Genre Punk rock Label Enigma
Anonymous | Length 2:25 | |
Released 3 June 1978 (1978-06-03) Recorded 14 December 1977,
Pennine Sound Studio Writer(s) Bernard Sumner
Peter Hook
Stephen Morris
Ian Curtis | ||
"Warsaw" is the opening song by Joy Division on their An Ideal for Living EP. It was slated for release on the album that became Warsaw, which was originally scrapped by the band and not released until 1994. The song is available on a number of compilations, including Substance. The song appears to be a somewhat fantastical biography of Rudolf Hess, a Nazi and 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 Nazi ideology.
It starts with the lyrics "3 5 0 1 2 5 Go!"; "31G-350125" was Hess's prisoner of war serial number when he was captured after flying to Eaglesham, Scotland during World War II. The first verse describes Hess's involvement with Hitler in the Beer Hall Putsch and infatuation with the Nazi Party. The second verse describes his supposed disillusionment with it, and the last verse discusses his life in prison after being convicted of crimes against peace and conspiracy to commit crimes 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.