Depeche Mode: Never Let Me Down Again Meaning

Never Let Me Down Again Lyrics

Im 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
Im taking a ride with my best friend

We're flying high, we're watching the world pass us by
Never want to...

1. healTrain

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Jul 1st 2014 !⃝

   The song's about life and God ??

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

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   May 21st 2014 !⃝

   Definitely about Heroin use, like "Sister of Night" from "Ultra". Martin Gore obviously wrote these songs for Dave Gahan and knew Gahan could deliver them with credibility.
3. anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Oct 24th 2013 !⃝

   I totally agree this song is about heroin
4. anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Jun 9th 2013 !⃝

   its about his relationship with god.

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

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Aug 27th 2011 !⃝

   Lol I know every one will snap from this interpretation, and you probably are all right. But I've always liked to believe this song is about your dogs point of view of your relationship lol (Taking a ride with my best friend, promise me I'm safe as long as I remeber who's wearing the trousers...etc). But I'm sure you guys are right, lol, I'd just like to stick to this interpretation.
6. anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Apr 13th 2011 !⃝

   I feel the people who think this song is about homosexuals/bisexuals or anything related are wrong.
   
   Is the song about heroin? No, I don't believe so either and here is why.
   
   Martin Gore, the song writer, never did heroin so why would he write such a song? Of course the song is about addiction, but I feel the addiction he is referring to is alcohol. Martin Gore used to be an alcoholic and this could very well be his interpretation of his relationship with alcohol at the time.
7. anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Feb 7th 2011 !⃝

   The song is about heroin use, lead singer pretends to shoot up when he sings this song. I can see how it is a song about gay guys too, and that explains why so many gay guys show up to their shows. The power and imagery of the lyrics are up in the top 1000 pop songs of all time, powerful stuff indeed.
8. anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Feb 27th 2010 !⃝

   This song is definitely about drug use. Not heroine though. Martin never took it.
9. anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Feb 25th 2010 !⃝

   This song is definitely homoerotic in nature. This does not mean that the songwriter is gay or that you're gay for listening to it. But the expression "wearing the trousers" exclusively refers to romantic relationships, and the rest of the song fits perfectly with that interpretation.
   
   I know a lot of people won't like this interpretation, but it is the most literal interpretation of the text. If the song IS about heroin, then the entire song is a metaphor comparing the relationship of a junkie to his drugs with an abusive homosexual relationship. At least acknowledge that.
   
   Personally, I interpret this song as being about two male best friends who mess around and develop a sexual relationship, but are still in denial about their feelings for each other - hence, they continue to call each other their "best friend". However, one of them always likes to be in control, perhaps because he's afraid of being seen as gay or effeminate. The narrator steps out of line - he doesn't "remember who's wearing the trousers" - and his "best friend" flies into a rage and stops seeing him.
   
   The song takes place after they patch things up, while they're having make-up sex. "Taking a ride" and "flying high" are metaphors for sex, especially the use of the phrase "...he's taking me" - which is congruent with the statement that the narrator's "best friend" likes to always be in control. The narrator's "best friend" promises that he won't abuse or leave the narrator again, that the narrator will be "safe as houses". This is a common thing for an abuser to say in relationship abuse, and the song ends with the narrator convincing himself that he is indeed safe and his relationship is just fine.
   
   Again, I don't believe that the songwriter is necessarily bisexual. I believe he's using this scenario to show how people hurt each other, and how victims often convince themselves that they're not being hurt. The tragedy of the song is that the victim - the narrator - really does "want to be" with his best friend. He will delude himself in whatever way necessary, just to be with him.
10. Marcoyeyo

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5

    click a star to vote

    Oct 14th 2009 !⃝

    I think this song is about addiction, and how conscious you are when you are addicted.
11. Surfer_Coyote

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5

    click a star to vote

    Mar 8th 2008 !⃝

    It's about a gay couple that is having both relationship problems and sexual frustrations. They can't decide who the man in the relationship is, and the sex has become unsatisfying.

    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