Interpretation of lyrics

The Wombats - Let's Dance To Joy Division






I'm back in Liverpool,
And everything seems the same,
But I worked something out last night,
That changed this little boys brain,
A small piece of advice,
That took twenty-two years in the make,
And I will break it for you now,
Please learn from my mistakes,
Please learn from my mistakes.

Let's dance to joy division,
And celebrate the irony,
Everything is going wrong,
But we're so happy,
Let's dance to joy division,
And raise our glass to the ceiling,
'Cos this could all go so wrong,
But we're so happy,
Yeah we're so happy.

So if you're ever feeling down,
Grab your purse and take a taxi,
To the darker side of town,
That's where we'll be,
And we will wait for you and lead you through the dancefloor,
Up to the DJ booth,
You know what to ask for,
You know what to ask for.

Go ask for Joy Division,
And celebrate the irony,
Everything is going wrong,
But we're so happy,
Go ask for Joy Division,
And raise your glass to the ceiling,
'Cos this could all go so wrong,
But we're so happy,
So happy.

So let the love tear us apart,
I've found the cure for a broken heart,

Let it tear us apart,
let the love tear us apart,
I've found the cure for a broken heart,
Let it tear us apart,
(Let it tear us apart)
So let the love tear us apart,
I've found the cure for a broken heart,
Let it tear us apart,
(Let it tear us apart)
So let the love tear us apart,
I've found the cure for a broken heart,
Let it tear us apart,
Let it tear us apart,
Let it tear us apart.

Let's dance to joy division,
And celebrate the irony,
Everything is going wrong,
But were so happy,
Let's dance to joy division,
And raise our glass to the ceiling,
'Cos this could all go so wrong,
But we're so happy,
Yeah we're so happy,
So happy,
Yeah we're so happy,
So happy,
Yeah we're so happy.

These lyrics can be interpreted in different ways; some may take them at face value, for example reading the phrase "grab your purse and take a taxi, to the darker side of town" literally, thus creating visuals that represent it, however others may read it as metaphorical, and could show visuals that represent someone delving into the darker realms of their minds or something along those lines.

To me, depending on the tune of the song, it could be quite sad since the lyrics mention things going "wrong" and "broken hearts" however due to the upbeat tune and young band members, the words "so happy" and "cure" stand out more. In my opinion, the song is a celebration of a realisation, "and raise our glass to the ceiling", "a small piece of advice", "cure", however I am not sure what the realisation is. Perhaps it could be to not sweat the small stuff, or that music is a cure, or maybe it is that friends are the cure, since it says "so if you're ever feeling down... that's where we'll be... lead you through the dance floor" which makes the band sound friendly and supportive.

The lyrics mention celebrating the "irony", but it is unclear as to what the irony is. Maybe something to do with the fact that despite things going wrong, they're "so happy", but I don't think this really makes sense..

If I were making a pitch for this track, it would involve cross-cutting between performance and the band going around town. The performance would be the band walking towards the camera down the streets of Liverpool, lip syncing. The singer and bassist would be walking, and the drummer would be on a motorised wheelchair type of thing with a platform for the drums. This would be edited by cutting between them walking with and without instruments, which would be a quirk in this video. The parts in town would be them acting out the lyrics, and they would have big cartoon broken hearts, which in the chorus would be taped together by a tape with music notes on it (showing music is the cure) and at the end they would wear smiley face masks that are yellow (standard ones) illustrating that they are "so happy". This is a rough outline of what my pitch would be like.