This song is believed to be about either drug addiction, child abuse or a failed relationship. The line, "How does it feel? To treat me like you do," could refer to either the drugs or a partner. The lyric was written by the group's guitarist/lead singer Bernard Sumner, who copped to being (along with the rest of the band) under the influence of LSD while making the song. When Songfacts asked New Order's bass player Peter Hook for some insight, he said: "I don't think there is a great deal to tell behind the lyrics if I am going to be brutally honest! It was just one of those things where Barney just went for it and the rest was history."
"Blue Monday" is the best-selling 12-inch single of all time in Britain, a fact pointed out in the movie 24 Hour Party people, which chronicles the rise of their label, Factory Records. It is also one of the longest charting singles ever, at 7:25. The single wasn't issued as a traditional 7-inch until 1988, which helped boost sales of the 12-inch.
The title is not mentioned in the lyrics, which is true of many New Order songs. The band took the song's name from an illustration in the Kurt Vonnegut book Breakfast Of Champions, which Stephen Morris was reading. One of its illustrations read: "Goodbye Blue Monday," referring to the invention of the washing machine improving housewives' lives.
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