First Lyrics to Closing Lyrics (A Series) Pt.4: No Love Lost

Another one!

Just to recap, this is going to be a part of an occasional series of posts I'm going to make on this blog. This'll be where I compare an early set of lyrics to a later set of lyrics for one Joy Division song. Sometimes I may compare multiple sets of lyrics of just one song to each other. When you couple in a lot of the live variations to certain songs, you can get all sorts of results.
So...today's song is an easier one to track. No Love Lost. An extremely underrated Joy Division song that was criminally and largely ignored by the band throughout their career.

I've decoded all but ONE version of the versions of the song that I know of (although I am aware that there is an instrumental version from a 1977 rehearsal floating around out there somewhere). The one version that I didn't decode was "Live at the Roots Club, Leeds (July 11, 1979)". I do not have this gig in my possession but I have heard it once before; pretty bad quality. If there any variations in lyrics for No Love Lost, I'm guessing they're relatively minor.

Here's the first version (with lyrics, anyway), which also happens to be the first studio version:

‘An Ideal For Living’ EP Version (December 1977)

So long, sitting here; didn’t hear the warning

Waiting for the tape to run

We’ve been moving ‘round in different situations

Knowing that the time would come

Just to see you torn apart, witness to your empty heart

I need it

I need it

I need it

Through the wire screen, the eyes of those standing outside looked in at her

As into the cages of some rare creature in a zoo

In the hand of one of the assistants, she saw the same instrument

Which they had, that morning, inserted deep into her body

She shuddered instinctively

No life at all, in the house of dolls

No love lost, no love lost

You’ve been seeing things in darkness, not in learning

Hoping that the truth will pass

No life underground, wasted, never changing

Wishing that this day won’t last

To never see you show your age, to watch until the beauty fades

I need it

I need it

I need it

Legendarily, the second verse of this version is almost completely and directly quoted from the book "House of Dolls", a book about Nazi prison compounds during WWII. Ian Curtis was very informed about the past, wasn't he? The next version skips directly to the second studio version; I have no idea if there are live versions that took place in between the two. This is curious, because Ian changed the second verse for this second version:

RCA Studio Sessions (May 3 and 4, 1978)

So long, sitting here; didn’t hear the warning

Waiting for the tape to run

We’ve been moving ‘round in different situations

Knowing that the time would come

Just to see you torn apart, witness to your empty heart

I need it

I need it

I need it

Two way mirror in the hall

They like to watch everything you do

Transmitters, hidden in the wall

So they know everything you say is true

Turn it on

Don’t turn it on

Turn it on

You’ve been seeing things in darkness not in learning

Hoping that the truth will pass

No life underground, wasted, never changing

Wishing that this day won’t last

To never see you show your age, to watch until the beauty fades

I need it

I need it

I need it

I assume Ian changed the second verse because it was in bad taste. It was quoted from a portion of "House of Dolls" about the brothel Joy Division, after all. Hell, the original artwork for An Ideal For Living featured a Nazi youth member.

When Rob Gretton became their manager he wanted to remove any negative publicity from the band that they were a group of Nazis; I assume in whatever ways he could manage. Whether he commissioned Ian directly to change the second verse of No Love Lost to remove the Nazi element, I don't know, but it'd make sense to me. From then on, all the following versions would have the alternate second verse.

Here's the third version, which is also the earliest known live version (again, I don't know if Ian ever sang the "House of Dolls" second verse live; Peter Hook and the Light eventually would, though, when they covered the song):

Live at the Bowdon Vale Youth Club, Altrincham (March 14, 1979)

So long, sitting here; didn’t hear the warning

Waiting for the tape to run

We’ve been moving ‘round in different situations

Knowing that the time would come

Just to see you torn apart, witness to your empty heart

I need it

I need it

I need it

Two way mirror in the hall

They like to watch everything you do

Transmitters, hidden in the wall

So they know everything you say is true

Turn it on

Turn it on

Turn it on

(The version is unfortunately incomplete; the soundboard tape ran out...)

