First Lyrics to Closing Lyrics (A Series) Pt.2: Pictures in My Mind

Alright, here's another comparison for you guys...

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 choice is kinda of an oldie-but-a-goodie... Pictures in My Mind.

"Pictures In My Mind" is best known for Peter Hook's reinvention of it for his band Peter Hook and the Light from its state as being an old, relatively unknown, quite unfinished Joy Division rehearsal song from early 1978. Lucky for us hardcore fans, he eventually put the original demos of the songs up for digital download, making the song publicly available.

There are only two old JD versions of the song, one of them incomplete. Ian's vocal clarity in them is also relatively unclear; the recording equipment really hadn't been super great at the time, unfortunately. Nonetheless, at least they exist.

The lyrics for the following two demos were NOT ones I myself discovered. They were primarily decoded by my good friend Mr. Darkman. He's already published the lyrics on JoyDiv.org in one of the forums for all to see, so I'm sure there's no harm in me reproducing them here. He presented his decoded work to Peter Hook, who rewrote the words slightly for his band's version, based off of the two demos.

As well and good as that is, I don't completely agree with some of his decoded work. For the most part, I believe he got all of it right, but some lines I think are different than what he deciphered them as being. I present my own version of the decoded words for you today, but I give full credit to Darkman, because without him I would have NO idea what the words were in the first place.

As I said, the first take is incomplete. It's just one verse.

Early 1978 Rehearsal (Take 1)

If you think that everything were mean or meant to kill

Everything I see I feel I'm walking out to this

Pictures in my mind, they take me back to right before

Ever feel these pictures in the WORLD

Here's the more complete second version:

Early 1978 Rehearsal (Take 2)

Everything's too bad, now these things have gone away

Pictures in my mind, they take me back to yesterday

Always carry the pictures, take me back to right before

Everything she did from now is better than before

In the right time, of the right

We are thankful definitely, and now it's gone away

I can see much better, hold it every single day

Always carry the pictures, take me back to right before

Pictures in my mind, they drive me around like back before

I've cried, can't you see, for us all

Everything's too bad, now the feeling's gone away

I can see much clearer now, a very special day

Always carry the pictures, take me back to right before

Everything I do from now is better than before

Take me down, me down, always down, down

Ooh...oh, yeah...

Take me down, take me down, take me down, take me down

Here's the Peter Hook and the Light version, just to give you an idea of Peter's rewriting process (I really love his version):

'Peter Hook and the Light' Version (2011)

Everything's so clear now, all the dreams have gone away

Pictures in my mind take me right back to yesterday

I always carry the pictures, take me back to right before

Everything I do from now is better than before

In the night-time, it's the right time

Take me down, down, down, down, down

In the right-time, it's the night time

Take me down, down, down, down, down, down!

I should be so thankful; now the pain has gone away

At every finished side, I watched it each and every day

Always carry the pictures, take me back to right before

The pictures in my mind, I want them more and more and more

In the night-time, it's the right time

Take me down, down, down, down, down

In the right-time, it's the night time

Take me down, down, down, down, down, down!

You will be so lonely, thinking only of yourself

Changing all the words, like this is better for your health

I'm watching all my dreams come true, getting bigger all the time

The only thing I have to do is find the missing rhyme

In the night-time, it's the right time

Take me down, down, down, down, down

In the right-time, it's the night time

Take me down, down, down, down, down

In the night-time, it's the right time

Take me down, down, down, down, down

In the right-time, it's the night time

Take me down, down, down, down, down, down!

I had planned to end this little lyric comparison, right here...until I discovered that Ian Curtis actually DID right another draft for "Pictures in My Mind"! It totally blew my mind when I first found it. I was just flipping through Deborah Curtis' book Touching From a Distance a few days ago. Under the Unseen Lyrics section in the back of the book, you can find many drafts of old, unused lyrics that Ian wrote, most of them being untitled.

One draft, simply titled "Untitled (1978)", really caught my eye. I read over it a few times, until I discovered that it was actually a draft of the song! Far more developed than the two old rehearsals, it looked like Ian had made a serious attempt at writing some lyrics to it. The date was correct and everything, and the lyrics even had some of the same element to them. Check them out:

Pictures In My Mind (Later Draft from 1978)

I can see a thousand wills just bending in the night

And all the pretty faces painted grey to match the sky

From a distance seeing friends just washed up on the shore

A picture in my mind of what's to come before the storm

In time, we don't belong in our own lifetime.

I can hear the voices lost in echoes as they build

New homes to hide the sadness that the search for more had killed

From a by road seeing friends just washed up on the shore

Picture in my mind of what's to come before the storm

In time, we don't belong in our own lifetime.

I can feel an emptiness and see heads held in shame

Trapped inside a legacy of everyone to blame

In the distance see myself just washed up on the shore

A picture in my mind of what will come before the storm

In time, we don't belong in our own lifetime.

We won't crawl and never show our faces,

We'll stand firm and never show the traces,

Of the fear we knew but always could disguise

Of this sinking feeling hid behind our eyes.

