Joy Division - Exercise One Lyrics






When you're looking at life,
In a strange new room,
Maybe drowning soon,
Is this the start of it all?
Turn on your TV,
Turn down your pulse,
Turn away from it all,
It's all getting too much.

When you're looking at life,
Deciphering scars,
Just who fooled who,
Sit still in their cars,
The lights look bright,
When you reach outside,
Time for one last ride,
Before the end of it all.





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Joy Division Exercise One Comments
  1. t.... ....

    Not just song this is art in perfection.. Ian for my soul. Genius

  2. m.... ....

    That bassline. Just wow.

  3. a.... t....

    porno para tus oidos..

  4. J.... H....

    Loved every minuet, disorder is my favorite joy Division song among many many others... RIP Ian x

  5. C.... T....

    There’s just something about this song that just screams, 50s and 60s new towns. Observe, Stevenage’s Queensway.

  6. I.... G....

    More clapping is needed "👏👏👏"

  7. J.... S....

    The bass intro vaguely sounds like The Changling by The Doors

  8. R.... r....

    Possibly my fave JD song, but who can really simplify them to that level?

  9. E.... ....

    Empty Spaces

  10. M.... R....

    Grosos!!!

  11. p.... h....

    exelente

  12. M.... ....

    The eerie sound of the lift shafts at strawberry studios at the beginning of this masterpiece.

  13. n.... s....

    This prefigures Unknown Pleasures. The music was taking on different shapes

  14. S.... ....

    OCCIDENT

  15. T.... S....

    One last ride....One last ride

  16. l.... ....

    I v been trying a few years to get the rytham right on the means to an end track on the drums... I got this song on from Melody maker in the 90s on tape. with the track empty glasses.. and other songs

  17. O.... S....

    i got it in my device to liste while running , its excellent !!!!!!!

  18. m.... t....

    Masculine bass lines, monotone black & white way ahead, the spear of the techno

  19. m.... t....

    Futurist head dream fuck

  20. T.... B....

    Look at Ian's face on the bridge. It looks like he's had enough.

  21. C.... P....

    Always phenomenal.

  22. D.... ....

    Peter Hook , bloody master!

  23. S.... V....

    Love Martin Hannett's utterly creepy atmospheric work as usual here, coupled with the semi incongruous disco claps.. am I the only one to think of the claps in "Let's All Chant"?

  24. M.... K....

    I listened it under LSD, and everything turned inside of me ...

  25. B.... ....

    Joy Division - the only true soul music ever recorded

  26. M.... P....

    Hannett unintentionally created Goth

  27. U.... T....

    Joy Division The best of and 79'80....Ian Curtis -vocal
    Bernard sumner-teclados /guitarra
    Peter Hook-contrabaixo
    Stephen Morris-bateria

  28. K.... D....

    Person: Directioner or Belieber?
    Me: Divisioner

  29. e.... ....

    Haunting guitar work :)

  30. h.... ....

    an In Utero era Nirvana cover of this would have been amazing...

  31. G.... S....

    To me it's like an war exercise, the begginig of the end of the world.

  32. G.... C....

    I just cant understand how Sumner could go from this, THIS, to blue monday, love bizarre triangle and his other bullshit. I just cant.

    G.... C....

    Gastón Cid I don't mind the New Order stuff myself, I think it's quite good actually, but I see what you mean about the big change between the two groups. But yeah if you prefer this Joy Division stuff that's cool man.

    G.... C....

    A matter of tastes, openess to new things, new decade, new sound, different instruments, different times, and by the way grow up.

    G.... C....

    Without Ian, Joy Division isn't possible.

    G.... C....

    fuck u cunt eat shit

  33. P.... M....

    This song really sums up everything that's so amazing about Joy Division.

  34. J.... ....

    sounds just like Bauhaus, or I should say the vice versa.

  35. D.... G....

    FUCKING GOD THIS IS GOD

  36. J.... M....

    8 people are lost

  37. P.... I....

    This is not real Joy Division.

