Released: November 21, 2006

Songwriter: Martin L. Gore

Producer: Ben Hillier

[Verse 1: Dave Gahan]
I've been a martyr for love (I've been a martyr for love)
And I will die in the flames (I will die in the flames)
As I draw my last breath, as I'm closing on death
I will call out your name

[Verse 2: Dave Gahan]
I've been a martyr for love
Nailed up on the cross
While you're having your fun, as the damage is done
I'm assessing the cost

[Chorus 1: Dave Gahan]
I knew what I was letting myself in for
I knew that I could never even the score

[Chorus 1: Dave Gahan]
I knew what I was letting myself in for
I knew that I could never even the score

[Interlude]

[Verse 3: Dave Gahan]
I've been a martyr for love (I've been a martyr for love)
I need to be by your side (I need to be by your side)
I have knelt at your feet, I have felt your deceit
Couldn't leave if I tried

[Verse 4: Dave Gahan]
I've been a martyr for love (I've been a martyr for love)
Tortured every hour (Tortured every hour)
From the day I was born, I've been moved like a pawn
By the greatest of powers

[Chorus 2: Dave Gahan]
I knew that I would have to suffer in vain
Aware that I would never outgrow the pain

[Chorus 1: Dave Gahan]
I knew what I was letting myself in for
I knew that I could never even the score

[Outro: Dave Gahan]
I've been a martyr for love
I've been a martyr for love
I've been a martyr for love
I've been a martyr for love

Depeche Mode

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.

From the album