Bizarre Love Triangle is the 13th single by New Order. It is also the 6th track of their album Brotherhood. It was released on 5 November 1989, two months after Brotherhood released. Its FAC number is 163 and in Australia (backed with State of the Nation) it is a 7" with its FAC number as 163153, due to State of the Nation being FAC 153.
Sleeve
The sleeve is a burnt out photograph of the sky complete with sun and clouds. The photograph was taken by Geoff Power.
Reception and Reviews
The song was well received by everyone, and it quickly became a dance epic. It was ranked 201st on the Rolling Stones 500 greatest songs of all time.
Allmusic's Stacia Proefrock wrote this review on it: "During the mid-'80s, New Order began to move away from the legacy of their previous incarnation as Joy Division and pursue their own dance-influenced, electronic sound. Judged as being shallow and/or inauthentic by many of their previous fans, they were often written off as a dance-pop confection. Despite this, they managed to be one of the most influential bands of the new wave era; those who looked closely at their music also realized that it was not nearly as light as it seemed. "Bizarre Love Triangle," their highest-charting dance hit in the U.S., was a perfect example of the complex and often dark songwriting that the band produced, and its macabre simplicity was stripped bare by an unusual acoustic cover produced by the Australian band Frente for their 1994 record Marvin: The Album. Separated from its synth pop beat, the song was a beautiful skeleton that helped not only propel Frente's career, but also renewed interest in the work of New Order as a whole."[1]
Note: Frente is a band that gave an acoustic cover of the single, and it became Frente's best worldwide hit.
B-sides
The 7" and 12" UK versions have Bizarre Dub Triangle as the B-side to the single. It is sometimes called "I Don't Care" The US versions have "Every Little Counts" as the B-side, which is also on the Brotherhood album. On the Australian version, the B-side is State of the Nation.
The 12" and CD Qwest versions have the tracks Bizarre Love Triangle, I Don't Care (Bizarre Dub Triangle), State of the Nation and Bizarre Love Triangle (album version). The CD Qwest also includes Bizarre Love Triangle (Single Remix).
Alternate versions
- Subpage: Bizarre Love Triangle/Versions
Alternate sleeve
Lyrics
Every time I think of you
I feel shot right through with a bolt of blue
It's no problem of mine
But it's a problem I find
Living a life that I can't leave behind
But there's no sense in telling me
The wisdom of the fool won't set you free
But that's the way that it goes
And it's what nobody knows
Well every day my confusion grows
Every time I see you falling
I get down on my knees and pray
I'm waiting for that final moment
You say the words that I can't say
I feel fine and I feel good
I'm feeling like I never should
Whenever I get this way
I just don't know what to say
Why can't we be ourselves like we were yesterday?
I'm not sure what this could mean
I don't think you're what you seem
I do admit to myself
That if I hurt someone else
Then I'll never see just what we're meant to be
Every time I see you falling
I get down on my knees and pray
I'm waiting for that final moment
You say the words that I can't say
Every time I see you falling
I get down on my knees and pray
I'm waiting for that final moment
You say the words that I can't say