    P.... I....

    Yes, it is.

  38. Y.... ....

    The beginning kinda sounds like Jimmy Page's Bow Solo

  39. O.... S....

    My favorite song of Joy division i'm sure

  40. B.... B....

    When you're looking at life,
    In a strange new room,
    Maybe drowning soon,
    Is this the start of it all?
    Turn on your TV,
    Turn down your pulse,
    Turn away from it all,
    It's all getting too much.When you're looking at life,
    Deciphering scars,
    Just who fooled who,
    Sit still in their cars,
    The lights look bright,
    When you reach outside,
    Time for one last ride,
    Before the end of it all.

  41. C.... G....

    perfection

  42. k.... ....

    The start of this song makes me feel like I have committed some terrible crime that my mind is blocking out.

    Then I remember I was no where near Portugal when Maddie disappeared.

  43. K.... N....

    When you're looking at life,
    In a strange new room,
    Maybe drowning soon,
    Is this the start of it all?
    Turn on your TV,
    Turn down your pulse,
    Turn away from it all,
    It's all getting too much.

    When you're looking at life,
    Deciphering scars,
    Just who fooled who,
    Sit still in their cars,
    The lights look bright,
    When you reach outside,
    Time for one last ride,
    Before the end of it all.

  44. �.... �....

    ეკლები

  45. Z.... ....

    for some reason i associate some of joy division's sounds with hr giger's paintings

    Z.... ....

    Zoster I can see that, I think this music accompanies his artwork very well! :)

  46. l.... a....

    UberCool!! I've never Heard this track before it's powerful!!

  47. k.... ....

    opening song when hookey came to the Gov this year, we had a ball!

  48. D.... G....

    Have always loved this freaky, flesh crawling beginning & hypnotic bass. One of the best studio mixes ever.

    D.... G....

    perfect description, wish I'd said it.

    D.... G....

    Joy division always had the potential to go more soundscape than they ended up doing. One of my favourites.

  49. H.... ....

    smoke weed and play it! it's insane, fantastic, wonderful...
    oh i love jd soo mutch! fucking music, fucking solos, and, wtf the apresentation? 
    ohh guys...

    H.... ....

    Hahaha
    Smoke weed to Joy Division it's the perfect mix, after all Unknown Pleasures was made under the influence of weed, they where smoking all the timexD

    H.... ....

    +carlos enrique gutierrez careaga only Martin and Steven.

  50. P.... ....

    This was peter hook and the light's opening song in Adelaide feb 15th 2015 at the gov hindmarsh hotel in Adelaide 
     This was one of the truly great nights in my 35 years of love for JD 

    P.... ....

    @PharmaBikeGirl Sounds awesome. Wish I had been there.

    P.... ....

    May 10th 2018 saw Peter Hook and the Light at the Neptune in Seattle Wa. Beyond Fantastic

  51. J.... S....

    Mancunian Blues! Joy Division Blues! Unique and brilliant! No Blues quite sounds like this; it's as if the monolithic buildings that inhabit our earth are looking down on us, a metroplosi, keeping watch. Claustrophobic! Intrusive! Judgemental!
    Monochrome streets concealed in coldness, our big city experience...One of the most important bands ever, not quite as important in the pantheon as One Direction but I accept defeat and sooner remain in the cold as a prisoner lol

    J.... S....

    Blues meaning :feelings of melancholy, sadness, or depression.
    "she's got the blues"

    How is that not blues? This is pure melancholy, sadness, and depression.

    J.... S....

    seth kukel its not blues in terms of a music genre,if you listen to blues songs and compare it to this you can clearly see/hear that its not the same

    J.... S....

    Well of course, since the standard is 12 bar blues. But you're taking completely out of consideration what Javed said. He means the song it's self is blues.
    No that it is structured 12 bars, etc etc.

