Depeche Mode

Released: June 5, 2005

Songwriter: Martin L. Gore

Producer: Ben Hillier

[Verse]
John the Revelator, put him in an elevator
Take him up to the highest high
Take him up to the top where the mountains stop
Let him tell his book of lies
John the Revelator, he's a smooth operator
It's time we cut him down to size
Take him by the hand and put him on the stand
Let us hear his alibis

[Pre-Chorus]
By claiming God as his holy right
He's stealing a god from the Israelites
Stealing a god from the Muslim, too
There is only one god through and through

[Chorus]
Seven lies, multiplied by seven
Multiplied by seven again
Seven angels with seven trumpets
Send them home on the morning train
Well, who's that shouting? John the Revelator!
All he ever gives us is pain
Well, who's that shouting? John the Revelator!
He should bow his head in shame

[Post-Chorus]
By and by
By and by
By and by
By and by

[Chorus]
Seven lies, multiplied by seven
Multiplied by seven again
Seven angels with seven trumpets
Send them home on the morning train
Well, who's that shouting? John the Revelator!
All he ever gives us is pain
Well, who's that shouting? John the Revelator!
He should bow his head in shame

[Post-Chorus]
By and by
By and by (John the Revelator!)
By and by (John the Revelator!)
By and by (John the Revelator!)

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

Playing the Angel

From the albums

Playing the Angel (2005)
Video Singles Collection (2016)

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