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Insight Lyrics
Guess the dreams always end
They don't rise up just descend
But I don't care anymore
I've lost the will to want more
I'm not afraid, not at all
I watch them all as they fall
But I remember when we were young
Those with habits of waste
Their sense of style and good taste
Of making sure you were right
Hey, don't you know you were right?
I'm not afraid anymore
I keep my eyes on the door
But I remember
Tears of sadness for you
More upheaval for you
Reflects a moment in time
A special moment in time
Yeah, we wasted our time
We didn't really have time
But we remember when we were young
And all God's angels beware
And all you judges beware
Sons of chance take good care
For all the people out there
I'm not afraid anymore
I'm not afraid anymore
They don't rise up just descend
But I don't care anymore
I've lost the will to want more
I'm not afraid, not at all
I watch them all as they fall
But I remember when we were young
Their sense of style and good taste
Of making sure you were right
Hey, don't you know you were right?
I'm not afraid anymore
I keep my eyes on the door
But I remember
More upheaval for you
Reflects a moment in time
A special moment in time
Yeah, we wasted our time
We didn't really have time
But we remember when we were young
And all you judges beware
Sons of chance take good care
For all the people out there
I'm not afraid anymore
I'm not afraid anymore
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This is my favorite JD song...
Every so often you stop and think to yourself, "What the f**k have I been doing all this time?" After being shot down so many times by so many people in every kind of situation, you just sort of accept that you are nothing, and it's your own fault. Actually, this song reminds me of many conversations with my own father.
Well, that's what this means to me
Have you ever taken a step back from your life and realized that everything you put your guts and soul into could very well be of no consiquence or significance at all? And maybe the only thing really worth reflecting on is the innocent and uneducated joy of your youth. I think that most of Curtis's adult like he saw death staring him right in the face, threatening him, pointing at him and once he realized that everything he was living for was insipid he finally said, come on you bastard! Come and take it, "I'm not afraid"
I think this song is about giving up on life. Just completely losing interest and hope, and looking back on the past and wishing you had done something productive with your time rather than wasting it. I think when Ian said "I'm not afraid anymore" he was saying that he no longer feared death. I also think that "I keep my eyes on the door" might be a metaphor for considering suicide.
I agree it's like saying "I keep all possibilities open", and i relate very close to regret of wasted time or more like wasted money on drugs while going nowhere ~Nick
I agree it's like saying "I keep all possibilities open", and i relate very close to regret of wasted time or more like wasted money on drugs while going nowhere ~Nick
@NewDawnFades Yes.
@NewDawnFades Yes.
@NewDawnFades
@NewDawnFades
@NewDawnFades it is precisely what this song is about.
@NewDawnFades it is precisely what this song is about.
I really think that this song is about relizing how meaningless life is. When you think of people you used to know, be it that they died or you just lost contact with them you relize that they are individuals with thought and it becomes a extremely complex web of realitys. When you feel like this you relize how futile life is. When you think of the concept of time and the amazing scale of the universe you relize you are completely insignifigent your life is.
@Dwitefry
I think people tend to look at the suicide side of Insight more because it is the last from Ian Curtis before his suicide in 1980. When it was originally recorded, even some of his family and friends feared that it had meant he was going to do it. So it's not just the fact people tend to look for warning signs, its the fact that there were obvious warning signs ahead of time. It's just too bad no one acted on it.
@bliss Freak ; That may be the best interpretation I have heard.
@JGoldenberg Insight was the last from Ian Curtis??? Are you kidding me? It was actually one of his firsts! They released a hole new album (closer) after Unknown Pleasure.
@JGoldenberg Insight was the last from Ian Curtis??? Are you kidding me? It was actually one of his firsts! They released a hole new album (closer) after Unknown Pleasure.
I wonder, do people look for hints toward suicide in lyrics from someone who has killed themselves?
I've always considered the song to be being an insight into how meaningless life has become for the narrator (be that Curtis or not). And having this insight the narrator stops being afraid (but of what?)
MeX
PS - I like Bliss' answer.
"I've always considered the song to be being an insight into how meaningless life has become for the narrator (be that Curtis or not). And having this insight the narrator stops being afraid (but of what?)"
"I've always considered the song to be being an insight into how meaningless life has become for the narrator (be that Curtis or not). And having this insight the narrator stops being afraid (but of what?)"
Of what? Well, if the narrator's life has become meaningless, then he presumably has nothing left to lose and, thus, nothing to be afraid of.
Of what? Well, if the narrator's life has become meaningless, then he presumably has nothing left to lose and, thus, nothing to be afraid of.
Giving up on wanting more in life. Looking back on the years when you were young, how foolish you were, and all that wasted time.
"And all God's angels beware And all you judges beware Sons of chance take good care For all the people out there I'm not afraid anymore I'm not afraid anymore"
He's giving his warnings, his goodbyes, he's not afraid to die.
obviously the purpose of songs is so people can interpret the lyrics in their own personal sense. We know he suffered from epilepsy but i think clinical depression was the most dominant underlying issue. To me it's about caring what people and society think about you/competitiveness/ narcicism 'i watch them all as they fall' and 'i remember when we were young' he remembers when he was young and life was easier/hopeful ie not knowing how negative life can be. 'those with habits and waste/sense of style ad good taste' again thinkng too much about wat people do and act an eventually...
obviously the purpose of songs is so people can interpret the lyrics in their own personal sense. We know he suffered from epilepsy but i think clinical depression was the most dominant underlying issue. To me it's about caring what people and society think about you/competitiveness/ narcicism 'i watch them all as they fall' and 'i remember when we were young' he remembers when he was young and life was easier/hopeful ie not knowing how negative life can be. 'those with habits and waste/sense of style ad good taste' again thinkng too much about wat people do and act an eventually he realised it was all quite meaningless in the end (impermenence of life)...'im not afraid anymore' clearly about death but as we know his wife said he actually was afraid of death...'yeah we wasted our time, we didnt relly have time' maybe he looked back on his life and realised he was in the exact same position he was years before and no better, hence although time had elapsed 'we didnt really have time'..oe of the most powerful lines 'all gods angels beware and all you judges beware' this portrays his raw anger underlying his depression, in a sense anger towards god/higher power because he cannot see any goodness in life anymore, and hes warning all the people 'judges' to beware because they dont understand him, nor know what he is experiencing and to not judge because he really is living in hell...i have suffered from depession periodically and this is how interpret ians lyrics, sadly this stage ian was in is apparently just before some sort of subconcious to concious awakening of 'the self' and an end to suffering
i see it as sort of you see your own demise coming. you repeat the same routine over and over again, and you see where youre heading in life. with this, you start to question life, and believe its meaningless. the line "I'm not afraid anymore", to me, can either mean hes not afraid of death or anything - be it society, heights, the future. reminds me of the nine inch nails lyric "nothing can stop me now//cause i dont care anymore".
insight into emptiness (vipashyana)
realisation and remebering. pure and simple.
'my life is ruined, but you know what, i'm gonna accept it.'
simple observation of his society told ian that ultimately, life means nothing if you have not the power to prolong it. so subsequently he accepts fate and turns to question others and pontificate on his life.
"Hey don't you know you were right?" and "but we remember, when we were young"
finally, he imparts a final statement of not being afraid, possibly foretelling of his acceptance of suicide?
much much more than meets the eye/ear of course (as with any jd song) but who are we to interpret a song as beautiful and haunting as this?