"Love Vigilantes" is a song by English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band New Order. It first appeared as the opening track of their third studio album, ''

Low-Life A low-life (or lowlife) is a term for a person who is considered morally unacceptable by their community. Examples of people society often labels low-lives include aggressive panhandlers, bullies, criminals, drug dealers, freeloaders, hobos, ...

'' (1985). The song is a departure from New Order's usual style in many ways. Described by

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as "at its core a campfire singalong", "Love Vigilantes" is decidedly pop and shows inspiration from American

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

and folk music. In a 2014 list compiled by ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', "Love Vigilantes" was ranked ninth in a list of the ten best New Order songs.

Lyrics

According to

Bernard Sumner Bernard Sumner (born 4 January 1956) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is a founding member of the bands Joy Division, New Order, and Electronic. Sumner was an early force in several areas, including the po ...

, "Love Vigilantes" is one of the few songs for which he started out wanting to tell a story rather than his usual method of listening to a newly composed piece and writing lyrics to match the mood of the music. Having "decided to write a Redneck song", Sumner's lyrics tell a rather "tongue-in-cheek" tale of a soldier returning home from

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

only to find that his wife had received a telegram informing her that he had died. Sumner further relates that the ending is open to interpretation; either the soldier had actually died and returns as a ghost, or the telegram was sent mistakenly and he is quite alive. Either way, he finds her lying on the floor, having committed suicide with the telegram in her hand, an ending Sumner describes as "a very country tragedy". The subject of the song is close to the one of "Vietnam", the 1969 Jimmy Cliff standard covered by New Order in 2003 for War Child's '' Hope'' album.

Music

The music of "Love Vigilantes" forgoes most of the electronics that otherwise define New Order's typical sound. After an opening of four hits on a snare drum, the music is built around multiple hooks, starting with the intro theme, which '' Spin'' magazine called "Beatlesque", played by Sumner on a

melodica The melodica is a handheld free-reed instrument similar to a pump organ or harmonica. It features a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. The keyboard usua ...

followed by his acoustic guitar riff which repeats throughout the song. Combined with a synthesized low end and Peter Hook's higher "twangy" bass, this new sound for New Order was "gorgeously lush" and "unlike anything that New Order has attempted before".

Covers

* Iron & Wine (2009) *

Duncan Sheik Duncan Sheik (born November 18, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and composer. Sheik is known for his 1996 debut single " Barely Breathing", which earned him a Grammy Award nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. He has composed m ...

(2011) * Comet Gain *Digital *Hideki Yoshimura * Hungry Lucy (2001) *Love Seed Mama Jump * Oyster Band *

Pato Fu Pato Fu is a Brazilian indie rock band from Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais. The band was formed by lead singer & rhythm guitarist Fernanda Takai, lead guitarist John Ulhoa and bassist Ricardo Koctus, in September 1992. Long-time drummer Xande Ta ...

Poi Dog Pondering Poi Dog Pondering is an American musical group which is noted for its cross-pollination of diverse musical genres, including various forms of acoustic and electronic music. Frank Orrall founded the band in Hawaii in 1984, initially as a solo pr ...

* Superchunk *

Laura Cantrell Laura Cantrell (born July 16, 1967) is a country singer-songwriter and DJ from Nashville, Tennessee. Biography Cantrell moved to New York City from her native Nashville to study English at Columbia University. She briefly recorded songs with ...

and

Ted Leo Theodore Francis Leo is an American singer and musician. He is the frontman and lead guitarist of the rock group Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, and in 2013, he and Aimee Mann formed the indie rock duo The Both. Early life Born in South Bend, I ...

*Tom Phillips (2015) *Jackie Oates & Megan Henwood (2016) *Eve St. Jones

References

{{authority control 1985 songs New Order (band) songs Songs written by Bernard Sumner Songs written by Peter Hook Songs written by Stephen Morris (musician) Songs written by Gillian Gilbert Songs of the Vietnam War