Depeche Mode: A Question of Time Meaning

Song Released: 1986

A Question of Time Lyrics

I've got to get to you first
Before they do
It's just a question of time
Before they lay their hands on you
And make you just like the rest
I've got to get to you first
It's just a question of time

Well now you're only fifteen
And you...

1. anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Aug 15th 2021 !⃝

   He is protecting the innocent girl from the predators his age preying on her. He is familiar with their intentions and wants her for himself.
2. anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Oct 17th 2020 !⃝

   Do any of you people know how to write in English? Ffs. Half of these comments barely make sense although I can pick out what some of you are trying to convey.
   
   It’s pretty simple, it’s one of three meanings.
   
   1: It’s some pedophile creep preying on a young girl and trying to make her his before the other pedos can get to her.
   
   2: It’s a young man who’s slightly too old for the girl right now since she’s only 15 but he knows that as soon as she turns 18 the guys his age will start preying on her. So he wants to save her from them but also for himself. So he’s going to watch out for her while she’s a kid then when she’s finally of age make his move before the other slightly older guys can. It’s still creepy.
   
   Or 2: It’s a vampire who’s older than he looks and knows that the other vampires are going to prey on this young virgin so he wants to save her even though he knows he shouldn’t form a romantic relationship with her because even though he might look like a young man (18ish) he’s actually way too old for her even in human years.
3. anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Apr 8th 2019 !⃝

   This is about a guy who is in his twenties or thirties who prefers to have sexual relations with a fifteen year old girl and gets her pregnant. For this generation, this girl who is 15 years old, is a minor, wait till she is 18 since she is considered to be an adult. This clearly shows that boys, guys, and men like the younger girls. Be sure you are single and don't have a girlfriend/wife or you will be entering a dangerous affair. Be wise and be sure you are not violating any laws.
   
   Spinster

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
4. anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Apr 6th 2019 !⃝

   The same hidden meanings as in NLMDA case ("car safety rules for drunk gays under heroin" - according to the vast majority of fans). But let's look a little deeper. Why we so in love with DM - just for the trivial "saving" your potential girlfriend from next-sitting school guy? No. On the first level it sounds almost humorous - the girl, the brave good guy and the evil society around it - wrong bad guys, friends, parents, teachers, e.t.c. On the second layer - an angel or maybe God himself, caring the soul of devotee: "I've got to get to you first. Before THEY do." Feel the difference between a standard pop-songs and immortal DM classics:)
5. anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Dec 4th 2014 !⃝

   Much older men who are in their early thirties to men who are in their twenties should really wait for the young girls. This has been going on since the old times. These young girls admire the men who are much older than them. Their prince charming, knight shining armor,. Those men who are always around these young girls. They are taking care of them and very protective of them. They are waiting for the time that they will mature. It's really right for these men to marry and have a relationship with these young girls. Be true to this young girls about your real intentions so that they will not grieve and be broken hearted while they are still very young. Treasure and cherish them. They can give you love, giggles, being playful, adventure, thrill, romance, friendship, companionship, children, care for you when you grow very old. good luck to these young girls and to these much older men.

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
6. anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Dec 3rd 2014 !⃝

   In contrast to poster #1, I never found this song to be too romantic, even when it came out. Over the years, my personal interpretation became that it's about a (much?) older man looking at the girl as 'fresh meat'. He's playing the role of an elder confidante, just to have his way with her, while trying to shield her from other 'predators' (..."I know my kind, what goes on in our minds..."
7. anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Nov 28th 2011 !⃝

   I' m only a little bit younger than Martin Gore. The meaning is the same what I was thinking in my youth. You see a young girl, that has never had a boyfriend. You want to have this girl as your girlfriend and you want to stay yourself. You are honest, natural, lovely, polite, smart and modest. You think you must protect her from the society, to have more chances to get her. When she made too much experiences in the society, you must change yourself. Then you have to be tough, noisy and selfish. The continuation of this song came several years later in German, the band "Die Prinzen" and the song "Schwein sein".
8. anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Nov 26th 2011 !⃝

   i THINK it could be about child adoption, or how easy it may be to 'buy' a baby to suit your needs. i could be completly wrong, what do all you guys think?

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway

Latest Articles

• 
  Anime to watch for the soundtracks… and other reasons you’re undateable
• 
  Dolly, we need you
• 
  The Stranger Things Effect: How new media is drawing Gen Z and Alpha's attention to aging media
• 
  The most underrated soundtrack of the early 2000s
• 
  Buy the Soundtrack, Skip the Movie: Brainscan (1994)
• 
  Let’s Go to the Hop - Ignore That Door’s Four Bunnies and a Beatbox