Dishwalla, which emerged out of the early stages of post-grunge, is composed of J.R. Richards (vocals), Scot Alexander (bass), Rodney Browning Cravens (guitar), Jim Wood (keyboards), and George Pendergast (drums). They spent the mid-'90s touring with the likes of Sheryl Crow, Blind Melon, and the Goo Goo Dolls in support of Pet Your Friends. Prior to making a second album, the band was caught in the middle of the Polygram/Universal merger and such a move left Dishwalla pondering what to do next. Their second album, And You Think You Know What Life's About, was released in 1998; promotion and sales were lackluster due to label downsizing. Dishwalla's time with A&M was short-lived and exhausting because of such corporate behavior, but they stuck it out to contribute their cover version of "Policy of Truth" for the Depeche Mode tribute album For the Masses. By the new millennium, Dishwalla left behind major-market America for a third album. They signed with Immergent while Pendergrast parted ways with the band. Pete Maloney, a drummer picked up on the 1998 tour, resumed percussion duties. In 2002, Dishwalla issued their experimental third album Opaline (Immergent), quickly followed by 2003's Live... Greetings from the Flow State. A self-titled album produced by Sylvia Massy (Tool, System of a Down), Bill Szymczyk, and Ryan Greene (NOFX, Nerf Herder) followed in 2005 before the band went on indefinite hiatus.
Three years passed before Dishwalla would return in 2008. Debuting a lineup that joined original members Alexander, Pendergast, Cravens, and Wood with new vocalist Justin Fox, the band hit the road, touring sporadically over the following years. They would not return to the studio until 2016, when they began recording their first album in a decade. Juniper Road arrived in 2017.
Biography by MacKenzie Wilson
Policy Of Truth
Dishwalla Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Should have hidden it, shouldn't you
Now you're not satisfied
With what you're being put through
It's just time to pay the price
For not listening to advice
And deciding in your youth
On the policy of truth
It used to be so civilised
You will always wonder how
It could have been if you'd only lied
It's too late to change events
It's time to face the consequence
For delivering the proof
In the policy of truth
Never again
Is what you swore
The time before
Never again
Is what you swore
The time before
Now you're standing there tongue tied
You'd better learn your lesson well
Hide what you have to hide
And tell what you have to tell
You'll see your problems multiplied
If you continually decide
To faithfully pursue
The policy of truth
Never again
Is what you swore
The time before
The song "Policy of Truth" by Dishwalla is a cover of a song originally by Depeche Mode. The lyrics of the song talk about the consequences of lying and the importance of being truthful. The first verse speaks directly to someone who had something to hide and should have hidden it, but now they are not satisfied with the consequences of their actions. They are being faced with the realization that they should have listened to advice and followed the policy of truth. The second verse talks about how things could have been different if the person in question had only lied. The consequence of telling the truth is that events cannot be changed, which is time-consuming and challenging to face.
The chorus follows the phrase 'Never again' which is what the person swore the time before but could not stick to it. They are struggling to learn from their past mistakes and continue to hide and tell what they have to. They are told that their problems would only multiply if they continue to pursue the policy of truth. The last line repeats the phrase 'never again,' conveying the idea that the person is finally learning the consequences of their actions and vows not to make the same mistake again.
Line by Line Meaning
You had something to hide
You had a secret that you should have kept to yourself
Should have hidden it, shouldn't you
You should have kept it a secret
Now you're not satisfied
Now that your secret is out, you are unhappy
With what you're being put through
You are struggling with the consequences of your actions
It's just time to pay the price
You have to suffer the consequences
For not listening to advice
You did not heed the warnings
And deciding in your youth
You made a decision when you were young
On the policy of truth
To always tell the truth at all times
Things could be so different now
Your life would be different if you had kept your secret
It used to be so civilised
Things were better before
You will always wonder how
You will always question what could have been
It could have been if you'd only lied
Things would be better if you had kept your secret and lied
It's too late to change events
You cannot change what has happened
It's time to face the consequence
You must face the outcome of your actions
For delivering the proof
For revealing the truth
In the policy of truth
Because of your decision to always tell the truth
Never again
You promise to not make the same mistake again
Is what you swore
You made a promise
The time before
Last time when you were in this situation
Now you're standing there tongue tied
Now you cannot speak
You'd better learn your lesson well
You should learn from your mistakes
Hide what you have to hide
Keep your secrets to yourself
And tell what you have to tell
Only reveal what you need to
You'll see your problems multiplied
Your problems will get worse
If you continually decide
If you keep choosing to
To faithfully pursue
To always follow
The policy of truth
The decision to always tell the truth can have consequences
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Martin Gore
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Khalid Mestakung
You had somethin' to hide
Should have hidden it, shouldn't you
And now you're not satisfied
With what you're being put through
It's just time to pay the price
Not listenin' to advice
Decidin' in your youth
On the policy of truth
Things could be so different now
It used to be so civilized
You will always wonder how
It could have been if you'd only lied
It's too late to change events
It's time to face the consequence
Deliverin' the proof
On the policy of truth
Never again is what you swore
The time before
Never again is what you swore
The time before, the time before
The time before, the time before
And now you're standin' there tongue tied
You'd better learn your lesson well
And hide what you have to hide
And tell what you have to tell
You'll see your problems multiplied
If you continually decide
To faithfully pursue
The policy of truth, the policy of truth
The policy of truth
Never again is what you swore
The time before, the time before
Never again
Never again is what you swore...
M9D
I absolutely rinsed this disk when I was 17 in 1999. It really sound tracked an era of my life. I felt like I was the only one listening to it though. Which kind of added to it
Revidescent84
Man, you can really tell this was "And You Think You Know What Life's About" era Walla. They have got to be one of those rare bands that can cover just about anything and KILL it. I love their version of "It's Gonna Take Some Time," "Tainted Love," and "Darling Nikki" too. JR could sing legal paperwork and I'd listen. :)
Grarcmandu
Nailed it, Dishwalla.
eric campos
great choice for a cover.....i never get tired of this song, great studio production
Gracjan Rötke
Great cover, job well done!!
Great Cover
Fan des Depeche Mode cette reprise est puissante !! Le son des Dishwalla est excellent !! Great Cover !!
DJ São - Flash Back
Adoro essa banda e nem sabia q tinham feito esse cover do Depeche Mode q tesao
Khalid Mestakung
You had somethin' to hide
Should have hidden it, shouldn't you
And now you're not satisfied
With what you're being put through
It's just time to pay the price
Not listenin' to advice
Decidin' in your youth
On the policy of truth
Things could be so different now
It used to be so civilized
You will always wonder how
It could have been if you'd only lied
It's too late to change events
It's time to face the consequence
Deliverin' the proof
On the policy of truth
Never again is what you swore
The time before
Never again is what you swore
The time before, the time before
The time before, the time before
And now you're standin' there tongue tied
You'd better learn your lesson well
And hide what you have to hide
And tell what you have to tell
You'll see your problems multiplied
If you continually decide
To faithfully pursue
The policy of truth, the policy of truth
The policy of truth
Never again is what you swore
The time before, the time before
Never again
Never again is what you swore...
Patrick Taylor
Can anyone provide the bass tabs for this cover?
morgan c
I used to own this CD...and then it got stolen... I'm sure it just ended up in a pawn shop somewhere...what a shame!