Personal Jesus - Single Version

"Personal Jesus" was inspired by Priscilla Presley's book Elvis And Me, where she described their relationship. Martin Gore of Depeche Mode said: "It's a song about being a Jesus for somebody else, someone to give you hope and care. It's about how Elvis was her man and her mentor and how often that happens in love relationships - how everybody's heart is like a god in some way, and that's not a very balanced view of someone, is it?"

Johnny Cash did a stripped-down version on his 2002 album American IV, The Man Comes Around. Depeche Mode didn't know Cash was covering it, but were thrilled when they heard it. Martin Gore told The London Times: "I think when you're somebody of Johnny Cash's caliber, you don't ask for permission." Cash explained why he chose to cover this song (as quoted in Mojo October 2013): "I heard that as a gospel song. And if you think of it as a gospel song, it works really well. We didn't have any major disagreement over that song, I just heard that a couple of people had recorded it, the writer wanted me to try it, and I did, and I loved it. And I went for it."

"Personal Jesus" was a global hit for Depeche Mode that endured as one of their most popular songs. It was released in 1989 as the lead single to their seventh album, Violator; the follow-up single, "Enjoy The Silence," was also huge. Depeche Mode is a British band with a French name (it means "fast fashion"). Their main songwriter early on was Vince Clarke, who left after their 1981 debut album, Speak & Spell, which includes their hit "Just Can't Get Enough." They continued on with Martin Gore handling the song writing, becoming one of the most popular and influential bands in the world of synthpop. Clarke, remarkably, never reunited with the band. He went on to form Yazoo and Erasure.