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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.
It's getting faster, moving faster now, it's getting out of hand,
On the tenth floor, down the back stairs, it's a no man's land,
Lights are flashing, cars are crashing, getting frequent now,
I've got the spirit, lose the feeling, let it out somehow.
What means to you, what means to me, and we will meet again,
I'm watching you, I'm watching her, I'll take no pity from you friends,
Who is right, who can tell, and who gives a damn right now,
Until the spirit new sensation takes hold, then you know,
Until the spirit new sensation takes hold, then you know,
Until the spirit new sensation takes hold, then you know,
I've got the spirit, but lose the feeling,
I've got the spirit, but lose the feeling,
Feeling, feeling, feeling, feeling, feeling, feeling, feeling.
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.
It's getting faster, moving faster now, it's getting out of hand,
On the tenth floor, down the back stairs, it's a no man's land,
Lights are flashing, cars are crashing, getting frequent now,
I've got the spirit, lose the feeling, let it out somehow.
What means to you, what means to me, and we will meet again,
I'm watching you, I'm watching her, I'll take no pity from you friends,
Who is right, who can tell, and who gives a damn right now,
Until the spirit new sensation takes hold, then you know,
Until the spirit new sensation takes hold, then you know,
Until the spirit new sensation takes hold, then you know,
I've got the spirit, but lose the feeling,
I've got the spirit, but lose the feeling,
Feeling, feeling, feeling, feeling, feeling, feeling, feeling.
Lyrics submitted by cprompt, edited by smuckersje
Track duration: 03:30
"Disorder" as written by Ian Kevin Curtis, Peter Hook, Stephen Paul David Morris, Bernard Sumner
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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The part about "I'm watching you, I'm watching her, I take no pity from your friends" remind me of someone sitting awkwardly with a group of people at a bar, watching people but not interacting... not taking pity from the others who recognize how alone the person is feeling.
Just my interpretation...
In book "Touching From a Distance" his wife says this: "By the end of '78. I couldn't hide my pregnancy no more, and on 27th of December, Ian had his first seizure, while they were getting home bla, bla you know the rest of that story.
So, if he had a first seizure in December of '78, and "Unknown pleasures" was recorded in April '79 (released in June '79), this song could be (partly) about his disease. Of course, I may be wrong, because Ian always had his notebooks with lyrics with him, so this song may or may not have been written before.
And in one interview, Ian said: "Our songs are multidimensional. And whatever message you get out from them, it's right." Of course, it's not 100% true, but I personally think that each person who takes anything (any message) from any song of any band, and that may not be the true meaning, is worth getting an aplause, cause he/she spent some time with the lyrics and got himself into it. And that's practically all what a band would want from their fans.
Sorry for bad English
"I've been waiting for a guide to come and take me by the hand" - Waiting for someone that cares about you
"Could these sensations make me feel the pleasures of a normal man?" - Would having fun make me feel okay?
"New sensations barely interest me for another day" - Usual things are not fun
"I've got the spirit, lose the feeling, take the shock away" - I feel like killing myself, but I've lost the feeling of it, self-harm
"It's getting faster, moving faster now, it's getting out of hand" - I'm getting closer to going through with this
And I am not sure about the middle and ending.
“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?
New sensations barely interest me for another day
I've got the spirit, lose the feeling, take the shock away”
Ian wants to feel happy in this world, but feels he can’t do it himself (Waiting for a guide).
He tries to do “normal” things to try empathize with what he considers “normal”people (pleasures of a normal man),
But this doesn’t work (barely interested).
Instead he’s dismayed (spirit), but he doesn’t want to be (feeling, shock).
“It's getting faster, moving faster now, it's getting out of hand
On the tenth floor, down the back stairs, it's a no man's land
Lights are flashing, cars are crashing, getting frequent now
I've got the spirit, lose the feeling, let it out somehow”
The first three lines comment on the increasing speed and dehumanization of modern life.
The fourth, he tries to bargain with his dismay. He knows he can’t take it away, so he’s trying to find a constructive outlet (let it out somehow).
“What means to you, what means to me, and we will meet again
I'm watching you, I'm watching her - I take no pity from your friends
Who is right, who can tell, and who gives a damn right now?
Until the spirit, new sensation takes hold - then you know --
[or on all the official live versions:
I've got the spirit, lose the feeling, let it out somehow --]
I've got the spirit, but lose the feeling, feeling, feeling –“
This stanza I’m not so sure of. I think it’s about his increasing detachment, and observing it in others. Lastly, Ian mentions his own dismay at modern life, and his dismay at this being the only thing he feels.
Sorry if this sounds really stupid, but this is what it seems to be about to me at least.
Have a nice day.
RIP Ian.
ps: apologizes for my appoximative english. Just hope to be understand
I've been waiting for a guide to come and take me by the hand - i've been waiting for the right time to commit suicide.
Could these sensations make me feel the pleasures of a normal man? - Could cutting/taking drugs make me feel normal
New sensations barely interest me for another day - experiencing new things doesn't make me happy anymore.
I've got the spirit, lose the feeling, take the shock away - i want to lose all feeling and die (basically)
It's getting faster, moving faster now, it's getting out of hand - cutting/taking drugs is getting out of hand
On the tenth floor, down the back stairs, it's a no man's land - that's where he goes to cut/take drugs
Lights are flashing, cars are crashing, getting frequent now - his mind is chaotic from cutting/the drugs (most likely drugs but cutting would apply to me.)
I've got the spirit, lose the feeling, let it out somehow - I want to die somehow.
What means to you, what means to me, and we will meet again - Sorry if i upset you but we'll meet again someday.
I'm watching you, I'm watching her I take no pity from your friends - Only few people loved me and i only loved few ? possibly?
Who is right, who can tell, and who gives a damn right now? - who's right about why i commited and who cares.
Until the spirit, new sensation takes hold then you know - experience of an overdose maybe?
These are just my interpretations . i'm not saying that's what they mean.
"I'm watching you, I'm watching her - I take no pity from your friends". The lover got another person, and the friends of the lover don't even care about what the narrator feels.
"Who is right, who can tell, and who gives a damn right now?". Like the old questions, like what they could have changed, who was right and wrong, why the broke up, it doesn't worth anymore, as there is no relationship anymore.
That's what I saw it, though, but I think that my problems got somehow into the lyrics. But still, a great JD song, my history teacher was totally right, they didn't made a bad song, ever.
This business a few comments back or a few months back about Ian being a homo is ridiculous. It's GUIDE not GUY and despite how much gay men would like him to be like them he wasn't. Not in that sense anyway, he was married young and had an affair and died young. None of his mates ever thought that of him. He was normosexual, get over it.
As for this debate about was it about his epilepsy, that's a non starter too. Ian was epileptic and it was getting worse so he was both epileptic and suiciadally depressed. Everything he wrote had these feelings built into them because that is who he was and he wrote from his heart but I don't think he wrote this song as an OK I'll do an epilepsy song next on the recoed.It was just part of him. You could have no more easily amputated his legs than taken that from his personality.
I get goosepimples listening to it, I feel as if I'm in a night time world of a city i love but have never quite reached.
I want Disorder played at my funeral.