuggestion

He-ere, he-ere - everything is by design
Everything is by design
Here, here, everything is kept inside
So take a chance and step outside
Your hopes, your dreams, your paradise
Heroes, idols cracked like ice

He-ere, he-ere - everything is kept inside
So take a chance and step outside
Feel frustration face to face
A point of view creates more waves
So take a chance and step outside

Take a chance and step outside
Lose some sleep and say you tried
Meet frustration face to face
A point of view creates more waves
So lose some sleep and say you tried --
Say you've tried - say you tried --
Yeah, lose some sleep and say you tried --

Candidate

Forced by the pressure, the territory's marked
No longer the pleasure, I've since lost the heart
Corrupted from memory, no longer the power
It's creeping up slowly, that last fatal hour
Oh I don't know what made me, what gave me the right
To mess with your values and change wrong to right

Please keep your distance - the trail leads to here,
There's blood on your fingers, brought on by fear
I campaigned for nothing, I worked hard for this
I tried to get to you - you treat me like this
It's just second nature, it's what we've been shown
We're living by your rules, that's all that we know
I tried to get to you - Oh how I tried to get to you

Ceremony

The first two verses are taken from a New Order recording
Only the final verse is clearly audible on Still

This is why events un-nerve me
They find it all a different story
Notice whom for wheels are turning
Turn again and turn towards this time
All she asks is the strength to hold me
Then again the same old story
Word will travel - oh so quickly
Travel first and lean towards this time

I'll break them down, no mercy shown
Heaven knows, it's got to be this time
Watching her, these things she said
The times she cried, too frail to wake this time

I'll break them down, no mercy shown
Heaven knows, it's got to be this time
Avenues all lined with trees
Picture me and then you start watching
Watching forever - watching forever
Watching love grow - forever
Letting me know - forever

Colony

The first two verses on the Closer version are as follows:

A cry for help, a hint of anaesthesia
The sound from broken homes - we used to meet always here
As he lays asleep she takes him in her arms
Some things I have to do, but I don't mean you harm

A worried parent's glance, a kiss, a last goodbye
Hands him the bag she packed - a tear she tries to hide
A cruel wind that howls down to our lunacy
And leaves him standing cold here in this colony

The first two verses on the Peel version are as follows:

A cry for help, a hint of anaesthesia
The sound from broken homes - we used to meet always here
I watched all hell break loose, confined and unprepared
Is this what life's about - is this the dream we share?

Can you help me - can you spare some time?
No apologies for all these thoughts of mine
I hope to find some friends to maybe lead astray
To wake this dormant sleep - to tread on father's grave

The two versions converge for the remainder:

I can't see why all these confrontations
I can't see why all these dislocations
No family life, this makes me feel uneasy
Stood alone here in this colony
In this colony --

God in his wisdom took you by the hand
God in his wisdom made you understand --
In this colony --

Day of the Lords

This is the room, the start of it all
No portrait so fine, only sheets on the wall
I've seen the nights, filled with bloodsport and pain
And the bodies obtained, the bodies obtained
Where will it end? --

These are your friends, from childhood through youth
Who goaded you on, demanded full proof
Withdrawal pain's hard, it can do you right in
So distorted and thin, distorted and thin
Where will it end? --

This is the car at the edge of the road
There's nothing disturbed, all the windows are closed
I guess you were right, when we talked in the heat
There's no room for the weak, no room for the weak
Where will it end? --

This is the room, the start of it all
Through childhood, through youth, I remember it all
I've seen the nights, filled with bloodsport and pain
And the bodies obtained, the bodies obtained
Where will it end? --

Dead Souls

Someone take these dreams away
That point me to another day
A duel of personalities
That stretch all true reality
That keep calling me - they keep calling me
Keep on calling me - they keep calling me

When figures from the past stand tall
And mocking voices ring the hall
Imperialistic house of prayer
Conquistadors who took their share
That keep calling me - they keep calling me
Keep on calling me - they keep calling me

Decades

Here are the young men, a weight on their shoulders
Here are the young men, well where have they been?
We knocked on doors of Hell's darker chambers
Pushed to the limits, we dragged ourselves in

Watched from the wings as the scenes were replaying
We saw ourselves now as we never had seen
Portrayal of the traumas and degeneration
The sorrows we suffered and never were free
Where have they been --

Weary inside, now our heart's lost forever
Can't replace the fear or the thrill of the chase
These rituals showed up the door for our wanderings
Opened and shut, then slammed in our face
Where have they been --

Digital

Feel it closing in, feel it closing in
A fear of whom I call, every time I call
I feel it closing in, I feel it closing in
Day in, day out --

I feel it closing in, as patterns seem to form
I feel it cold and warm, as shadows start to fall
I feel it closing in, I feel it closing in
Day in, day out --

I'd have the world around to see just whatever happens
Stood by the door alone, and then it's fade away
I see you fade away, don't ever fade away
I need you here today, don't ever fade away
Fade away --

Disorder

I've been waiting for a guide to come and take me by the hand
Could these sensations make me feel the pleasures of a normal man
New sensations barely interest me for another day
I've go the spirit, lose the feeling, take the shock away

It's getting faster, moving faster now, it's getting out of hand
On the tenth floor, down the back stairs, it's a no man's land
Lights are flashing, cars are crashing, getting frequent now
I've got the spirit, lose the feeling, let it out somehow

What means to you, what means to me, and we will meet again
I'm watching you, I'm watching her - I take no pity from your friends
Who is right, who can tell, and who gives a damn right now
Until the spirit, new sensation takes hold - then you know --
I've got the spirit, but lose the feeling, feeling, feeling --


History | People | Places | Discography | Songs | Sessions | Bootlegs | Lyrics | Concerts | Miscellaneous | Links | Home