Album: Closer (1980)

License This Song 

• Asylums with doors open wide
  Where people had paid 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 dead wood 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 Writer/s: Bernard Sumner, Ian Kevin Curtis, Peter Hook, Stephen Paul David Morris
  Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
  Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 5

• Kat from Manchester UkDoes anyone else suspect that he wrote this following news of The Jonestown Massacre? It occurred within 2 years of the album being released.
• Ginger_fro from IlAs it is. The lyrics reference not only Ian's own personal problems, but an author and particularly a book of the same name that Ian and other band members read and got it from.
  Author JG Ballard
  Book The Atrocity Exhibition
• Eddy from Sf, CaIn the Joy Division documentary. Ian Curtis' wife explains that Ian went through a phase in which all that interested him was human suffering; the holocaust, wars, etc. and would research and read about it. This song is his own interpretation in how people are fascinated by human suffering. himself included.
• Sebastian from Copenhagen, DenmarkIan Curtis was as a child very fascinated with the Roman Empire, and gladiators. So I think the meaning of the lyric is that he compares himself with a gladiator, who suffers in front of an audience. Of course meaning that he was in real life suffering with his epileptic fits. People was paying to see gladiators suffer, and the people who payed to see Joy Division, got to see Ian Curtis suffer.
• Chere from Lumberton, TxI'm not sure of the exact meaning of this song (who does really?) but here is my own interpretation. As Joy Division's popularity grew, people stopped going to concerts for the music and began going to see if Ian Curtis was going to fall into an epileptic fit during his manic trance dance. I think that he wrote this song about his loss of control with his fans and his own personal life, while desperately trying to say, 'behind his eyes he says, "I still exist."

More Songfacts:

Take Me to ChurchHozier

Hozier recorded his vocals for "Take Me To Church" in his attic at 3 a.m. one January morning in 2013

O.P.P.Naughty by Nature

The Naughty by Nature hit "O.P.P." doesn't have any curse words, but many oversensitive radio stations played a "clean" version with the word "kitten" edited out, surely the first time that word was censured.

Here I Go AgainWhitesnake

"Here I Go Again" was a #1 hit for Whitesnake in 1987, but it was first released in 1982 with the lyric, "Like a hobo I was born to walk alone."

SOSRihanna

A section of verse lyrics in Rihanna's "SOS" is made up of titles from '80s hits - check out the part that starts, "Take me on, I could just die up in your arms tonight."

Hey Soul SisterTrain

Train's guitarist had to Google an instructional video to learn how to play the ukulele for "Hey Soul Sister."

The CaveMumford & Sons

"The Cave" by Mumford & Sons is based on the philosophy of Plato and his work called "Allegory of the Cave."

Editor's Picks

Modern A Cappella with Peder Karlsson of The Real GroupSong Writing

The leader of the Modern A Cappella movement talks about the genre.

Richard Butler of The Psychedelic FursSongwriter Interviews

Psychedelic Furs lead singer Richard Butler talks about their first album since 1991 and explains what's really going on in "Pretty In Pink."

Jack Blades of Night Ranger and Damn YankeesSongwriter Interviews

Revisit the awesome glory of Night Ranger and Damn Yankees: cheesily-acted videos, catchy guitar licks, long hair, and lyrics that are just plain relatable.

Krishna DasSongwriter Interviews

The top chant artist in the Western world, Krishna Das talks about how these Hindu mantras compare to Christian worship songs.

P.F. SloanSongwriter Interviews

P.F. was a teenager writing hits and playing on tracks for Jan & Dean when he wrote a #1 hit that got him blackballed.

90s Music Quiz 1Music Quiz

First question: Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson appeared in videos for what artist?