Regret

MemoryI don't believe it's about drugs, at least not to me. This song reminds me of a woman I knew two decades ago. We had an intense relationship that ended with no real finish. Fast forward twenty years, and my life has been what it's been. It's a good life, but every so often I wonder "what if"? Regret is a powerful emotion and this song really captures that for me, anyway.

• 1 Reply Log in to reply

Song MeaningMaybe I've forgotten the name and the address
Of everyone I've ever known
It's nothing I regret

-He has not kept in touch with those in his past....and he does not regret that aspect because he wants to block his past out.

Save it for another day
It's the school exam and the kids have run away

-He avoids thinking about his past regrets, keeps putting it off to another day, like kids do when they have to study for a school exam...he's running away from his past problems.

I would like a place I could call my own
Have a conversation on the telephone
Wake up every day that would be a start
I would not complain of my wounded heart

-He's idealizing a simple life as a solution to his angry & depressed feelings, and as a way to heal his wounds from past regrets.

I was upset you see
Almost all the time
You used to be a stranger
Now you are mine

-This part almost seems like he realized his goal of a simple life with someone he loves, where he is emotionally calm & freed from his past mistakes. However, I think this part is something like a fantasy of being able to look back & not feel regret because you're happy with your current life. It's not something that has actually happened.

I wouldn't even trust you
I've not got much to give
We're dealing in the limits
And we don't know who with

-He realizes that his fantasy is unrealistic. In reality, he would not even trust this "stranger" to be emotionally open with, and due to his depressed feelings, he doesn't have much to give to a relationship anyway. Plus, it's a huge risk ("in the limits"), and you never quite know who you're dealing with in a new relationship. In short, he knows that in reality, a new love would not solve his bad feelings & ease his regret.

You may think that I'm out of hand
That I'm naive, I'll understand
On this occasion, it's not true
Look at me, I'm not you

-He's justifying his feelings. He may appear naive & out of hand emotionally at times, but he's saying its valid. No one else can really know how you feel & judge if it's justified or not.

repeat chorus

I was a short [out] fuse
Burning all the time
You were a complete stranger
Now you are mine

-Pretty much the same as above, only here he compares himself to a fuse that's shorted out to describe his emotional state. He continues to fantasize that a new love & simple life would solve his bad feelings.

repeat chorus

Just wait till tomorrow
I guess that's what they all say
Just before they fall apart

-People often tell you that things will work out, get better in the future ("tomorrow"), etc, but he's mocking them here, saying that they say such things right before their own life crumbles. It's cliche advice and little comfort.

-The song has a pessimistic view: the fantasy that life will improve is just that, a fantasy. In reality, life is a series of regrets.

• 2 Replies Log in to reply

General Commentwhy does everyone think every song is about drugs! this song is about someone who has left an intense relationship and a bad period of his life now he longs for a life with no heartbreak,drama and hardtimes as these lines show:

I would like a place I could call my own
Have a conversation on the telephone
Wake up every day that would be a start
I would not complain of my wounded heart

• 1 Reply Log in to reply

Song MeaningEvery single song interpretation I read always has some fool saying it's about drugs or referencing drugs somehow. Get over it! Maybe many artists do drugs but not all their songs about drugs, it's lame. This song is clearly about the regrets he (anyone) has built up and accumulated over the years especially through adolescence. The song is nearly directed at regret itself. As a kid he had no regrets, "you were a complete stranger, now you are mine". "I was upset you see, almost all the time" and "I was a short fuse, burning all the time" meaning he was going through typical teen angst and frustration. Again, "you were a complete stranger (you=regret), now you are mine".... as he looks or thinks back on life as he was growing up and now he's feeling regret over his actions, reactions, etc. He does not regret having forgotten the name or the address of everyone he's ever known, it was his behaviour, actions, decisions, etc., he regrets. And it's regret he now possesses. "I would like a place I could call my own, Have a conversation on the telephone, Wake up every day that would be a start, I would not complain of my wounded heart"... this is him wanting to make amends with someone or correct his past mistakes. And the last paragraph, "just wait till tomorrow, I guess that's what they all say just before they fall apart" is him saying maybe "tomorrow" he'll have the gonads to make this call and perhaps make amends but at that point, it doesn't seem he will be able to because he lacks the strength.

• No Replies Log in to reply

General Commentyeah, these lyrics are correct and accurate.

the part i really like about this song is the last verse. as if it was some last thought Bernard Sumner hastily tacked onto the end. to me, it makes the entire song and sums it up nicely.

• No Replies Log in to reply

General CommentThis a fantastic song, and I like the coda to. It is like an afterthought, but sums up the whole song beautifully :] Is it me or do all New Order's singles have a title that is never mentioned in the lyrics to the song?

• No Replies Log in to reply

General CommentThis is probably my favorite song of all time. I'm of two minds about this song. On one hand it's about a guy who's screwing up his life and is tired of his girlfriend lecturing him and in turn, his girlfirend is tired too and is leaving him. So the song is a bitter tirade about how the main character doesn't actually need people but rather just shelter and a telephone and he'll be fine and how you can keep telling yourself that things will improve but they never will and it will just make you crazy and fill you with false hope. Just accept what you've got and move along.

My other mind says that it's about a guy who WAS messed up but met this amazing person who helped him get back on track starting small (a place to call his own, etc..). Though this person may have lost all his old friends and everything he used to have it really dosn't matter because he has this great person and life can surely only get better from here. The last line is a throwback to his old friends who were also messed up but keep saying they'll get better but they never will. I like this interpretation better.

• No Replies Log in to reply

General CommentOh shut up about the drugs! You generally find it hard to get out of bed when you're depressed as it is.

• No Replies Log in to reply

General Commentmy girlfriend loves this song. :)

it's about living life without any regrets, i guess. New Order's songs tend to be so beautifully cryptic, it's anybody's guess what they really mean.

• No Replies Log in to reply

General Commentim following you roger

• No Replies Log in to reply