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:
2nd 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! : )
Are you sure you are correct on the "first transmission" session - with these pairing:
ReplyDelete"Thinking on your own at last of every small mistake
Never took a chance at all; with everything, you stayed"
I always heard it as "never took a chance at all with everything at stake"
That seemed to fit to me all these years...
What do you think?
Hm...now that I listen to it again, I do believe you are correct, sir. Thank you.
DeleteI'm always open to lyrical corrections; if you disagree with the lyrics, never hesitate to tell me. That goes for everyone!
No problem, been a fan for ages - and played "novelty" so many times during school and put it on many mixed taped for friends to sway them away from the popular metal bands that populated US radio in the 1980's. Was a favorute of mine.
ReplyDeleteGreat job with noting all the variations, and would have been great if we had better recordings of the early gigs - mostly during the transformation that occured in 1978. Songs like "day of the lords" which they performed in 1977 would be great to hear how it evolved (musically and lyrically). Rumor had it that another track was to have been selected for the "Electric Circus" LP other than "at a later date"....but for some reason label over ruled it. I think it was to have been Day of the Lords....but not sure. Shame that live gig never surfaced of the complete show...would have been amazing to hear it.
Day of the Lords originated in 1977? I thought it originated in 1978...
DeleteYeah, I wish the full Electric Circus gig would be released. I think "Warsaw" and "Novelty" were also performed during that gig.
Peter Hook wrote the lyrics to Novelty according to his book
ReplyDeletePeter Hook only wrote the first draft. After a while, he could see he was beat by Ian in terms of song-writing, so from that point on, Ian wrote all the songs. I think Ian started writing new lyrics for this song after Warsaw, but I can't be sure. I do know he at least wrote the lyrics for the 1st Transmission session and for all the other versions to follow.
Delete