World

One of the themes running through New Order's "Republic" album is the dissolution of Factory Records and Bernard Sumner's feelings of betrayal by Tony Wilson.

The first stanza seems to set up the atmosphere they were in and how Sumner might've kept his feelings quiet at the time. He gets a little jab in at Wilson saying he has "no passion for this hate" meaning it's not even worth arguing over who was right or wrong between them - he's just over it completely and "in a moment I am gone".

The "when this building is on fire" stanza alludes to the demise of Factory symbolically.

Finally, seems like Sumner often can't decide if he's talking about his love of a person or drugs in his lyrics (True Faith has a little of that)......"that's the price of love, can you feel it?" = paying $20 for a roll (Ecstacy/MDMA) which can be considered "love" and then the "am I feeling it yet?" question we always ask ourselves a good 1/2 hour or so after ingestion.

Trevor, I have watched the film clip, and it actually made me feel really sad!

Just the ending, with that woman... it seems to me as if she's a prostitute so-to-speak, and it's the only way for her to make money.... it relates to the lyrics of "That's the price of love.... if we could buy it now, how long would it last?" Because it's like saying, having sex for money isn't love, and if you just bought it (aka paid for the sex) it wouldn't last very long...

But that's just what I got from it... Overall, one of my fave New Order songs.

A lot of the lyrics remind me of Donnie Darko.

@60_miles_an_hour:

"...actually made me feel really sad..." - could not agree more!

However, I got an impression that the lady in the end was the customer, not the prostitute. She just 'bought the love' but 5 minutes of happiness & joy was again replaced by emptiness, right after the young hustler left the room... Young, attractive people are shown as the goods here...

All in all, great song / video, excellent location, characters... love the black n white technique.

@foggydecember:

You are right! The lady at the end is the customer, not the prostitute.

Previous to the lady scene you can see a man walking out of her room with his shirt unbuttoned and keeping some bills in his pocket (a clear reference he is a male prostitute).

The facial expression of the lady at the end says it all; the inner emptiness, sadness (perhaps shame or guilt), and loneliness left after time's up and the "love" ends… the price of love I guess…

Great video, song and lyrics btw!

First two verses could be a description of a person who sees how the World is, has given up on politics as a solution, and found an alternative that's more constructive - "Hear me talk but never speak." Politics needs an enemy, it needs hate, and the narrator just doesn't see the need. The Sun is the ever burning ambition of society to be elsewhere, to be master of everything, to always be something materially more. They can't entirely be absent from it, no one can, and the choice was to find this new way or go avoidably insane or "break", both psychologically and emotionally. It would be a waste of life. So they appear outwardly normal "sideways to the sun" while following their own path. At its height, their personal passion burns so brightly that soon no one notices the difference between them and the sun - their way becomes invisible to the suspicion of deviation. You can't buy it, or fake it, imitations don't last. It means you will always know you are somewhat divorced from society. When things get tough you can no longer run and hide in ready-made culture. That's the price you pay.

[Edit: typo]

Did anyone watch this video, recently? It is such a good match to the ideas I had about it. I love songs that are dark yet have so much energy!!