She’s Lost Control Lyrics
Confusion in her eyes that says it all
She's lost control
And she's clinging to the nearest passer by
She's lost control
And she gave away the secrets of her past
And said, "I've lost control again"
And to the voice that told her when and where to act
She said, "I've lost control again"
[Verse 2]
And she turned around and took me by the hand
And said, "I've lost control again"
And how I'll never know just why or understand
She said, "I've lost control again"
And she screamed out, kicking on her side, and said
"I've lost control again"
And seized up on the floor, I thought she'd die
She said, "I've lost control"
[Chorus]
She's lost control again
She's lost control
She's lost control again
She's lost control
[Verse 3]
Well, I had to phone her friend to state my case
And say she's lost control again
And she showed up all the errors and mistakes
And said, "I've lost control again"
But she expressed herself in many different ways
Until she lost control again
And walked upon the edge of no escape
And laughed, "I've lost control"
[Chorus]
She's lost control again
She's lost control
She's lost control again
She's lost control
About
Released as both an album cut and, in a hint of where New Order would eventually find itself, “She’s Lost Control” drew inspiration from Ian Curtis’s encounter with an epilepsy victim and her attendant lack of control over her own body. It was something Curtis also suffered from, and the chilling sense of desperation and fear shot through the lyrics draws on more than a dramatic gift.
The deep echoes on the album version of his vocals make that version more of a disturbing listen, but on both the music is excellent, the steady death disco punch of the arrangement as much a harbinger for early 1980s experiments all over the world as anything. Peter Hook’s memorable, softly descending bassline gets a rougher counterpart with Bernard Sumner’s clipped, chugging riff, and the whole sounds like a disturbing vision into a world many would never know otherwise.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
Yes! You can find an official Peel Sessions recording here, but there is also this version, recorded at the Something Else Show on BBC 2 in September 1979:
- 1.Disorder
- 3.Candidate
- 4.Insight
- 6.She’s Lost Control
- 7.Shadowplay
- 8.Wilderness
- 9.Interzone