And, finally, the last known version:

Live at Civic Hall, Guildford (November 1, 1979) [Last Version]

So long, sitting here; didn’t hear the warning

Waiting for the truth to pass

We’ve been moving ‘round in different situations

Hoping that the truth would pass

Just to see you torn apart, witness to your empty heart

I need it

I need it

I need it

Two way mirror in the hall

They like to watch everything you do

Transmitters, hidden in the walls

So they know everything you say is true

Turn it on

Turn it on

Turn it on

You’ve been hearing things in darkness, not in learning

Knowing that the truth will pass

No life underground, wasted, never changing

Wishing that this day would last

Never see you show your age, watch until the beauty fades

I need it

I need it

I need it

And there you have it. Lyrics to almost every version of the song. I hope you enjoyed reading this and found it interesting! : )

First Lyrics to Closing Lyrics (A Series) Pt.3: Novelty

It's been a long time since I made the last post, I know. Well, I'm here now, ready to make another lyrical comparison!

Just to recap, this is going to be a part of an occasional series of posts I'm going to make on this blog. This'll be where I compare an early set of lyrics to a later set of lyrics for one Joy Division song. Sometimes I may compare multiple sets of lyrics of just one song to each other. When you couple in a lot of the live variations to certain songs, you can get all sorts of results.
Today's song is a song that stuck with Joy Division all the way from the humblest of beginnings to about one year before it all ended... Novelty.

I've decoded just about every JD version of Novelty I could find, including the oldest rehearsal versions from August-September 1977, which really didn't have the best vocal quality. My main strategy for decoding all these songs was to decode one version that has good vocal quality, then use it as a guide to decode the other versions. This mainly helped with all the versions from before 1978. Later versions of the song (from 1979) would completely change lyrically from version to version.

Here's the first, earliest known version:

Rehearsals (August-September 1977) (Take 1)

When people listen to you, it means a lot

'Cause you've got to work so hard for everything you got

Can't rest on our laurels now, not when you've got none

You find yourself in at the gutter, right back where you came from

Someone told me being in the know is a main thing

We all need the security that belonging brings

Can't stand on your own in these times, 'gainst all the odds

I don't wanna act all cool, like all the other sods

So you slap our backs and pretend you knew

About all the things that we were gonna do

Well, whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do

When it's over?

(If there are any more lyrics in this version, I can't hear them.)

Here's the second version. It was during the same rehearsal as the version above, but I think the band took a break so that Ian could come up with a few more verses for a second take:

Rehearsals (August-September 1977) (Take 2)

When people listen to you, don't you know it means a lot?

'Cause you've got to work so hard for everything you got

Can't rest on our laurels now, not when you've got none

You find yourself in at the gutter, right back where you came from

Someone told me being in the know is a main thing

We all need the security that belonging brings

Can't stand on your own in these times, 'gainst all the odds

I don't wanna act all cool, like all the other sods

You slap our backs and pretend you knew

About all the things that we were gonna do

Whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do

When it's over?

Standing on your own, now; don'tcha think that it's a shame?

But you're the only one responsible that's to blame

When you gonna grow and act, and be yourself?

But pretty soon you find yourself nailed to the shelf

*Born in a half onto the wall, you wanna crawl*

*Oh, I never happened to the drawers, that they explored*

Whatcha gonna do when the novelty has gone?

Whatcha gonna do when the novelty has gone?

Grab it while you can, but don't ever relax

'Cause there's always someone gonna stab your back

Whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do

When it's over?

Grab it while you can, but don't...ooh...

(Lines with asterisks around them mean I'm not 100% sure)

So by this point, the first draft of lyrics for the song (which I call the "Warsaw" lyrics) was complete. Ian would use them for the following live version and studio session. Here's the third version:

Live at Rock Garden, Middlesbrough (September 14, 1977) [First Live Version]

When people listen to you, don't you know it means a lot?

'Cause you've got to work so hard for everything you got

Can't rest on our laurels now, not when you've got none

You find yourself in a, the gutter, right back where you came from

Someone told me being in the know is a main thing

We all need the security that belonging brings

Can't stand on your own in these times, 'gainst all the odds

I don't wanna act all cool, like all the other sods

You slap our backs and pretend you knew

About all the things that we were gonna do

Whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do

When it's over?

You're on your own, now; don'tcha think that it's a shame?

But you're the only one responsible that's to blame

When you gonna grow up and act, and be yourself?

But pretty soon you find yourself nailed to the shelf

*Born in a half into the prime, you wanna crawl*

*I never happened to the drawers, you went explored*

Whatcha gonna do when the novelty has gone?

Whatcha gonna do when the novelty has gone?

