The band has been highly influential in the electronic dance music scene, especially synthpop, techno, and trance, partly due to their innovative work, recording techniques, and use of sampling. Their most successful album is arguably 1990's Violator, which reached the #2 position in the UK, #7 in the US, and sold over 8 million copies worldwide. The band has released a long series of high-charting singles over their three-decades long career. Enjoy the Silence is their most recognized song and one of history's most covered songs.
The original line-up was Dave Gahan, Martin L. Gore, Andy Fletcher, and Vince Clarke. In December 1981, Clarke left the band and later formed Yazoo, The Assembly, and Erasure. Alan Wilder joined the group initially in January 1982 as a live keyboardist but became an official member in December 1982. He left in mid-1995 to fully concentrate on his Recoil project, and the band continued as a trio. In 2010 Wilder re-joined Depeche Mode on stage after 16 years for a performance of Somebody during a show at London's Royal Albert Hall in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust.
Depeche Mode's origins date back to 1977, when Vince Clarke and Andrew Fletcher formed a band called No Romance in China, with Clarke on vocals and guitar and Fletcher on bass. In March 1980, Clarke, Gore, and Fletcher formed a band called Composition of Sound, with Clarke on vocals/guitar, Gore on keyboards, and Fletcher on bass. Soon after the formation of Composition of Sound, Clarke, and Fletcher switched to synthesizers. Dave Gahan joined the band in 1980 after Clarke heard him perform at a local scout hut jam session, singing to a rendition of David Bowie's "Heroes" and Depeche Mode was born.
While playing a live gig at the Bridge House in Canning Town, Daniel Miller, the founder of Mute Records, approached the band, who proposed a verbal contract. The result was their first single, Dreaming of Me, recorded in December 1980 and released in February 1981, reaching number 57 in the UK charts and followed soon by a real contract with Mute.
To date, Depeche Mode have released:
15 studio albums: Speak & Spell (1981), A Broken Frame (1982), Construction Time Again (1983), Some Great Reward (1984), Black Celebration (1986), Music For the Masses (1987), Violator (1990), Songs of Faith and Devotion (1993), Ultra (1997), Exciter (2001), Playing the Angel (2005), Sounds of the Universe (2009), Delta Machine (2013), Spirit (2017), and Memento Mori (2023);
8 compilations: People Are People (1984), The Singles 81-85 (1985), Catching Up with Depeche Mode (1985), Greatest Hits (1987), The Singles 86>98 (1998), Remixes 81-04 (2004), The Best Of Depeche Mode Volume 1 (2006), The Complete Depeche Mode (2006);
5 live albums: 101 (1989), Songs of Faith and Devotion Live (1993), Recording the Angel (a series of live recordings; 2006), Tour Of The Universe: Barcelona 20/21:11:09 (2009) and Live In Berlin (Soundtrack) (2014) ;
Over 50 singles: including Just Can't Get Enough, Everything Counts, People Are People, Master and Servant, Shake the Disease, Stripped, A Question of Time, Strangelove, Never Let Me Down Again, Personal Jesus, Enjoy the Silence, World in My Eyes, Policy of Truth, I Feel You, Walking in My Shoes, In Your Room, Barrel of a Gun, It's No Good, Home, Dream On, Freelove, Precious, Wrong and Heaven ;
14 live / video collections (VHS/DVD/Blu-ray): The World We Live In and Live in Hamburg (1985), Some Great Videos (1985), Strange (1988), 101 (1989), Strange Too (1990), Devotional (1993), The Videos 86>98 (1998), One Night in Paris (2002), The Videos 86>98 (2002), Touring the Angel: Live in Milan (2006), The Best of - Volume 1 (2006), Tour of the Universe : Barcelona 20/21.11.09 (2009), Live in Berlin (2014) and Video Singles Collection (2016)
Dream On
Depeche Mode Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
As your bony fingers close around me
Long and spindly
Death becomes me
Heaven, can you see what I see?
Hey you pale and sickly child
Been walking home a crooked mile
Paying debt to karma
You party for a living
What you take won't kill you
But careful what you're giving
Mmm
There's no time for hesitating
Pain is ready, pain is waiting
Primed to do its educating
Unwanted, uninvited kin
It creeps beneath your crawling skin
It lives without, it lives within you
Feel the fever coming
You're shaking and twitching
You can scratch all over
But that won't stop you itching
Can you feel a little love?
Can you feel a little love?
