Depeche Mode: the lyrical meaning of popular songs

In the late '80s and early '90s, Depeche Mode was the band that combined their lyrics penetrated the souls of their listeners and left a warm, dark imprint on them with a magical voice. Their lyrics penetrated listeners' souls and left a warm and dark trace in them with a magical voice Dave Gahan. The hypnotic music, the enigmatic style of the participants and the special meaning of the compositions left no one indifferent, and fans and critics have long tried to understand, what is behind the lines written by Martin Gore.

This article will talk about lyrical content Depeche Mode lyrics, how their tracks became hits, and who created visual the beauty of well-known compositions.

Enjoy The Silence (1990)

The album's second single, «Violator», was originally supposed to be balladwhich begins with a powerful organ sound. This was the idea of the track insisted on by Martin Gore, but his idea was slightly modified by the band's keyboardist Alan Wilder: he suggested expedite the composition, and later all the other Depeche Mode members agreed with him. Despite the balladic solemnity, the track still has characteristic features synth-pop.

The hero of the song is like. reflecting over his feelings for his beloved:

Not a word is said about the narrator's beloved, and perhaps the couple's story has come to an end; now the young man is trying to focus on himself and his loneliness. The theme of finding oneself in a big and scary world resonates vividly, and this echoes the images recreated by Anton Korbein in the music video for the song.

In a series of shots showing Dave Gahan as the wandering kingthe theme of longing is evident in his enjoyment of a world that does not belong to him. He will never reach his destination, and he has no kingdom of his own. The hero carries around a blue chaise that replaces his throne, and this refers the viewer to the fact that the king never doesn't find of his place in such a vast world.

The hero seeks silence because there is nothing in it unnecessary: he literally throws everything away from himself in the name of love. He not necessary occupy a special place in the world in order to enjoy with my feelings.

Personal Jesus (1989)

For this song Depeche Mode created an interesting advertising campaign: There was an ad in the newspapers with a telephone number and the caption «Your Personal Jesus». The callers heard on the other end of the phone the recently released single «Personal Jesus».

Many thought it was just another way to raise money for the church, but that was not the case. Martin Gore confessed in an interview that he based the lyrics on Priscilla Presley's book «Elvis And Me». The idea behind the track was that in a relationship, more often than not, one becomes a Jesus or a mentor to the other, as was the case in the Presley family. The first gives care and love, and the second accepts it obediently; in spite of imbalancebut such a relationship is still based on lovethough on a trembling and unconditional one.

A clip from Anton Corbijn became the same provocativethe band plays cowboys on a ranch that looks like a brothel. Some provocative shots were cut by MTV staff, but according to Dave Gahan, these vivid episodes very accurately conveyed the whole irony and a real British sarcasmthe lyrics of the band's compositions in the early '90s were famous for.

Never Let Me Down Again (1987)

Many critics praised this track, giving it the status of a song that perfectly conveys escape from reality with the help of various addictions. Martin Gore has always said that in the case of this composition it is not about a love relationship. It reflects the relationship between the hero, who seeks to leave a world that is foreign to him, and the reality surrounding him; this departure provokes the rebirth of of evil inside the narrator.

The video created for this song became first the film is a collaboration between Depeche Mode and Anton Corbijn. In spite of this, the director succeeded to convey in the clip the feeling of longing in the protagonist, his attempts to escape from pain and reality: the black and white shots of Gaan driving away in a car, the anxiety and the people around him trying to bring him back, make an impression hopelessness. However, Martin, holding a lantern in his hand at the end of the clip, is all hope for a way out of darkness and unreality.

Policy of Truth (1990)

An easy motif with a text about how fast words can lose Here the magical voice of Dave Gahan rebukes his beloved for choosing «politics of truth». He, like an inner voice, makes you doubt yourself and the lies that could have changed everything in the relationship between the protagonist and his beloved:

The band members did not comment on the meaning of this text, but it is not difficult to guess that here the narrator comes to the most essence of human relationships: If you choose to speak only the truth, there are many times more problems. The pain experienced by the main character in the song, clearly In the video you can also see it in the scenes with the pining Gahan and the girl at the beginning of the clip, who Dave, illuminated by the green light, watches from the windows of his car.

People Are People (1984)

Martin Gore recognized this song as the most unloved of all, because it did not carry any meaningful meaning: it explicitly expressed a misunderstanding of the separation of people and a desire for unity. In West Germany, the song became very popular because in 1984 it was used in the broadcast of Olympic GamesThe socialist countries have ignored it.

The music video for the single version of the song was created by by Clive Richardson. The video used footage of the band members aboard the ship, interspersed with episodes of war footage. This was done to make it even more acute of living the issues raised in the lyrics. Depeche Mode literally stated that violence and hostility will not help people realize who they really are and how everyone around them can so rough relate to each other:

As Dave Gahan sang, people are people, but it's important not to forget what helps us don't lose your appearance and live in peace and harmony with those around you.