    J.... S....

    seth kukel Well you're there.

    J.... S....

    Existential music

  52. T.... P....

    JD, the kubrik of music

    T.... P....

    JD, the Rubik of music

  53. j.... ....

    I love this song, live or in studio, it's brilliant.

    j.... ....

    sorry i don't understand.

  54. D.... ....

    ..one of my favourite JD tracks... ...

  55. V.... ....

    Just had a dream about this song. Had to wake up and listen! ;)

  56. S.... ....

    Listening to this while reading chapter one of Hooky's book, it's great!

  57. G.... H....

    This song is like the cold brush of death going across my spine, and I love it!

  58. A.... M....

    NEVER listen to the first 25 secs when in deep thought & walking down narrow pitch black hallways.

  59. E.... ....

    it's a different trip studio joy and live joy... sadly i don't think many in here experienced them live :)

    E.... ....

    Sometimes it can be a very bad trip live as well, done alot of digging, but when they had it right it was the best.

  60. w.... ....

    maybe you should start listening to more music because there are bands out there that sound better live than they do in the studio despite any mastering.

  61. T.... U....

    My favorite one yeah ! (agree with @NotoriousNME right !)

  62. N.... ....

    this song and Colony are my favorite songs. ever.

    N.... ....

    I agree.

    N.... ....

    So do I. Best two songs ever recorded.

  63. f.... ....

    I agree with you...and for the other hand, the people may mixed-up the show with the good music roll..or bad..

  64. p.... ....

    There is an earlier version of Exercise One, that was recorded for a John Peel session in January 1979, and which is available on Joy Division's Peel Sessions CD. This version was recorded slightly later in April 1979 and was intended for the Unknown Pleasures album, but it was cut from Unknown Pleasures and finally released in 1981 on Still.

  65. R.... �....

    i can feel the electricity with this joy division songs,they are really deep and obscure,they make me feel on the 70s manchester....

  66. T.... M....

    When you're looking at life,
    In a strange new room,
    Maybe drowning soon,
    Is this the start of it all?
    Turn on your TV,
    Turn down your pulse,
    Turn away from it all,
    It's all getting too much.

    When you're looking at life,
    Deciphering scars,
    Just who fooled who,
    Sit still in their cars,
    The lights look bright,
    When you reach outside,
    Time for one last ride,
    Before the end of it all.

  67. H.... ....

    Absolutely! Ian Curtis was a lyrical genius. And when you have musicians who are just as innovative on their instruments, you have a band that is absolutely special and stands out as being unique in every way. Today, I would put the Walkmen in the same category as Joy Division as well as Shawn Lane, the "GREATEST" guitarist and musical poet of them all.

  68. T.... ....

    One year later and this is still accurate!

  69. H.... ....

    My comment applies to the song. I don't think you understand that concept. It's very simple. You listen to a song. Then you post a comment about the song. Some people may agree. Some may not. But the comment applies to the song. If you want to comment about comments, then you have lost your reason. Maybe you should post a video of you ranting against comments on Youtube. Then people will post comments about your comments and it will all make sense. In other words, don't be a jackass.

  70. H.... ....

    What are you trying to say? You don't think this song is "excellent" or a work of "genius"? You think it's mediocre? OK. You tell me what song in YOUR opinion is "excellent" and/or "genius". Let's see what passes those qualifiers in your brain. Or maybe you're just being a shit to those who have an opinion to state. What seems to be your problem? Are you a failed "pop star" wannabe who can't write a single song to put food on the table? Are you Boy George, George Michael, or just lonesome???

  71. k.... ....

    A magnificently menacing and moody tune.... Damn I wish I could play bass like Peter Hook!

  72. j.... ....

    @lawrence096 But false things can look great and/or sound great sometimes. Like a woman with a 'beat' face. :) I love the music playing even more that Ian's singing but Martin Hamnett did a good job with the producing. The studio 'clean up' makes the artist(s) sound larger than life and that's where the beauty is, but that doesn't mean that the artist(s) have no real talent or substance at all.