Dream on
Dream on
Mmm
Mmm
Blame it on your karmic curse
Oh shame upon the universe
It knows its lines
It's well-rehearsed
It sucked you in, it dragged you down
To where there is no hallowed ground
Where holiness is never found
Paying debt to karma
You party for a living
What you take won't kill you
But careful what you're giving
Can you feel a little love?
Can you feel a little love?
Dream on
Dream on
Can you feel a little love?
Can you feel a little love?
Dream on
Dream on
Dream on
Dream on
Dream on
Dream on
The lyrics to Depeche Mode's "Dream On" use vivid and haunting imagery to depict the struggle between life and death, as well as the consequences of one's actions. The opening line "Can you feel a little love?" is a plea for compassion and connection, a call to find something positive in the midst of darkness. The next lines describe the singer's physical and emotional state, as they feel death closing in on them. The phrase "long and spindly" suggests a skeletal, ghostly presence, while the reference to "Heaven" implies a fear of judgment or an afterlife.
The song then shifts to a second person perspective, addressing a "pale and sickly child" who represents the singer or perhaps a larger group of people. The child is described as being reconciled to death and life, having walked a "crooked mile" that represents a difficult journey through hardship and loss. The lines "Paying debt to karma/You party for a living" suggest a cycle of negative behavior and consequences, as the child tries to find pleasure and escape but ultimately must face the consequences of their actions. The pain and fever described in the later verses are physical manifestations of this struggle, as well as the creeping sense of regret and despair that the child cannot escape.
Throughout the song, the repeated refrain "Dream on" suggests a desire to transcend these struggles and find hope, but also acknowledges that this is a difficult, perhaps impossible task. The final lines, which describe the universe as "well-rehearsed" in its ability to drag people down, suggest a fatalistic outlook that is nonetheless tinged with a sense of defiance or rebellion. Overall, the lyrics of "Dream On" are a powerful exploration of the themes of life, death, and redemption, rendered with poetry and emotion.
Line by Line Meaning
Can you feel a little love?
Do you have the capacity to experience love?
As your bony fingers close around me
As death grips and claims me
Long and spindly
Representing the long and winding path towards death
Death becomes me
I am consumed by death
Heaven, can you see what I see?
Do you imagine or understand the terror I am experiencing?
Hey you pale and sickly child
Hey death, thin and wan, in the guise of a sickly child
You're death and living reconciled
Death represents an equilibrium between life and death
Been walking home a crooked mile
The path towards death and decay is not straight but meandering
Paying debt to karma
Reaping the consequences of past actions
You party for a living
You live to enjoy life's pleasures
What you take won't kill you
Enjoying life's pleasures does not always result in death
But careful what you're giving
But be aware of the impact your actions have on others
There's no time for hesitating
There is no time to waste
Pain is ready, pain is waiting
Suffering and adversity are always present
Primed to do its educating
Adversity is a harsh teacher
Unwanted, uninvited kin
Adversity is an unwelcome family member
It creeps beneath your crawling skin
Adversity can be unsettling and cause unease
It lives without, it lives within you
Adversity is a part of life and can never be completely avoided
Feel the fever coming
Sensing that something is wrong or amiss
You're shaking and twitching
Experiencing a physical and emotional reaction to adversity
You can scratch all over
Trying to alleviate the discomfort caused by adversity
But that won't stop you itching
But the feeling persists and cannot be easily cured
Dream on
Continue to hope and strive for something better
Blame it on your karmic curse
Attributing misfortune to past actions and consequences
Oh shame upon the universe
Lamenting the unfairness of life and the universe
It knows its lines
Adversity is predictable and follows a pattern
It's well-rehearsed
Adversity has played out many times before
It sucked you in, it dragged you down
Adversity can be overwhelming and all-consuming
To where there is no hallowed ground
To a place where there is no sanctity, safety, or security
Where holiness is never found
A place devoid of any goodness or morality
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Martin Gore
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@MermaidMelissaPage
Thank you for being the anthem of most of my life.
@arta6320
AGREED.
@c.curtis5390
Me, too!
@fernandovalladares322
Mía también
@mrrakalanov
Deep
@ronmarron2210
Who is Listening on 2024?
@NotALotOfColonial_SpaghettiToG
@victormongelo9618
Exiter álbum 2001
@littlemouse7066
Martin is a genius he's the master at writing pop songs that are not really pop songs but intelligent strange tortuous journeys into the human soul.
@version1967
Best songwriter ever