Grab it while you can, but don't ever relax

'Cause there's always someone gonna stab your back

Whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do

When it's over?

Fourth Version:

RCA Studio Sessions (May 3-4, 1978) [First Studio Version]

When people listen to you, don't you know it means a lot?

'Cause you've got to work so hard for everything you got

Can't rest on your laurels now, not when you've got none

You find yourself in the gutter, right back where you came from

Someone told me being in the know is the main thing

We all need the security that belonging brings

Can't stand on your own in these times, 'gainst all the odds

I don't wanna act all cool, like all the other sods

You slap our backs and pretend you knew

About all the things that we were gonna do

Whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do

When it's over?

You're on your own, now; don'tcha think that it's a shame?

But you're the only one responsible that's to blame

When you gonna grow up and act, and be yourself?

But pretty soon you find yourself nailed to the shelf

Grab it while you can, but don't ever relax

'Cause there's always someone gonna stab your back

Whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do

When it's over?

From here, as far as I can tell, the song was ostensibly dropped (or there just aren't any recorded/released versions) until July 1979, when the song was chosen to be the B-Side for the "Transmission" single. Why they chose that song, I'm not sure, but I'm so glad that they did.

The band had TWO recording sessions, trying to create good versions of the songs Transmission and Novelty for release on the single. Here's the 1st session take from the "Transmission" single sessions and also the fifth version of the song:

1st Transmission Session (July 1979)

When people listen to you, don't you know it means a lot?

'Cause you've got to work so hard for everything you've got

Can't rest on your laurels now, not when you've got none

You find yourself in the gutter, right back where you came from

Where you gonna run to now, where you gonna hide?

All the dreams you ever had in tatters, at the side

Thinking on your own at last of every small mistake

Never took a chance at all with everything at stake

Then you slap our backs and pretend you knew

About all the things that we were gonna do

Whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do

When it's over?

You're on your own, now; don't ya think that it's a shame?

But you're the only one responsible to take the blame

Staring in the mirror now, at everything you've seen

Look into the future too, and see what might have been

And you slap our backs and pretend you knew

About all the things that we were gonna do

Whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do

When it's over?

As you can tell, Ian had remade pretty much all of the lyrics for the single. For the 2nd session take, however, Ian used another set of lyrics that more or less combined the "Warsaw" version and this new draft version of the song. Here's the sixth version:

2^nd Transmission Session/Transmission Single Version (July-August 1979)

When people listen to you, don't you know it means a lot?

'Cause you've got to work so hard for everything you got

Can't rest on your laurels now, not when you've got none

You find yourself in the gutter, drive back where you came from

Someone told me being in the know is the main thing

We all need the security that belonging brings

Can't stand on your own in these times, 'gainst all the odds

You'll just fall behind, like all the other sods

You slap our backs and pretend you knew

About all the things that we were gonna do

Whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do

When it's over?

You're on your own, now; don'tcha think that it's a shame?

But you're the only one responsible that's to blame

So whatcha gonna when the novelty has gone?

Yeah, whatcha gonna do when the novelty has gone?

You slap our backs and pretend you knew

About all the things that we were gonna do

Whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do

When it's over?

Novelty, being the B-Side for the new single, was likely played live at least a few times to promote it. Here is the only live version from around this time, and also the very last and final known/released version of the song:

Live at The Factory-Russel Club (July 13, 1979) [Last Version]

Ian: Um...heh heh...this... th-this one's a very old song. Um...about two years old. Some of you might remember it.

When people listen to you, don't you know it means a lot?

'Cause you've got to work so hard for everything you've got

Can't rest on your laurels now, not when you've got none

You find yourself in the gutter, right back where you came from

Where you gonna run to now, where you gonna hide?

All the dreams you ever had in tatters, at the side

Staring in the mirror now, at everything you've seen

Looking by the daylight now, just what might have been

There you slap our backs and pretend you knew

About all the things that we were gonna do

Whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do

When it's over?

You're on your own, now; don'tcha think that it's a shame?

But you're the only one responsible to take the blame

Whatcha gonna when the novelty fades away?

Yeah, whatcha gonna do when the novelty fades away?

There you slap our backs and pretend you knew

About all the things that we were gonna do

Whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do

When it's over?

And there you have it! Lyrics to all seven JD versions of the classic song. Hope you found this as interesting as I did and thanks for reading! : )