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I Die: You Die Lyrics
This is not love
This is not even worth a point of view
In echo park, I
pause for effect and whisper ’who are you? ’
They crawl out of their holes for me
And I die: you die
Hear them laugh, watch them turn on me
And I die: you die
See my scars, they call me such things
Tear me, tear me, tear me
Now I have your names
Screaming ’you will suffer’ and ’you’re all too late’
Now I feel young
Does everything stop when the old tape fails?
They crawl out of their holes for me
And I die: you die
Hear them laugh, watch them turn on me
And I die: you die
See my scars, they call me such things
Tear me, tear me, tear me
But I’m still frightened by the telephone
This is not even worth a point of view
In echo park, I
pause for effect and whisper ’who are you? ’
And I die: you die
Hear them laugh, watch them turn on me
And I die: you die
See my scars, they call me such things
Tear me, tear me, tear me
Screaming ’you will suffer’ and ’you’re all too late’
Now I feel young
Does everything stop when the old tape fails?
And I die: you die
Hear them laugh, watch them turn on me
And I die: you die
See my scars, they call me such things
Tear me, tear me, tear me
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great song ! in this song, gary is telling the media hounds that if or when he is finished, the media will be too. they won't be hounding his ass anymore. ' i die: you die'.
damrat, I've noticed the same thing. On the album it's very clear that he's saying "does everything stop when the old tape fails." Maybe there was a last minute change.
The press in the UK went after Numan with a serious hatred. To this day I'm not sure why, but the British press really seemed to despise him. Maybe it's because he helped popularize a new style of music and people just weren't willing to accept it. But I Die:You Die is certainly directed at the press.
Personally I like the live version on Living Ornaments 80, far more than the album version which sounds far too processed.
Interesting, The lyric was originally printed on the inner album sleeve as:
"Does everything stop when the old man fails? "
However, I always thought it sounded like he was saying "tape" and not "man".
I have no idea where "dame" came from...
@damrat ....and if you listen you refers to the old man as 'the old Dave'.... I personally think he is referring to his Prophet-5, a synthesizer used heavily this album, which was built by Dave Smith.
@damrat ....and if you listen you refers to the old man as 'the old Dave'.... I personally think he is referring to his Prophet-5, a synthesizer used heavily this album, which was built by Dave Smith.
@keekeefries - That's an interesting interpretation, but I have never heard Gary sing it that way and it doesn't sound like that to me on the original recording. I would be interesting if it were true. Do you have anything to back that up?
@keekeefries - That's an interesting interpretation, but I have never heard Gary sing it that way and it doesn't sound like that to me on the original recording. I would be interesting if it were true. Do you have anything to back that up?
i love this song
wow I always thought it was "when we all take vows" way off haha. On itunes the review said it's not on telekon, but it's the 5th track on mine.. weird. I love this song !
DJgif - "I Die: You Die" was not on the original British LP "Telekon". It was a single release after the album was released. The "I Die: You Die" track was added to the American release of the LP and "Sleep By Windows" was dropped, purely for commercial reasons I am sure, as "I Die: You Die" was the American single and therefore had to be on the album.
DJgif - "I Die: You Die" was not on the original British LP "Telekon". It was a single release after the album was released. The "I Die: You Die" track was added to the American release of the LP and "Sleep By Windows" was dropped, purely for commercial reasons I am sure, as "I Die: You Die" was the American single and therefore had to be on the album.
There are a couple of songs on Telekon that are essentially Gary Numan rebelling against fame and the media. \'Remind me to smile\' is another variation on that theme. If you think about it, having that kind of instant fame and notoriety thrust upon someone with Aspergers would be a little slice of hell. The media - especially British media - was openly hostile to him in his early years for reasons I will never understand. Maybe it was the new style of music, or the android-like persona he affected in his early albums.