This and Atmosphere have to be my two favourite Joy Division songs.
The main attack of this song seems to be against mass religion. 'promise of cofessions and true faith'
He can already see the difference between godliness and sin without the church, and all their promises really offer is of hypocrisy.
But aswell as religion, it also seems to take the usual Joy Division pot shots at the technological industrial age and such.
'the products and the other world of waste'
Perhaps with the last verse line 'watched them dying as they leave their ship of fools', he's trying to tie them together. That people live within this technological, industrial and seemingly aimless world, which corrupt religion can't give a direction to, it's a 'ship of fools.'
Perhaps you could read something into them dying as leave it, rather than leave it as they're dying?
Do they need it to live?
This and Atmosphere have to be my two favourite Joy Division songs.
The main attack of this song seems to be against mass religion. 'promise of cofessions and true faith' He can already see the difference between godliness and sin without the church, and all their promises really offer is of hypocrisy. But aswell as religion, it also seems to take the usual Joy Division pot shots at the technological industrial age and such. 'the products and the other world of waste'
Perhaps with the last verse line 'watched them dying as they leave their ship of fools', he's trying to tie them together. That people live within this technological, industrial and seemingly aimless world, which corrupt religion can't give a direction to, it's a 'ship of fools.' Perhaps you could read something into them dying as leave it, rather than leave it as they're dying? Do they need it to live?