Joy Division – Love Will Tear Us Apart

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When routine bites hard,
And ambitions are low,
And resentment rides high,
But emotions won't grow,
And we're changing our ways, taking different roads.

Then love, love will tear us apart again.
Love, love will tear us apart again.

Why is the bedroom so cold?
You've turned away on your side.
Is my timing that flawed?
Our respect runs so dry.
Yet there's still this appeal
That we've kept through our lives.

But love, love will tear us apart again.
Love, love will tear us apart again.

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.

But love, love will tear us apart again.
Love, love will tear us apart again.
Love, love will tear us apart again.
Love, love will tear us apart again.

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Lyrics submitted by numb

Track duration: 03:26

"Love Will Tear Us Apart" as written by Ian Kevin Curtis, Peter Hook, Stephen Paul David Morris, Bernard Sumner

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


Love Will Tear Us Apart song meanings
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131 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:Yeah this song is pretty straightforward, but the allure and the uniqueness of it is that it primarily speaks to the emotional side of your brain (the left side). This is a song that speaks on a deeper level than just logical and reasonable. It's not something that can be easily explained because our language is fundamentally logical and nothing we can say about it will do the emotional aspects of this song any justice. It simply cannot be grasped in its entirety by the logical side of our brains. We all understand it's a song about a relationship and the downside of it, but I'm guessing that for most of us this song touches us on a much deeper level.
    Flag TwoVirgoson May 23, 2013   Link
  • 0
    Song Meaning:It's a pretty straightforward song, lyrically.

    I see a lot of people trying to find this deep hidden meaning when in reality the lyrics are very literal. And anyone who has found themselves in a long relationship can at least relate to one specific line in this song. I myself can relate to much of it.

    The best explanation so far was submitted by lmn on July 10, 2011. It's often the simplest answer that is the best answer. Especially for such a simple song. Don't get me wrong. It's a beautiful song but it's very simple by design. Less is more ;)
    Flag IamMongoon May 09, 2013   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:A relationship that was once great. But begins to fall apart and depress you.
    Flag treehuggreon March 18, 2013   Link
  • -2
    General Comment:SUCH a good band and lead singer. Good song, but confusing. It's the same song I've been listening to for quite a few years. It never changes. It never can change. I think it's about a woman (or man?) who harbors shame for her actions, and just cannot get past the shame. She harbors shame for not wanting to be alone, but it's not that the others don't understand. It's not that that is the root of the problem. She only wants another when she's feeling down, and the moment life becomes brighter that person is the last person on her mind. She considers long distance a 'relationship,' not realizing that it is one only to her. ONLY to her. And everyone knows that when she is feeling better it will be a repeat of the last time the sun rose high in the sky. Love Will Tear Us Apart sums up, to her, where she has stood for years and will always stand. And it matters not what anyone else does or says, for this song will always be central to her life. Sometimes it takes others to just toss in the towel and decide that they want more, and she won't ever be able give it to them. It's a depressing song, but Ian was a master (like Mercury, Brandon Flowers, and only a handful of others). Although I find the song depressing, I find it honest. I look forward to very soon not hearing it so often, for that will mean brighter times have arisen and others will have gone on in their lives and concentrated on those they will have welcomed into their physical/personal lives. Nobody wants to be unhappy as Ian was, and nobody should be. Good song.
    Flagged IllToast2Thaton February 26, 2013   Link
  • -2
    General Comment:A remarkable band. Ian was a remarkable artist....such a loss to the music world. I was first introduced to the band and to this track in 2009. 2009! Can you believe that...3.5 years ago! Years! And the song still holds clout. It's about a fear of intimacy (be it emotional, sexual, whatever) and not daring to try; rather, embracing failure up front so there is no emotional risk. The lyrics, to me, are rather foolish; they make little sense (much like the popular Alex Clare's song about being "too close"), but at least Joy Division's track has the instrumentals, vocals, and everything else that makes it a great track. I've learned a great deal from this one; when a song is on steady repeat, you know you've already lost the war. You know the end result. GREAT song.
    Flagged IllToast2Thaton February 18, 2013   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:In my opinion this song is about a couple who are so intense and argumentative that all they ever do is hurt each other but they just can't let go of it.

    When routine bites hard,
    And ambitions are low,
    And resentment rides high,
    But emotions won't grow,
    And we're changing our ways, taking different roads.

