New Order – Ultraviolence

General CommentCould it be about rape? Most of the lyrics seem to fit - one of my best friends recently confessed that she was raped by a friend a while back and when I listened to this song afterwards, I was surprised. The evil rapist with the dark eyes and the cold hands, burning the victim's soul...all those years ago.

"This is a place where in the end, it happens in our world within" is more abstract. I think it describes how the victim would see it as a rape that has just happened (a bad thing), in her "world", but that the rapist (in his world) obviously sees it as a normal thing.

The title "Ultraviolence" seems to fit the idea too. Of course it may well be about domestic violence, or drugs, or anything else in that vein, but the song will always remind me of rape and my friend's horrible experience.

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  @Outrune

General CommentI think it's about rape, too. The term "ultraviolence" comes from the novel A Clockwork Orange, and those who have read it (or seen the film), know one of Alex's favorite forms of ultraviolence is rape.

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  @ratanx

General CommentIn a similar way, I always view this song as not about rape but child abuse. The reference to "all those years ago" suggest it was something that happened a long time in the past.

I've seen very early live versions of this song that had the lyric "Who killed my father?"...which fits the child abuse theme, and suggests the song was originally going to be more obvious and explicit.

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  @MisterMarcus