Passover Lyrics
This is a crisis I knew had to come
Destroying the balance I'd kept
Doubting, unsettling, and turning around
Wondering what will come next
Is this the role that you wanted to live?
I was foolish to ask for so much
Without the protection and infancy's guard
It all falls apart at first touch
[Verse 2]
Watching the reel as it comes to a close
Brutally taking its time
People who change for no reason at all
It's happening all of the time
Can I go on with this train of events?
Disturbing and purging my mind
Back out of my duties, when all's said and done
I know that I'll lose every time
[Verse 3]
Moving along in our God-given ways
Safety is sat by the fire
Sanctuary from these feverish smiles
Left with a mark on the door
Is this the gift that I wanted to give?
Forgive and forget's what they teach
Or pass through the deserts and wastelands once more
And watch as they drown by the beach
This is the crisis I knew had to come
Destroying the balance I'd kept
Turning around to the next set of lives
Wondering what will come next
About
The title of “Passover” refers to the Jewish celebration of the same name, and more specifically to the Biblical story it commemorates, in which the enslaved Israelites painted their doors with lamb’s blood to protect them from the final deadly plague of Egypt. While the lyrics themselves do refer to this practice, they are rather vague in their overall focus, as drummer Stephen Morris recalled in 2020:
I’d love to be able to ask [Ian Curtis] what the lyrics were about. He was going to do divinity at school. He was interested in religion.
Musically the song features a steady beat from Morris, enhanced by a hissing reverb effect, while Bernard Sumner plays crunchy arpeggiated guitar chords, and Ian Curtis sings a descending, almost question-and-answer-like melody. The track also marks Peter Hook’s recorded debut on six-string bass.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
Drummer Stephen Morris spoke to GQ in 2020 about how the song evolved:
I can remember when we did it, we were all very impressed that we’d done something that got a big stop-starty feel to it. It’s not a regular beat. I was trying to do a bit of a tabla Indian drum thing on it, using a synthesiser to make those noises, quite unsuccessfully, I should say. We’d had that one for a while. The lyrics did definitely evolve over time and got finished off in the studio. We always wrote around the bass and drums.
- 2.Isolation
- 3.Passover
- 4.Colony
- 8.The Eternal
- 9.Decades
