Depeche Mode - Never Let Me Down Again (live in Barcelona, 2009)

YouTube ^ | 04/30/2023

[Drew68]

Watch loud.

Martin Gore on the Gretsch. Dave Gahan, one of the best front men in Rock and Roll on vocals.

Lots of people thought this song was about a gay boyfriend.

It's not. Listen to the lyrics.

It's about heroin addiction.

[Drew68]

Anyways, what a great live performance. Special props to the drummer.

[Olog-hai]

I’m taking a ride with my best friend
I hope he never lets me down again
He knows where he’s taking me
Taking me where I want to be
I’m taking a ride with my best friend

We’re flying high
We’re watching the world pass us by
Never want to come down
Never want to put my feet back down on the ground

I’m taking a ride with my best friend
I hope he never lets me down again
Promises me I’m as safe as houses
As long as I remember who’s wearing the trousers
I hope he never lets me down again

We’re flying high We’re watching the world pass us by
Never want to come down
Never want to put my feet back down on the ground
We’re flying high
We’re watching the world pass us by
Never want to come down
Never want to put my feet back down on the ground

Never let me down
Never let me down
Never let me down
Never let me down

See the stars, they’re shining bright (never let me down)
Everything’s all right tonight (never let me down)
See the stars, they’re shining bright (never let me down)
Everything’s all right tonight (never let me down)
See the stars, they’re shining bright (never let me down)
Everything’s all right tonight (never let me down)
See the stars, they’re shining bright (never let me down)
Everything’s all right tonight (never let me down)

If this is really about heroin addiction, it is very, very, very ambiguous, opaque and obscure. Not a single reference it it. Looks more like a homosexual relationship. A lot like, in fact.

[Drew68]

Looks more like a homosexual relationship. A lot like, in fact.

Principal songwriter Martin Gore was a heroin addict and alcoholic, as was Dave Gahan. They're not gay.

[Drew68]

The “best friend” in the song was heroin.

[Olog-hai]

I’m aware of that. But they didn’t really need the kind of ambiguity that is on display in the lyrics, never mind homosexual-hinting phrases such as “wearing the trousers”.

[NWFree]

Too gay for me

Pass

[Tired of Taxes]

One of my favorites. Always loved the lyrics. I always knew it was about addiction. Never thought it was about anything else.

[Tired of Taxes]

I always thought the lyrics were clever... and about addiction.

I prefer the studio version and the music video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snILjFUkk_A

The meaning is clear in the video (imho).

[beaversmom]

I’ve seen that one. It’s good. Thanks for posting.

[MotorCityBuck]

Excellent.
Great song. Great band.👍

[sauropod]

.

[Celtic Conservative]

“Wearing the trousers” is a British colloquialism for who’s in control in a situation. In this case heroin was in control. And both the Gore and Gahan have been married several times and between them have 7 or 8 kids. Are they androgynous? Certainly they are. But not gay.

CC

[SamAdams76]

There are certainly nuances in the way that the British use the English language, that are not always apparent on this side of the pond.

For example, a fag over in England refers to a cigarette, not a swishy homosexual, as it is generally understood to be over here. So when your English buddy says he is going to go outside in the back alley for a fag, don't get the wrong idea!

Another example is the word shattered, which over in England, indicates that you are really tired of something. So while here in America, you might be really tired with your nagging spouse, over in England, your spouse would have you "shattered" (exhausted).

Hence the meaning behind the 1978 song "Shattered" by The Rolling Stones. The meaning of the song was lost over here but clearly, Mick Jagger is sick and tired of New York City - why it has him "shattered".

[Rummyfan]

For example, a fag over in England refers to a cigarette, not a swishy homosexual, as it is generally understood to be over here. So when your English buddy says he is going to go outside in the back alley for a fag, don't get the wrong idea…

And if I remember correctly a gay is a poof or a poofter.

[glennaro]

Many thanks for the link to start the day. Cheers!

[TalBlack]

“If this is really about heroin addiction, it is very, very, very ambiguous, opaque and obscure“

Could be. Bridge Over Troubled Water is about heroin addiction . I never grocked that listening to the song. Although in the case of the former you’d think a heterosexual would characterize his addiction in the feminine tense.

[Trailerpark Badass]

“Wearing the trousers,“ means who’s in charge in a relationship.

[Tired of Taxes]

I’ve heard that phrase here in the U.S., too, but more often Americans probably say “wearing the pants.”

Example: “His wife wears the pants.” It means she’s in charge. I guess it’s an older saying now.

The lyrics...

“I’m taking a ride with my best friend.” He’s getting stoned.
“I hope he never lets me down again.” He never wants to come down from the high.
“Promises me I’m as safe as houses.” English saying meaning very safe.
“As long as I remember who’s wearing the trousers.” The drug is in charge.

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

They were a pretty good band and had some nice tunes that I liked a lot.

But I thought the linked tune was remarkably lame, 1-chord hookless nothing.

[Tired of Taxes]

"a fag over in England refers to a cigarette . . . So when your English buddy says he is going to go outside in the back alley for a fag, don't get the wrong idea!"

In England, at least where I visited a long time ago, whenever someone pulled out a pack of cigarettes, it was customary for him to offer a smoke to everyone around, even strangers. That first time caught me by surprise. Imagine an American, standing in a pub, the first time a guy pulls out a pack of smokes and offers a "fag" to everyone around him.

But, if the original definition of "faggot" was "bundle of sticks," the Brits' use of the term makes more sense.