Secret to the End
"Secret to the End" is the fourth track on Delta Machine.
Lyrics
I'm probably the same way too
I got a feeling that it's coming soon
Could this be the end?
And when I look around this room
It must be something I can do
Can I convince you that it isn't true?
We've come to the end
Oh did I disappoint you?
I wanted to believe it's true
Oh the book of love
Was not enough to see us through
The problem should've been you (should've been you)
Should've been you (should've been you)
Should've been you (could've been you, should've been you)
If it hadn't been me (could've been you, could've been you)
Should've been you (should've been you)
Should've been you (could've been you)
Should've been you
If it hadn't been me
It seems so obvious to you
You're feeling what I'm feeling too
The final chapter in the contract expires soon
We've come to the end
Thank God I'm not the same as you
You always know exactly what to do
Is who I am, is not for you
We've come to the end
Oh did I disappoint you?
I wanted to believe it's true
Oh the book of love
Was not enough to see us through
The problem should've been you (should've been you)
Should've been you (could've been you)
Should've been you (would've been you, should've been you)
If it hadn't been me (would've been you, could've been you)
Should've been you (should've been you)
Should've been you (would've been you, should've been you)
If it hadn't been me (Could've been you, should've been you, could've been you)
Would've been you (would've been you)
Should've been you (Could've been you, should've been you, could've been you)
If it hadn't been me (would've been you, could've been you, would've been you)
If it hadn't been me (would've been you, would've been you, should've been you)
If it hadn't been me (should've been you, could've been you, should've been you)
If it hadn't been me (could've been you, could've been you, could've been you)
If it hadn't been me
Dave's Take
"[Getting cancer] certainly did affect what I wrote...'Secret To The End' for Delta Machine, every verse ending with, 'Is this the end? Should this be the end?' It was seeing myself for the first time. The wondering 'Why, why, why? What's it all about?' I'm going to do something useful with it, try to be the best father and husband I can be... and the best musician. I wrote myself back into life."1
My Take
So far, I've said in at least a couple of places on this site that regarding Dave's music post-2009, I like the Soulsavers stuff better than the Depeche Mode stuff. I think this song is exactly one of the reasons why. This is just mediocre, in my opinion. There are no memorable melodic hooks, unless you count the repetitive "could've/should've/would've been you" refrains, which is actually teetering close to annoying for me, I must confess. And for some reason, this song goes on for a minute longer than it really needs to with just the synths after the last chorus, whose sounds don't really evoke any strong emotions for me. See, this is where Depeche Mode really shone during the Alan Wilder days, but I do enjoy plenty of their works post-Alan- I truly do. This just isn't one of those, sonically speaking. Dave's vocals on this song are very good, as usual, and are packed with feeling. The words seem very sad and evoke a strong sense of finality, and as I understand it, was written about his experience battling cancer a few years before this song came out. That is a very scary and very personal subject...disappointing then to realize that this really could have turned out to be a brilliant song if the music was as moving as the lyrics.
Music Video
There is no music video for this song.