Nella giornata della memoria dedicata a Ian Curtis e alla prematura scomparsa non solo dell’emblema della generazione post punk inglese, ma anche di una delle band che per sempre hanno segnato il movimento dark (poi divenuto new wave) abbiamo pensato di raccogliere i testi più toccanti delle canzoni dei Joy Division.

dead

Una carriera rapida e parecchio dolorosa, ma che, ciononostante, ha lasciato un solco profondissimo nel corpo e nello spirito dei fan. Fan per un giorno, fan dell’ultimo minuto, dark convinti o semplici esaltati che scrivevano le frasi sullo zainetto Seven; poche band nella storia della musica hanno raccolto e convinto così tanti seguaci, sia per gli aspetti prettamente musicali, sia per quelli traversali legati alla figura di Ian Curtis e, soprattutto, alle emozioni (tragiche) interiori.

Non posso evitare” era la frase cult di chi, in quegli anni, si approcciava ad un movimento generazionale e sociale che continua ancora oggi a far proseliti e dietro questo slogan si celano le paure, le angosce, gli strazi dell’anima e della carne.

Non posso evitare di essere così; non posso evitare di sentire quello che sento.

Ecco le migliori liriche dei Joy Division in ordine sparso. Ad ognuno la sua:

But she expressed herself in many different ways
Until she lost control again
And walked upon the edge of no escape
And laughed I’ve lost control  (She’s Lost Control – 1979)

ok

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?
These sensations barely interest me for another day
I’ve got the spirit, lose the feeling, take the shock away (Disorder – 1979)

an ideal

You’ve been seeing things,
In darkness, not in learning,
Hoping that the truth will pass.
No life underground, wasting never changing,
Wishing that this day won’t last. (No Love Lost1978)

We saw ourselves now as we never had seen
Portrayal of the trauma and degeneration
The sorrows we suffered and never were free

Where have they been?
Where have they been?
Where have they been?
Where have they been? (Decades – 1980)

love 2

You cry out in your sleep
All my failings exposed
And there’s a taste in my mouth
As desperation takes hold
Just that something so good just can’t function no more 
(Love Will Tear Us Apart – 1980)

Guess your dreams always end.
They don’t rise up, just descend,
But I don’t care anymore,
I’ve lost the will to want more,
I’m not afraid not at all,
I watch them all as they fall,
But I remember when we were young 
(Insight – 1979)

unknown

Let’s take a ride out, see what we can find
A valueless collection of hopes and past desires
I never realized the lengths I’d have to go
All the darkest corners of a sense I didn’t know
Just for one moment, I heard somebody call
Looked beyond the day in hand, there’s nothing there at all

Now that I’ve realised how it’s all gone wrong,
Gotta find some therapy, this treatment takes too long.
Deep in the heart of where sympathy held sway,
Gotta find my destiny, before it gets too late. 
(24 Hours – 1980)

This is why events unnerve me,
They find it all, a different story,
Notice whom for wheels are turning,
Turn again and turn towards this time,
All she ask’s the strength to hold me,
Then again the same old story,
Word will travel, oh so quickly,
Travel first and lean towards this time. (Ceremony – 1979)

new down

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. 
(New Dawn Fades – 1979)

The shadow that stood by the side of the road
Always reminds me of you

How can I find the right way to control
All the conflicts inside, all the problems beside
As the questions arise, and the answers don’t fit
Into my way of things, into my way of things. (Komakino – 1988)

ian

Existence well what does it matter?
I exist on the best terms I can
The past is now part of my future
The present is well out of hand (Heart And Soul – 1980)

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. 
(Atmopshere – 1980)