1987Released
4:47

Did You Know?

Interesting facts and trivia about Never Let Me Down Again. By Songfacts®.

Written by Martin Gore with lead vocals by Dave Gahan, "Never Let Me Down Again" is one of the most ambiguous Depeche Mode songs. It is often believed to be about drugs, which offer both comfort and excitement to the singer. When Gahan sings, "We're flying high, we're watching the world pass us by," that indicates getting high on drugs, but the song could also have a much more literal meaning about taking an airplane ride with a friend. It gets even more confusing near the end of the song, with the lines: Promises me I'm safe as houses As long as I remember who's wearing the trousers Someone or something is making sure he knows his place. Another possibility is that the song is about (possibly gay) sex. Leaving it open for interpretation was likely Gore's intention.

The band brought in Anton Corbijn to do the visuals for the Music For The Masses album, including the photos and the videos. For this song, he put together an 8-minute black-and-white clip for the 12-inch single version, which was cut down to 4:23 for the single version. The video, which was included on the Depeche Mode compilation Strange, didn't shed any light on the meaning of the song, as we see a series of rather disjointed images, including a pair of shoes that walk themselves.

The song enjoyed a streaming boost in the US after it was included in the HBO series The Last Of Us. It plays on the radio in the final scene of the show's pilot episode on January 15, 2023. Craig Mazin, the co-creator of the series, selected the song because of its combination of cheerful sounds and gloomy lyrics. He believed the title of the song relates to the relationship between the two main protagonists, Joel and Ellie.

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Song Analysis

Key, BPM (tempo) and time signature of Never Let Me Down Again.
CKey
MajorMode
4/4Time Signature
106BPM

Album

The album Never Let Me Down Again is released on.

Released By

The record label that has released Never Let Me Down Again.
Venusnote Ltd.
(P) 1987 Venusnote Ltd. under exclusive license to Sony Music Entertainment International Ltd.

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