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.
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.