Joy De Viva
The Stranglers Lyrics


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She wiped the smile right off my face
And hid it away in a secret place
The night was dark and the ground was cold
I slipped myself into a pool
I saw the trees but not the wood
And floated in an icey flood
As cold began to freeze my heart
I heared a voice come through the dark
Bring up the coals
Light up the fire
Joy de viva
Joy de viva
Smile your shining smile on me

If you see her
Say I need her
Joy de viva
Joy de viva

Now sunburned men tell tales of me
Of how I sail the ocean deep
Upon the brow I shade my face
Searching for that sate of grace
Every night the moon appears
She shows me that I need not fear
The crashing rocks and siren wind
And I will find her in the end




Then I will run
Into her fire

Overall Meaning

The Stranglers’s song Joy De Viva talks about a lost love that has wiped the smile right off the singer’s face and hid it away in a secret place. The singer is lost and floating in a pool, unable to see the wood for the trees and is slowly freezing. Suddenly, a voice comes through the dark and tells the singer to light up the fire and bring up the coals in a joyful manner. The singer pleads to this voice to bring back the shining smile that was once wiped off their face. The singer asks if anyone sees her to tell her that they need her, calling her Joy de viva.


The singer goes on to talk about how sunburned men tell tales of them and their sailing journeys on the ocean deep, while they shade their face and search for a state of grace. Every night, the moon appears, and she reminds them that they need not fear the crashing rocks and siren winds - they will find her in the end. Finally, the singer vows to run into her fire once they have found this love again.


The song speaks to the experience of losing someone and searching for them relentlessly, even going through dangerous waters to find them. The chorus, “Joy de viva,” is a made-up phrase that the singer uses to refer to this lost love, similar to the way one can use the word “baby” as a nickname.


Line by Line Meaning

She wiped the smile right off my face
She took away my happiness from me


And hid it away in a secret place
She kept it hidden and away from me


The night was dark and the ground was cold
It was a cold, dark evening


I slipped myself into a pool
I immersed myself into a pool of water


I saw the trees but not the wood
I saw individual parts but missed the bigger picture


And floated in an icey flood
I drifted along in freezing water


As cold began to freeze my heart
My heart started to feel numb with the cold


I heared a voice come through the dark
I heard a voice from the darkness


Bring up the coals
Increase the heat


Light up the fire
Start a fire


Joy de viva
Enjoy life


Joy de viva
Enjoy life


Smile your shining smile on me
Make me happy with your beautiful smile


If you see her
In case you see her


Say I need her
Tell her I want her


Joy de viva
Enjoy life


Joy de viva
Enjoy life


Now sunburned men tell tales of me
People talk about me


Of how I sail the ocean deep
Of my adventures at sea


Upon the brow I shade my face
I shield my eyes from the sun


Searching for that sate of grace
Looking for a state of perfection


Every night the moon appears
The moon comes out every night


She shows me that I need not fear
The moon reassures me


The crashing rocks and siren wind
The noise of the sea and the wind


And I will find her in the end
I will eventually find her


Then I will run
I will hurry


Into her fire
Into her warm embrace




Contributed by Keira I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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Comments from YouTube:

Shice Squad

Hidden gems? You can say that again. But "In the Night" and especially "About Time" were pretty damned full of hidden gems, don't you think? Most of the songs on both of those albums were at least pretty good. Pity this incarnation didn't last long, I thought that guitarist wrote pretty good stuff!

Jeffery Molnar

Paul Roberts, U are the bomb!! 💥

Jeffery Molnar

Paul Roberts, U are the bomb!! 💥

Jeffery Molnar

Paul Roberts, U are the bomb!! 💥

Pat Kloovay

jesus christ !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!