    (This is talking about how bad their relationship is and how they don't make each other happy anymore but that doesn't mean they could be without)

    Then love, love will tear us apart again.
    Love, love will tear us apart again.

    (the fact he says "then" suggests he is saying that when they lose all hope and think they can't possibly love each other if they're this unhappy then they get reminded how much they need each other when their feelings fuck them up)

    Why is the bedroom so cold?
    You've turned away on your side.
    Is my timing that flawed?
    Our respect runs so dry.
    Yet there's still this appeal
    That we've kept through our lives.

    (This is a clever bit, the first line is saying how they although they still have sex because of all the passion they have she has turned away on her side from him and no longer cuddles and talks with him after it anymore she just turns away from him because she's probably still angry at him. The second and third line are him questioning maybe it is his fault but then he thinks that they just have so little respect for each other now due to how much they argue and hurt each other. The last two lines of this verse are him speaking about how regardless of all this, they both still want to be together)

    But love, love will tear us apart again.
    Love, love will tear us apart again.

    (He knows they'll both get hurt again)

    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.

    (The first line: Her dreams are even haunting her she's so depressed but it shows how he can' sleep and still watches her sleep like a lot of couples do when in love.
    The second line: He knows he's let her down and failed her and doesn't want her to feel this way.
    The third/fourth line: He just wants to wake her up and just beg for it to work because its all he wants
    The fifth line: speaks for itself, its just not working and he's aware of that but he just can't let go)

    But love, love will tear us apart again.
    Love, love will tear us apart again.
    Love, love will tear us apart again.
    Love, love will tear us apart again.
    Flag Catriiiionaon December 19, 2012   Link
  • +2
    My Interpretation:There's a definite irony to the song; a sense of strange doom, despite the inclusion of 'love'. While this was clearly never intended, it's often struck me as reminiscent of a failed friendship, rather than a romance. For whatever reason (other partners, obligations, so forth) they can't have a romantic relationship, and there's too much intensity for the dynamic to remain platonic. And thus, 'love' will 'tear them apart'. Why again? Meh. Maybe this isn't the first time. They could've been battling it awhile.

    At first, the more intimate lyrics seemed irreconcilable for such an interpretation, until I presumed, as friends in an 'it's complicated' sort of situation tend to do, some form of sexual relationship of a casual nature emerges - and that won't do, either. The feelings run too deep, and there's really no middle road. Damned if you do - and if you don't.

    In the end, irony of ironies, it was love that tore them apart. Again.

    Any fellow fans of BSG (Battlestar Galactica) would see this sort of thing playing out pretty clearly between Kara 'Starbuck' Thrace and Lee 'Apollo' Adama. A great, close friendship torn apart by the intensity introduced by love that neither could ever seem to handle at the same time. ('Is my timing that flawed?')

    Alas, only my musings on one of the quirkier songs of the era.
    Flag mindhuntresson November 09, 2012   Link
  • +1
    My Opinion:Although the lyrics are well crafted and the melody is unforgettable, this song always struck me as curiously unfinished. The vocals,bass & keyboard following the same melody,particularly in the chorus, seems unjustified. It remains a great song but with more development, it could have been epic.
    Flag Djflemingon September 19, 2011   Link
    • 3 Replies
  • -3
    General Comment:Great band. Ian Curtis was immensely talented, but I hate this track. I find it stooopid. Love does not tear people apart so the entire premise for the track makes it quite useless for me. It's a turn off. From what I gather from the lyrics, people hold resentment for past perceived wrongs and sometimes it appears their love is not moving forward. They are still drawn to each other but there are respect issues due to the resentment for perhaps those wrongs. He worries about her resentment of his actions and that she can't move forward with him due to them. And he feels desperate due to his worry that the relationship is in trouble because of his actions. The track sounds great, but I still dislike it very much due to its flawed foundation.
    Flagged MaryMaryQuiteContraryon September 01, 2011   Link
  • +2
    Song Meaning:I take him to be saying something along these lines—you and I have grown apart, we're in a rut, and we are all too aware of each other's failings. And yet, there's still some attraction there. So, rather than make a clean break, what love we still have for one another is causing us to stay together, to stay miserable, to tear each other apart, long after the point when we should have moved on.
    Flagged lmnon July 10, 2011   Link

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