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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 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
Oh, 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
Oh, 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
Forever
Watching love grow, forever
Letting me know, forever
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
Oh, 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
Oh, 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
Forever
Watching love grow, forever
Letting me know, forever
Lyrics submitted by numb, edited by lokithecat
Ceremony Lyrics as written by Ian Kevin Curtis Bernard Sumner
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, Universal Music Publishing Group, Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
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this song is easily a candidate for best song of all time.
Agreed, but feel that way about most all of New Orders songs.
@EdwinMontoyaZorrilla Just recently decided it was No.2. With Once In a Lifetime @ No.1 ;)
@EdwinMontoyaZorrilla Exactly.
the "ceremony" is a funeral
"Notice whom for wheels are turning Turn again and turn towards this time"
= the turning wheels of the hearse and funeral procession heading toward the cemetary.
Avenues all lined with trees=the avenues that the funeral procession takes to get to the destination.
"All she asks is the strength to hold me" the narrator is remembering her dying words, i suppose.
"Too frail to wake this time" can only be about someone dying.
I cry every time i hear this song... it's so deep. I might be wrong or too romantic but to me it's about love. It could describe the strange sesation that you feel when you see (in a ceremony), after long time, a person you loved in the past. You know that it's "the same old story" and that this person will never change her habits but you can't deny that you like her in everything she does. So what you can do? You can just sit and watch love grow ...forever...
you said it all my dear
A true love lost. <br /> Unrequited?<br /> How noble.
I listen to this on repeat and I imagine my own inevitable suicide.
Oh 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, forever, forever forever forever forever forever forever forever forever
I, too, listen to this song incessantly. I love the power of the lyrics, the driving beats of the drums, and especially the guitar and bass parts. (Pretty much the whole song.) <br /> <br /> This song is beautiful, and strikes me to the core every single time I hear it. It reminds me that we all feel similiar feelings. We're all different, but we all yearn. "Ceremony" reminds me that happier times are best remembered as happy. And the realities are always harshest when they hit deep.<br /> <br /> I don't know you, backinburntcity. But I do know we both have a burning pain. Pushing through that pain, trying each and every day is all you can do. There are always blue skies and bright green blades of grass, you just can't always see them. Please think twice before electing to take your young life. <br /> <br /> P.S. I was going to recommend "Bright Eyes" to you, I see you are already acquainted with Conor. If so check out "Burn Rubber." He covered it on a single. You'll find it...
At backinburntcity I know these feelings all to well but holding out for hope and beauty in music and life is what Bernard and New Order do best because their loss of Ian. No one wants that for people they love and respect. Even when we don't feel it in ourselves know its a life force that is there for you and in you friend.
I just want to say that it's been seven years since I wrote this comment. I still listen to this song a lot, but I no longer want to die.<br /> <br /> It's possible to heal from abuse & fight through depression, without pills too. Good luck to anyone else going through it.
@backinburntcity Your first comment sent chills up my spine, seeing feelings all too familiar. I'm so glad you were able to see through your pain to another side.
@backinburntcity glad you are still here! Your comment teared me up. It reminded me of my own times. Glad I am here too. Not all that happy in life, but happy to be here.
apparently this was the last song written by joy division before ian curtis killed himself. i think this is about frustration with the world, everyone sees things differently. when love forces us to join, problems arise.
I think its a love song, a tragic, vulnerable, apologetic love song.
one of my all-time favorites..it makes you feel infinite
The best part about this song for me is that I just can't fuckin figure out what it means!
After watching Control, the biopic of Ian Curtis, I can definitely say this song was written about his wife, Debbie, and the cheating he was doing with the French fan/journalist, Annik Honore, who traveled with the band on occasion. It seemed at this point the wheels were definitely not turning in his direction. The rumors, the letters his wife found, etc. I mean, if there is any real truth to that movie, so much of the ending concerning his love life is conveyed in this one song.
"All she (Debbie) asks the strength to hold me / then again the same old story (Annik)" <- kiss and make up with Debbie but he's still drawn to Annik and he knows he's going to cheat Debbie again.
But what really gets me in this song is that he wants to be positive, hopeful. He wants to repair his marriage, it's got to be this time, that he does the right thing, right? He's hurt her so much and he knows it. And the subtle dark note at the end, the avenues lined with trees, he wants either Debbie, Annik or whoever else loves him, to picture him, to picture happiness, to see the love he has for them all even after his death.
@rayliam <br /> Wow, I just wrote an interpretation but yours is really awesome!
@rayliam your assessment is spot on from what I understand. This is all about Ian feeling conflicted about being pulled in two directions, not only with Annik and Debbie, but his two lives, one with the band and at home. Also, this is what Bernard was able to best estimate for the lyrics that Ian wrote, but some of it could be his best guess. The only Joy Division recordings that exist are one of a live show and one of a rehearsal, both of which aren't the clearest vocally. The only thing I'd like to add is that the line about the avenues all lined with trees I believe was an inside joke between Ian and Debbie about how he wanted to buy her a house on a nice avenue. Cheers!
@DogEaredPage @rayliam you say the two directions he’s pulled in- I think also clearly life and death given the timing.
First of all, this is literally one of my favorite songs of all time, it is such a masterpiece and do I wish how Ian Curtis was alive to truly complete this song.
Since it was never truly "finished" by Ian, my guess may be off, but I'm gonna shoot my shot..
Here we go: It's a double entendre on both his marriage and his own planned death/funeral. Hence the name "Ceremony."
"This is why events unnerve me They find it all, a different story" Both funerals and weddings are unnerving to the singer, the audience judges him/them.
"Notice whom for wheels are turning Turn again and turn towards this time" The audience of a wedding/funeral turn to look at the bride/groom/deceased. I feel that "turn towards this time" is a cry for help :(
All she asks is the strength to hold me Then again the same old story A wedding vow is to have and to hold your loved one. When your loved one is sick or deceased, you beg god for strength to hold them up or to hold them again.
World will travel, oh so quickly Travel first and lean towards this time I think this is another cry for help. Word travels fast of these events. He hopes his word will travel out first, then save him from his suicidal ideation.
"Oh, 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" Guilt over his own suicidal ideations.
"Too frail to wake this time" He's referring to himself.
"Watching forever Forever Watching love grow, forever Letting me know, forever" He is watching her forever in the afterlife. She is "letting him know" the pain of losing him.
@Fizzynight exactly my interpretation. So tragically beautiful