Cool, huh? Ian had really been playing with the melody. Nod your head to the beat of the old rehearsal songs and you can match. The last verse is a little different, but still. I was quite impressed and happy when I found this. But it's really sad, how the band pretty much just up and abandoned the song after those two rehearsal takes. Peter Hook is even quoted as saying they never finished the song, so likely there's not some old unused song from like the 'Unknown Pleasures' sessions, or even another rehearsal take or anything...

I wondered why Darkman hadn't shown this later set of lyrics to Peter Hook when it came time for him to remake the song, so that he could use them. So I asked Darkman about it. He told me that he didn't think they fit with the old rehearsal demos, in his opinion. I guess he preferred the old-school set, which is apparently the very first set of lyrics to the song.

I have no idea if Peter Hook knows about this later set of words from Deborah's book nowadays. If not, someone should probably tell him.

Anyway, thanks for reading. Hope you found this interesting. : )

First Lyrics to Closing Lyrics (A Series) Pt.1: Atrocity Exhibition

One of the most impressive and fascinating components of Ian's writing was definitely all of his sets of different lyrics to each song. Throughout Joy Division's approximately three year span career, just about every song went through some sort of rewrite or live variation. I love this about their songs. Common motifs of his I've always liked include knowledge, failure, Christianity and Catholicism, lines, polarity (inside and outside, black and white), loss of control, fear, lack of fear, love, and death. He had the spirit, plain and simple. Just lose the feeling. ;)

I am very convinced that Deborah Curtis did not publish all of Ian's writings, which is understandable; I'm sure he had volumes and volumes of text. Alternate lyrics to a lot of his songs, including "Komakino", where one chapter entitled Walk With Me, Take Hold and See is from an early live version of the song before the studio version.

In honor of that, this is going to be part 1 in 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. My first choices are...the studio versions to Atrocity Exhibition.

The very first recorded set of lyrics actually came from the first studio session. The very earliest live version that we even know of is from June 16, 1979, when they played at The Odeon in Canterbury. Unfortunately, that concert was not recorded (as far as I know). The song was actually as early as June 1979. Funny, given how much later the 'Closer' version was. Very fitting, considering their differences.

The Piccadilly Radio version is a lot rougher and colder, it seems. The recording equipment to begin with wasn't especially great; you can hear a lot of hiss in it. But that's what I like about it; it's closer to most of the live versions. The 'Closer' version is obviously much more refined, and sounds kind of mystic, especially with that brand new last verse at the end. I don't like that version as much, but they're both incredible.

Piccadilly Radio Session (June 4, 1979) (First Studio Session)

Asylums with doors open wide

Where people could pay to see inside

For entertainment, they watch his body twist

Behind his eyes, he says, “I exist.”

This is the way, step inside

This is the way, step inside

This is the way, step inside

This is the way, step inside…

In arenas, he kills for a prize

Wins a minute to add to his life

But the sickness is drowned by cries for more

Pray to God, make it quick; watch him fall

This is the way, step inside

This is the way, step inside

This is the way, step inside

This is the way, step inside…

This is the way

This is the way

This is the way

This is the way

Meet the architects of law face to face

See the horrors of a faraway place

See the ones who could hardly succeed

See that we’re the real atrocities

This is the way, step inside

This is the way, step inside

This is the way, step inside

This is the way, step inside

This is the way, step inside

This is the way, step inside

This is the way, step inside!

Step inside!

Step inside!

You wanna see some more?! Step inside!

You wanna see some more?! Step inside!

You wanna see some more?! Step inside!

You wanna see some more?! Step inside!

And now, for the retort...

‘Closer’ Album Version (March 18-30, 1980)

Asylums with doors open wide

Where people can pay to see inside

For entertainment, they watch his body twist

Behind his eyes, he says, “I still exist…”

This is the way, step inside

This is the way, step inside

This is the way, step inside

This is the way, step inside…

In arenas, he kills for a prize

Wins a minute to add to his life

But the sickness is drowned by cries for more

Pray to God, make it quick; watch him fall

This is the way, step inside

This is the way, step inside

This is the way, step inside

This is the way, step inside…

This is the way

This is the way

This is the way

This is the way

This is the way, step inside

This is the way, step inside

This is the way, step inside

This is the way, step inside…

You’ll see the horrors of a faraway place

Meet the architects of law face to face

See mass murder on a scale you’ve never seen

And all the ones who try hard to succeed

This is the way, step inside

This is the way, step inside

This is the way, step inside

This is the way, step inside…

And I picked on the whims of a thousand or more

Still pursuing the path that’s been buried for years

All the deadwood from jungles and cities on fire

Can’t replace or relate, can’t release or repair

Take my hand and I’ll show you what was and will be

"We never really listened to his lyrics; in fact, we never really talked about his lyrics that much."

-Bernard Sumner

Ian's Final Songs...

Fresh off of their new album session for the highly anticipated "Closer" in late March 1980, Joy Division were once again back to performing live gigs and rehearsing in the studio. The album itself was comprised of many new songs that fans had already heard and been excited about as they performed them live. It was to be a major release, especially when headed by their new single Love Will Tear Us Apart.

