Before We Drown

"Before We Drown" is the eighth track on Memento Mori.

Lyrics

Dave's Take

Dave talks about this song in this video starting at the 16:32 mark:

My Take

This song feels like a long-lost Violator track! I know that every Depeche Mode song essentially feels like a journey, but boy, does this one especially take you on one! This song has a bit of a hip-hop beat and retro-sounding synths very similar to the Delta Machine bonus tracks. But unlike those which were mostly a miss for me, this track just blows me away and takes me to another level. I absolutely love the part where the music starts to fall away and quiet down on the first couple of "we drown" refrains as if there is tension building up. Then all of a sudden, that tension is released and the music blasts all of your senses at once culminating in a very satisfying release.

The words are very interesting to me, as well. As Dave is wont to do in his songs, he makes references to the sea ("standing on the shore" and "drowning") and an interpersonal relationship ("you and I"), using the sea as a metaphor for a malevolent force of sorts that can potentially destroy the relationship. The words, "first we stand up, then we fall down" conjures up images of standing knee-deep in rough ocean waters as the strong waves make it very difficult to stay upright. Therefore, the need to "move forward before we drown" is as important a warning as ever in the literal standing-in-the-ocean scenario as well as in a relationship with another person that is being bombarded by conflict.

Music Video

There is no music video for this song.