Depeche Mode

Released: April 29, 1985

Songwriter: Martin L. Gore

Producer: Gareth Jones Depeche Mode Daniel Miller

[Verse 1: Dave Gahan]
Fame can have strange effects
Money can have strange effects

[Chorus: Dave Gahan & Alan Wilder]
I ask myself, "Is it a sin?"
To be flexible when the boat comes in
Open the window and out go ideals

[Verse 2: Dave Gahan]
Drink can alter you
Girls can have strange effects, too

[Chorus: Dave Gahan, Martin L. Gore & Alan Wilder]
I ask myself, "Is it a sin?"
To be flexible when the boat comes in
Open the window and out go ideals

[Interlude]

[Verse 3: Dave Gahan]
We all know boats don't last
We all know cars are fast

[Chorus: Dave Gahan & Alan Wilder]
I ask myself, "Is it a sin?"
To be flexible when the boat comes in
Open the window and out go ideals

[Interlude: Dave Gahan]
"Yeah!"

[Chorus: Dave Gahan & Alan Wilder]
I ask myself, "Is it a sin?"
To be flexible when the boat comes in
Open the window and out go ideals

[Chorus: Dave Gahan & Alan Wilder]
I ask myself, "Is it a sin?"
To be flexible when the boat comes in
Open the window and out go ideals

[Chorus: Dave Gahan & Alan Wilder]
I ask myself, "Is it a sin?"
To be flexible when the boat comes in
Open the window and out go ideals

[Chorus: Dave Gahan & Alan Wilder]
I ask myself, "Is it a sin?"
To be flexible when the boat comes in
Open the window and out go ideals

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

Rare, Deleted & Promo Only Remixes

From the album

Rare, Deleted & Promo Only Remixes (2006)

Depeche Mode popular songs

Flexible (Pre-Deportation Mix)Depeche Mode

Depeche Mode

Rare, Deleted & Promo Only Remixes