Warsaw (song)

"Warsaw" is the opening song by Joy Division on their An Ideal for Living EP.[1] It was slated for release on the album that became Warsaw, which was originally scrapped by the band and not released until 1994.[2] The song is available on a number of compilations, including Substance.[3] The song appears to be a somewhat fantastical biography of Rudolf Hess, Hitler's Deputy Führer, who flew to Great Britain in 1941 in an attempt to negotiate a peace between Germany and the UK, supposedly because of his disillusionment with National Socialism. At a performance of the song "At a Later Date" at the Electric Circus in Manchester, Guitarist Bernard Sumner shouts "You all forgot Rudolph Hess" before the song begins.[4]

"Warsaw"
Song by Joy Division
from the album An Ideal for Living
Released3 June 1978 (1978-06-03)
Recorded14 December 1977
StudioPennine Sound
GenrePunk rock
Length2:25
Label
  • Enigma
  • Anonymous
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Joy Division

It starts with the mock-countoff "3 5 0 1 2 5 Go!";[5] "31G-350125" was Hess's prisoner of war serial number when he was captured after flying to Eaglesham, Scotland during World War II.[6] The first verse describes Hess's involvement with Hitler in the Beer Hall Revolution and his infatuation with the NSDAP. The second verse discusses his supposed disillusionment with it, and the last verse portrays his life in prison after being convicted at the Nuremberg Trials. The chorus is a simple repetition of "31G", the first three characters of his serial number. "31" signifies the European theatre of war and "G" German, the nationality of the prisoner.

The song is featured in the video game Tony Hawk's Underground 2.[7]

References
  1. "Joy Division -- An Ideal for Living". Discogs. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  2. "Warsaw - Joy Division". Allmusic.
  3. "Substance -- Joy Division". Allmusic. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  4. "Joy Division - At a Later Date". YouTube.
  5. "Warsaw - Joy Division". Genius. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  6. Bird, Eugene K. (April 29, 1974). The Loneliest Man in the World: The Inside Story of the Thirty-Year Imprisonment of Rudolf Hess. Ishi Press. p. Illustrated Section. ISBN 9784871878807. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  7. "Soundtracks - Tony Hawk's Underground 2". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
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