Love Will Tear Us Apart

"**Love Will Tear Us Apart**" is a song by Joy Division, released in June 1980 as a non-album single. Lyrics are inspired by Ian Curtis' crumbling marriage. The single was released a month after Curtis' suicide, where the title was also inscribed on his grave.

The group recorded the song at Strawberry Studios in Stockport, Manchester, with the self-directed music video filmed on 28 April 1980, during a rehearsal at T.J. Davidson's studio.

## Background

Peter Hook told *Louder*, "[The song] came from the dirty streets of Salford. It's a thing that I still wonder about: where does any music come from? The part of your brain when you write music that's unconscious? It was written on the bass and drums and then Bernard put the keyboard on it. I was just playing around with a riff and Ian spotted the melody. He jumped on it and he was saying, 'That's good, that's good... now Steve [Morris], put some drums on.' It was the way we always wrote. Ian didn't write the music, but he'd always spot the best bits." He continued that it was different from their regular sound, being "quite poppy", and they weren't as in love with it. They preferred darker songs like "Shadowplay" and "Transmission" but knew the track "was good, but not great".

Stephen Morris disliked the original version because of the negative memories attached. He recalled, "Martin Hannett played one of his mind games when we were recording it—it sounds like he was a tyrant, but he wasn't, he was nice. We had this one battle where it was nearly midnight and I said, "Is it all right if I go home, Martin—it's been a long day?" And he said [whispers], "OK... you go home." So I went back to the flat. Just got to sleep and the phone rings. "Martin wants you to come back and do the snare drum." At four in the morning! I said, "What's wrong with the snare drum!?" So every time I hear "Love Will Tear Us Apart", I grit my teeth and remember myself shouting down the phone, "YOU BASTARD!" I can feel the anger in it even now. It's a great song and it's great production, but I do get anguished every time I hear it".

In his memoir, Bernard Sumner said, "'Love Will Tear Us Apart' has proved to be one of the most enduring songs we've ever written, if not the most. It's not a love song for the sake of it, it's no vacuous paean to pretend heartbreak or anything like that. It's genuine, it's real and it swings back and forth between full-blown power and reflective introspection. I think it's one of the most beautiful love songs ever written".

## Lyrics

**Lyrics**
[Verse 1]

When routine bites hard and ambitions are low

And resentment rides high, but emotions won't grow

And we're changing our ways, taking different roads

[Chorus]

Then love, love will tear us apart again

Love, love will tear us apart again

[Verse 2]

Why is the bedroom so cold? You've turned away on your side

Is my timing that flawed? Our respect runs so dry

Yet there's still this appeal that we've kept through our lives

[Chorus]

But love, love will tear us apart again

Love, love will tear us apart again

[Instrumental Break]

[Verse 3]

You cry out in your sleep, all my failings exposed

There's a taste in my mouth as desperation takes hold

Just that something so good, just can't function no more

[Chorus]

Then love, love will tear us apart again

Love, love will tear us apart again

Then love, love will tear it apart again

Love, love will tear it apart again

## References

1. ↑ Martin, Gabin (6 July 2022). "How Joy Division's only hit was also their singer's epitaph". *Louder*.
2. ↑ Gale, Lee (29 March 2012). "An Ideal for Reliving". *GQ*.