Decades

I'm fairly certain this song is about the affects a war will have on the young men who are forced to fight it. It may be specifically about world war two, when the majority of young men (from the nations heavily involved) were called upon by their leaders to risk their lives and commit horrible acts against their enemies (We knocked on doors of Hell's darker chambers Pushed to the limits, we dragged ourselves in). Then, upon returning home these men, in most cases, lied about the truth of the horrors they had scene or remained silent about it ( Where have they been?). In many cases these soldiers could not adjust to civilian life because of traumas, or because they couldn't replace (the fear or the thrill of the chase). For these men, the possibilities in life that they had before the war were gone (These rituals showed up the door for our wanderings . Opened and shut, then slammed in our face). Though I don't think Ian is talking about the Vietnam war, The Deer Hunter is a great illustration of the kind of characters he is talking about.

dammit ian shouldnt be dead

This song is not about war although they're using that as a metaphor. It's about looking back at a life that was not fulfilled for some reason. I think they wanted to transmit the way many people feel when reaching a certain point in life.

Basically, Decades is Joy Division the Las Vegas years. This is not as glib an assesment as it sounds. Taking Closer as a whole, the first side is a man debating with himself whether or not to make the ultimate sacrifice ending in A Means to an End and the taking of his life. Heart and Soul is the immediate aftermath of death, Twenty Four Hours is coming to terms with grief, The Eternal is the funeral and Decades is twenty years later.

Decades looks back at what could have been and what actually happened. Decades is very much in the spirit of "its better to burn out than fade away". Rather than grow old disgracefully and become a parody of him/themself Decades celebrates the implosion of what Curtis final act meant for the group both creatively and enigmatically.

Its with some irony that 21 years on from Curtis death, New Order "reformed" and for the first time since Joy Division actually started playing their songs at their gigs. Perhaps Curtis was right all along...

I hear pain and suffering. That's what it's about. Might be war.

Very striking song. I usually listen to it when I feel suicidal. It helps somehow. Yeah, I'm strange.

it's astounding how sensitive Ian (who'd never experienced any touch of war) was to create such pictures of war. "Watched from the wings as the scenes were replaying We saw ourselves now as we never had seen" - nobody can find better words to describe the realization of the atrocities. The whole song for me is more like a confessional, remorse and regret "These rituals showed up the door for our wanderings" - i'm pretty sure he talks about the effects on mental health caused by buntons, concentration camps and other realities of the war. i don't think he intended to point out any particular war, and i think that is proved by the song name itself. 'Decades', i suppose, is named so to emphasize a horrifying amount of time wars takes the human race.

This song is not about war at all, though I can see why the interpretation of that might be taken from it. Since Closer tells the story of Ian's own death, this is the long term aftermath, and fittingly the last song on the album. It's basically looking back at his life and those around him from 10-20 years in the future after he hanged himself.

"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 chamber, Pushed to the limit, 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 trauma and degeneration, The sorrows we suffered and never were free."

The young men with the weight on their shoulders is Joy Division's members. They were really at the forefront of post-punk and on their way up when he topped himself. Where have they been? What have they done? Well... They (or Ian at least), knocked on the doors of hell's darker chamber and then dragged himself in. (suicide).

Portrayal of the trauma and degeneration is the effect the whole thing had on Ian. It was really fucking him up towards the end. His epilepsy was getting worse from the late-night gigs, and he was growing tired of the fans who were just coming to watch him have seizures. He felt like he was on display as some kind of circus freak (see the first song: Atrocity Exhibition). The sorrows we suffered (the breakage the band-life had on him) was never free, because of how hard he worked to get there. He's essentially saying he worked for three years as hard as he could, just to end up like "this".

The chorus of "Where have they been?" is about Peter, Bernard and Stephen. What have they done since Ian killed himself? Where have they been as a band? He'll never know, because he's dead, which is why he's asking us.

"Weary inside, now our heart's lost forever, Can't replace the fear, or the thrill of the chase, Each ritual showed up the door for our wanderings, Open then shut, then slammed in our face."

He's grown tired of the thrill that being famous has brought him. He's weary and his heart has been degraded from the lifestyle. And no matter how hard he tries, the thrill of trying to become successful like in the beginning can never be replaced. He's lived this whole thing to its full potential and now it's time to move on through death.

definately about war, but is relatable in other ways

i know so many people have said the same thing but this song gives me such chills and is truly amazing

the second chorus almost always makes me break down

this is one of the few bands that deserves every ounce of praise they get

Strange as it may seem , it has been suggested that some of the lyrics were a thickly veiled dig at the mystical imagery and grandiose themes of Echo & the Bunnymen at the time. Nevertheless , the lyrics , certainly open to several interpretations , are brutally uncompromising and fatalistic. It was said that Ian Curtis was in a trance-like state when he wrote the majority of the lyrics for the Closer album with little editing or rewriting. It does seem that the keyboards in this song have been deliberately crafted to evolve from the horrendously dated churning stabs of the verses into the sweeping majesty of the choruses which feature possibly the most resigned and forlorn melody ever.

im not sure at all what this song is about. maybe at looking at your life through another perspective, and realizing how shitty its been