Unfortunately, all of the excitement left no time of respite for Ian. His epilepsy was beginning to get unwound, due to his frantic schedule. Nothing but work; any time not spent gigging was spent in the studio rehearsing. It's interesting for me to know this, especially, given the legendary quality of the final two songs he managed to produce during this period. When and where exactly they were conceived, I have no idea. I wish they were early enough to be considered for recording and release on "Closer", but no...at least we got Decades, though. Another plus was that Ceremony was performed live once and released on "Still"...too bad that version sucks, due to poor mixing, however.

There's a lot of mystery behind the two songs...but thankfully, a lot of that mystery has been cleared up in recent years. Good for me too, being a relatively new (yet extremely devoted) fan. We now know that there are three versions of Ceremony (two of them live versions) and five versions of IALP (with most of them having been released). We also have an early Warsaw gig from 1977, several 1977-1978 rehearsals, and knowledge that Peter Hook has just found some "Closer" session outtakes.

When I first got the Heart and Soul Box Set, I hadn't been too big on Ceremony and IALP. I'd heard them on Youtube and thought they were interesting enough. The fact that they were Ian's last two songs hadn't struck me as thoroughly as it does now, mostly because I wasn't as familiar with the band when I first got the set. The quality of Ceremony was rather bad, as I couldn't make out Ian's vocals, and IALP was just a very ghastly song.

Over time, though, the songs grew on me. So much so that they ended up becoming among my favorite songs of all time.

One thing I never liked about the H&S box set was the rather poor mastering quality. I mean, the instrumental parts of the song were fine, but I didn't like the lack clarity in Ian's vocals. To me, half of Joy Division was Ian and his words. But the sources for the rehearsal-part of the H&S box set are straight from Peter's original master reels himself, so I stuck with what I had, and I remastered all the tracks off of the H&S box set, including Ceremony and IALP. I uploaded them to Youtube a while back (in lossless WAV quality); you can listen to them here:

Ceremony

In a Lonely Place

For Ceremony, given the lack of recording quality in Ian's vocals, New Order literally had to run them through an EQ Machine to try to decode them, and even then they weren't super accurate. I believe they used the rehearsal lyrics for Stephen Morris' demo at the Western Works studios in late 1980, but as for the final studio version, I think that they used the live version (the one on "Still") to ultimately compose the final lyrics. Since a full version of the gig version does not apparently exist (or hasn't been released), I cannot prove that. For the rehearsal version, however, here's what I can hear. Every now and then, when I hear something different, I update the words:

This is why the dead unnerve me

Would you say the same old story

Notice why the wheels are turning

Turn away, turn them towards this time

Listen now, the savior calling

Then again, he will see her

Traveled fast, but now I'm stopping

Think again, change its way this time

Oh, I'll break them all, no mercy shown

Heaven knows, it's got to get better

Watching her, a sinking ship

Times she cried, too frail to wake this time

I'll break them all, no mercy shown

Heaven knows, he's got to be stronger

Avenues, all lined with trees

Picture me, ten years' time watching

Watching forever...

Watching forever...

You understand, letting me know

Now come with me, may it be so

Letting me know, shall it be so...

Thankfully, IALP did not have the same problem. Ian's vocals were apparently much more clearly recorded. For the H&S box set, I don't know what they did, but they did an amazing job getting Ian's words as far into the mix as possible. When I remastered it, I ended up getting the words even clearly. Now, from what I can tell, this is the clearest you'll ever hear Ian sing the song.

Caressing the marble and stone

Love that was special for one

The waste in the fever and heat

How I wish you were here with me now

Body that curls in and hides

Hatches that awful daylight

Worn like a dog 'round your feet

How I wish you were here with me now

(Additional Verse, Cut from the H&S box set)

The hangman looks 'round as he waits

Cord stretches tight, then it breaks

Someday, we will die in your dream

How I wish we were here with you now

Hope ya'll enjoyed. :)

Wallflower

Introduction

Hello. My name is Wallflower, and welcome to my brand new blog. My main goal with it is mainly just to share music that I have remastered, mostly in the spirit of my three friends here:

http://autosuggestion-darkman.blogspot.com/

http://toanend.blogspot.com/

http://thepowerofindependenttrucking.blogspot.com/search/label/Joy%20Division

My favorite band of all time is Joy Division, so their music is mostly what I'll be focusing on and uploading. I've been a fan for...maybe a little over just a year or so, now. My brother is the one who got me into the band in the first place. He first showed me the biopic of the band, "Control". I watched it and loved it. Then he showed me the song "Twenty-Four Hours". I kinda held off from listening to any more of their songs from there for a while (I can't remember why), but I finally took the next step with the song "Isolation". From there, it just kinda sent the ball rolling downhill; the rest was, literally, history. He showed me a lot of other great music too, like Can, The Velvet Underground, Daniel Johnston, etc, but Joy Division is what has always had the biggest impression on me.

This blog, for obvious reasons, is dedicated to my brother, without whom I would not know of so much wondrous music today. I also dedicate it to Mr. Darkman, Mr. FageOner, and Mr. Analog Loyalist, who have shared my love for the band and its music too.

Anyway, that's all for now. It's good to be here. :)