"Personal Jesus" by Depeche Mode, from Violator, 1990.
Composer: Martin Gore.
Created Not To Walk Alone
Rondeau
Created not to walk alone,
Mislaid wanderers helpless strown.
For in green Garden there were two,
Ordained symbiosis they knew.
Through yin and yang harmony known.
Hunted dense wilds to feed our own,
Then gathered fruit of seed we've sown.
Deep heart of me cleaved unto you,
Created not to walk alone.
How swiftly golden years have flown,
Boulders borne by love etched in stone.
Beyond our sunsets journey new,
In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida too.
Ascend us, God, thy love light shown,
Created not to walk alone. - Lisa Cole-Allen.
According to songwriter Martin Gore, "Personal Jesus" was inspired by
Elvis and Me, a book by Priscilla Presley. "It's a song about being a Jesus for
somebody else, someone to give you hope and care." "Personal Jesus" was
a huge hit song and was covered by several artists, each with their own inter-
pretation of these simple lyrics, each presenting music video images to
support their renditions. The videos I viewed were so obscene, grotesque,
downright blasphemous or Evangelistic, I was hard pressed to find a video
which would not sway the reader toward a particular meaning. I chose
"Personal Jesus" performed live by British band, Depeche Mode, on the David
Letterman Show. We'll watch and listen, then decide what the words mean to us.
Reach out and touch faith
Your own personal Jesus
Someone to hear your prayers
Someone who cares
Your own personal Jesus
Someone to hear your prayers
Someone who's there
"Reach out and touch faith" is an offer to a troubled person of a dependable
helping hand in a time of need. The speaker is a "personal Jesus ..., some-
one who cares ..., who hears your prayers ..., who's there" for the needy one.
He wants her to believe in him.
Feeling unknown
And you're all alone
Flesh and bone
By the telephone
Lift up the receiver
I'll make you a believer
The imagery in this passage paints a picture of despondence. The needy one
feels "unknown ..., all alone ...," reduced to a shell of "flesh and bone." She
should "lift up the receiver" and ask the speaker for assistance; he'll "make
[her] a believer" in he who loves her.
Take second best
Put me to the test
Things on your chest
You need to confess
I will deliver
You know I'm a forgiver
In "take second best; put me to the test," the narrator acknowledges that he
is the next best thing to God for the needy one. He's a human being who
loves her. He "will deliver," listen to what she "need[s] to confess." He won't
judge or condemn; he's "a forgiver." All she needs to do is ask, "reach out
and touch faith." Have faith in him; he won't let her down.
The words of this simple poem have been sensationalized in the music
videos, leading listeners to hear the song as atheistic, thumbing its nose
at Christianity, satirizing telephone Evangelism, a relationship with one's
drug dealer, or "about hookers". It all sold records. To some, "Personal
Jesus" took on a literal meaning, the song a reach out in faith for the Jesus
of everyone. It's flippant; it's cheeky- it evokes a reaction from the listener
that perhaps is not what the composer intended. Elvis and Me may have
inspired this song, but Gore's words are there for us to interpret.
