Joy Division-Decades
Here are the young men,
the weight on their shoulders
Here are the young men,
well where have they been?
We knocked on the 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 freed
Where have they been?
Where have they been?
Where have they been?
Where have they been...
Weary inside, now our hearts
lost forever,
Can't replace the fear
or the thrill of the chase
These rituals showed up the door
for our wanderings
Opened then shut, then slammed
in our face
Where have they been?
Where have they been?
Where have they been?
Where have they been...
In concatenation with the icy music, the lyrics lead me to visualise Allied soldiers in the Second World War marching into a conentration camp, in the midst of a blizzard...And the ensuing disillusionment with humanity.
Bob Dylan-All Along The Watchtower.
"There must be some way out of here" said the joker to the thief,
"There's too much confusion", I can't get no relief
Businessmen, they drink my wine, plowmen dig my earth
None of them along the line know what any of it is worth.
"No reason to get excited", the thief he kindly spoke,
"There are many here among us who feel that life is but a joke
But you and I, we've been through that, and this is not our fate
So let us not talk falsely now, the hour is getting late".
All along the watchtower, princes kept the view
While all the women came and went, barefoot servants, too.
Outside in the distance a wildcat did growl.
Two riders were approaching, the wind began to howl.
Interesting how Dylan's lyrics can go from the lengthy beat-poetry esque lyrics of Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde On Blonde to terse verse, and yet remain excellent. Contrary to most popular opinion, I prefer the Dylan original to the Hendrix cover, even without the guitar solos, because the mood of the lyrics is sustained in the JWH version.
And one of the best songs ever; (Not that the above two aren't brilliant, but you know...)
The Beatles-A Day In The Life.
I read the news today oh boy
About a lucky man who made the grade
And though the news was rather sad
Well I just had to laugh
I saw the photograph.
He blew his mind out in a car
He didn't notice that the lights had changed
A crowd of people stood and stared
They'd seen his face before
Nobody was really sure
If he was from the House of Lords.
I saw a film today oh boy
The English Army had just won the war
A crowd of people turned away
but I just had to look
Having read the book.
I'd love to turn you on
Woke up, fell out of bed,
Dragged a comb across my head
Found my way downstairs and drank a cup,
And looking up I noticed I was late.
Found my coat and grabbed my hat
Made the bus in seconds flat
Found my way upstairs and had a smoke,
Somebody spoke and I went into a dream
I read the news today oh boy,
Four thousand holes in Blackburn, Lancashire
And though the holes were rather small,
They had to count them all..
Now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall.
I'd love to turn you on...
