"1963" is a track by English rock group New Order. It was originally released as a

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

to " True Faith" in 1987 and appeared on the '' Substance'' compilation of the same year. It was then released as a single in January 1995, in a radio mix by Arthur Baker. "1963"'s B-sides are all remixes of the title track or songs previously released.

Lyrics

In ''New Order Music 1981–89'', the band's lyricist Bernard Sumner writes a

tongue-in-cheek Tongue-in-cheek is an idiom that describes a humorous or sarcastic statement expressed in a serious manner. History The phrase originally expressed contempt, but by 1842 had acquired its modern meaning. Early users of the phrase include Sir Walte ...

account of the song's lyrics that relate it to the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy. Sumner facetiously theorises that Kennedy arranged for

Lee Harvey Oswald Lee Harvey Oswald (October 18, 1939 – November 24, 1963) was a U.S. Marine veteran who assassinated John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, on November 22, 1963. Oswald was placed in juvenile detention at age 12 for truan ...

to shoot his

wife A wife (: wives) is a woman in a marital relationship. A woman who has separated from her partner continues to be a wife until their marriage is legally dissolved with a divorce judgment; or until death, depending on the kind of marriage. On t ...

so that "J.F. could do one with M. Monroe". Monroe commits suicide when Oswald hits the wrong target (in reality, Marilyn Monroe died in 1962, over a year before the assassination took place) and Oswald is later shot by his boss (implied to be

Jack Ruby Jack Leon Ruby (born Jacob Leon Rubenstein; March 25, 1911January 3, 1967) was an American nightclub owner who murdered Lee Harvey Oswald on November 24, 1963, two days after Oswald assassinated President John F. Kennedy. Born in Chicago, R ...

), for "doing such a bad job and causing his hit-man business to go bust." The producer

Stephen Hague Stephen Hague (born 1960) is an American record producer most active with various British acts since the 1980s. Early life Hague was born in Portland, Maine, in 1960. Early career Hague started his musical career in the mid-1970s as a session ...

has referred to the song as "the only song about domestic violence that you can dance to."

Versions

The original 1987 version ended in a fade-out while repeating the last line of the outro, "I will always feel free". The "94 album mix", also included on the international edition of ''

(The Best of) New Order ''The Best of New Order'' (stylised as ''(the best of) NewOrder'') is a greatest hits album by English band New Order. It was released in the United Kingdom on 21 November 1994 by London Records and, with a different track listing, in the United ...

'' as "1963-94", had all new orchestration and is similar in structure to the original version, except that the outro is removed and replaced with a repeat of the final bridge and chorus, faded out. The 1995 Arthur Baker remix restores the original outro, and, instead of fading out, has a cold ending after four repeats of the last line. An alternate mix of "1963-94" appeared on the 2005 ''

Singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

'' compilation, while the 2016 re-release of ''Singles'' features the Arthur Baker remix.

Music video

The video for the single's release, featuring the "95 Arthur Baker Radio remix", was directed by

Gina Birch Georgina Mary Birch (born October 1955) is an English musician and filmmaker, best known as a founding member of post-punk rock band the Raincoats. Born in Nottingham, Birch attended Nottingham Girls' High School and subsequently Hornsey Sc ...

and produced by Michael H. Shamberg. It depicts British comic actress

Jane Horrocks Barbara Jane Horrocks (born 18 January 1964) is a British actress. She portrayed Bubble and Katy Grin in the BBC sitcom '' Absolutely Fabulous''. She was nominated for the 1993 Olivier Award for Best Actress for the title role in the stage pl ...

waking up in a box in the countryside and walking to the city. Jane's suitcase becomes bigger in each camera take, eventually growing to the size of the box she initially emerged from before she climbs inside.

Lyrics

Versions

Music video

Track listing

Charts

References

See also