  73. j.... ....

    @lawrence096 Overproduced is beauty, true beaty. Vive l'artifice.

  74. H.... ....

    @Neonman78 Another aspect of JD that accounts for their dark mystique is Ian Curtis himself. Here's a guy who wrote a tragic song about a girl who died of an epileptic seizure. Ian later is diagnosed with having the same ailment. He dances on stage like a person wrestling with the disease. And just before the band is about to make it big, Ian kills himself out of guilt for destroying his marriage coupled with the fear of looking like a freak on stage. This is Greek level tragedy.

  75. w.... h....

    @HMG5588 I've heard some of them and I agree, but they sound like an exploding version of JD because of their intensity. One other band influenced by JD is Former Ghosts, who are like a goth-electronic version of them, in some ways. This is why JD, although hugely original, are also hugely influential so it's no wonder there's music out there that sounds so similar (of course not the exact same, but some bands certainly wear their influences on their sleeves).

  76. H.... ....

    @Neonman78 The Walkmen are more of a tragic love story or lost individual band in the vein of great song writers like Roy Orbison or Neil Diamond. Just listen to "Blue As Your Blood", "The Blue Route", "I Lost You", "Lisbon", or "Donde Esta La Playa". These songs are GENIUS... and on the same level of genius as those songs by Joy Division... in my humble opinion at least.

  77. w.... h....

    @HMG5588 They're very good, but not hugely similar to Joy Division. I think that though no bands sound exactly like them, the bands that I mentioned (Editors, Interpol) have certainly been influenced by Joy Division -- you can tell just from listening to their music.

  78. H.... ....

    @Neonman78 Actually, my favorite band right now is The Walkmen. The music is retro early 60s and delivered with great lyrics, story lines, innocence, and intensity. Very few bands reach that level of creative genius.

  79. w.... h....

    @HMG5588 Fair enough. White Noise aren't that similar to Joy Division, but I mentioned them because they are least sound similar to the opening of this song.

  80. H.... ....

    @Neonman78 Interpol's songs, while good melodically, are poorly written in terms of lyrical content. Paul Banks tries too hard to be unique. And when that becomes obvious in the music, it's sad. I still like Interpol, but the bass player who left should be bitch slapped for leaving in the first place. After all, he exited the band like a primedonna bitch. As for the Editors, they try to hard to matter musically. I'll tune into White Noise and assess that band. Thanx.

  81. w.... h....

    @HMG5588 Interpol. Editors. White Noise.

  82. 8.... ....

    Claustrofóbica

  83. j.... ....

    @PaleBunnyInfidel cool baby!

  84. P.... ....

    @jrmetmoi now you've met two. I usually will not listen to any live music on youtube. Sometimes if it is the only version available and i really need to hear it.

  85. M.... M....

    belloo!

  86. J.... E....

    Every time I hear this song I always think of the Moors Murders. Given the fact that both Brady and Hindley were fuelled with an obsession with Nazisim and sex, and that the bandname Joy Division comes from a brothel at Auschwitz, and that both Peter Hook and Bernard Sumner were young enough to have been selected by both Brady and Hindley, I think this is deliberate.

  87. J.... J....

    Classic Ian! RIP!

  88. I.... O....

    The best version.

  89. j.... ....

    I always prefer the studio version of ANY song in the world I've ever liked because in the studio it's been properly perfected and MASTERED and that's why it sounds so good. This is why I even get disappointed with live stuff sometimes no matter who's doing it, and I've only ever met one other person who agrees with me on this point. LOL

  90. H.... ....

    Excellent! Genius! Who makes music like this these day? NO ONE!!!

    H.... ....

    HMG5588 There are some excellent groups influenced by Joy Division for example Motorama and Human Tetris listen to them and get your own conclusions.

  91. D.... H....

    Hannett version still wins for me!