Lyrics of the Day: Joy Division

“Procession moves on, the shouting is over,

Praise to the glory of loved ones now gone.

Talking aloud as they sit round their tables,

Scattering flowers washed down by the rain.

Stood by the gate at the foot of the garden,

Watching them pass like clouds in the sky,

Try to cry out in the heat of the moment,

Possessed by a fury that burns from inside.”

- Joy Division, ‘The Eternal”

The songs of Joy Division and the lyrics of frontman Ian Curtis are pure, unadulterated poetry. Though Joy Division lasted but four years, the sheer power and presence of Curtis lives on long after his premature passing. A man afflicted in both the emotional and physical realm, Curtis wrote from a dark state of mind, but the results have left countless inspired and moved by his eloquence. “The Eternal” is taken from Joy Division’s final (and arguably greatest) album, Closer, and seems to be portraying a funeral procession. It is simply preternatural the way Curtis paints a vivid visual image with his wordplay, and to this day his songwriting is a major influence upon a large number of artists.