the 15th

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"The 15th"
Song by Wire
Album	154
Released	September 1979
Genre	Post-punk
Length	3:04
Label	Harvest Records, pinkflag
Writer	Colin Newman
Producer	Mike Thorne
154 track listing
Two People in a Room (2) "The 15th" (3) The Other Window (4)

The 15th is a song first featured in the 1979 album 154 by the English rock band Wire. The song was then covered by the electroclash band Fischerspooner on their 2002 album #1.

The Lyrics

The most striking part of this song are its lyrics. Originally written by Colin Newman, they are ambiguous and aloof. The verses and chorus are composed of short bursts of nouns, verbs, and the ever mysterious "it." We never know exactly what is being talked about, who is saying it, or why. Perhaps the point of this song is to illustrate how none of these things matter at all. Without saying anything, the 15th still manages to seem like it's saying something.

Another interesting part of the lyrics is that the first and second verses combine to create the bridge. For instance, the first line of the first verse (Reviewed, it seemed) and the first line of the second verse (Renewed, it fought) are rearranged and reused in the first and fourth lines of the third verse (Reviewed, it fought) (Renewed, it seemed). The image provided shows the first verse in red, the second in blue, and the bridge in both red and blue to show which of the lines have been rearranged and reused.

Perhaps the bridge is even further evidence of the lyrics' lack of meaning. They are apathetically thrown together, ripped and then re-sewn to create the song's climactic, collage finale.

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