Depeche Mode

Released: September 28, 1987

Songwriter: Martin L. Gore

Producer: Dave Bascombe Depeche Mode

[Verse 1]
Sitting target, sitting waiting
Anticipating nothing, nothing

[Verse 2]
Life is full of surprises
It advertises nothing, nothing

[Chorus]
What am I trying to do?
What am I trying to say?
I'm not trying to tell you anything
You didn't know when you woke up today

[Interlude]

[Verse 3]
Sitting target, sitting praying
And God is saying nothing, nothing

[Verse 4]
Always knows the prospects
Learn to expect nothing, nothing

[Chorus]
What am I trying to do?
What am I trying to say?
I'm not trying to tell you anything
You didn't know when you woke up today

[Bridge]
(Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing)
(Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing)

[Outro]
Nothing, oh no, nothing, oh no
Nothing, oh no, nothing, oh no
Nothing, oh no, nothing, oh no
Nothing, oh no, nothing, oh no
Nothing, oh no, nothing, oh no

Depeche Mode are recognized as one of the most artistically influential bands of the late 20th century. Commercially, they have released 14 studio albums to date, and sold more than 100 million records. Their most recent album, Spirit, hit the streets in March 2017.

The band got their start in Basildon, Essex in 1980, and named themselves after a French fashion magazine. They rose to fame with hits that have become “Just Can’t Get Enough” (1981), “Everything Counts” (1983), and “People Are People” (1984), to name a few. One of their most famous concerts was at the Pasadena Rose Bowl in 1988.

Martin Gore has been the band’s primary songwriter since Vince Clarke left in the early 1980s (and went on to form Yazoo and Erasure). Alan Wilder replaced Clarke on keyboards in 1982, but left in 1995 (reinvesting his creative energy in his band, Recoil, which he had started in 1986). Since then, the band has comprised frontman Dave Gahan, multi-instrumentalist Martin Gore, and keyboardist Andy Fletcher—all of whom are original members.

more tracks from the album

Music for the Masses

From the album

Music for the Masses (1987)

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Music for the Masses