Kingdom

"Kingdom" was released as a single and is the second track on Hourglass.

Lyrics

Dave's Take

"It's this idea that there's a better place, and it's not up there in the clouds, it's right here. And it's about becoming more accepting of life and the way it is. I would be lying if I said the world didn't affect me. I have children and I want to protect them; and sometimes I don't really have the ability to do that."¹

My Take

This song is very upbeat and, to me, sounds very much like a Depeche Mode song. I could even imagine Martin Gore singing backing vocals with Dave on this one. Speaking of Depeche Mode, I feel like this song shares a lot of its sonic DNA with "Precious," having almost the same tempo, use of heavy electronics- especially the sawtooth waves, and Dave singing in the upper part of his range. But the lyrics have that signature, desperate soul-searching theme written all over it, which is unique to Dave. His reference to doors and "knocking" seems to allude to Matthew 7:7-8 in the Bible where it says in the King James Version, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." He is asking a very basic and universal question, though. This is one of those songs on this album that is extremely spiritual.

Music Video

The visual theme of this video seems to be the use of flashing lights in various settings. First, Dave is sitting in a car in a parking garage, and all around him, the lights are flashing- even the lights on other cars. He sees a doorway that is all lit up with a bright white light and he gets out of the car and heads towards it. Other scenes show Dave with his mouth all lit up from the inside which is clearly visible when he sings the words. Another scene shows a house with the lights flashing on and off from the inside in various patterns. Flashing lights are showcased in other scenes, too, such as that of a police car and its lights, which is later shown shining bright, flashing spotlights into the sky, and also colorful lights flashing from the ground within a forest of trees. This forest is then shown to be on the other side of the door that Dave was walking toward earlier in the video. He just stops in front of the door and gazes at it. The camera pans across the forest one last time and the colorful flashing lights stop, revealing just a very normal-looking forest at dusk.

NOTE: There is a slightly longer version of this video that also exists. The scenes are identical to the former version, but one notable difference is that in the longer version, there is a dog seen sitting up on its hind legs in the parking garage that is absent in the former.

My Take

This video seems to have a very simple theme. Using colorful flashing lights everywhere- especially in settings where they don't usually occur and in ways that are unnatural gives each setting a supernatural element to it. And that's the kind of "kingdom" that Dave is asking about in the song. I feel like the use of unnatural/supernatural elements in normal settings like a parking garage, residential house, and a forest may have been intentional. See, with a song theme like a "kingdom beyond," they could've created a completely alien world- perhaps totally with CGI like the video for Depeche Mode's "Precious" had, and it would've fit this song perfectly, as well. But what I'm getting at is that the video may be hinting that the supernatural world coexists with the natural world and that this "kingdom" that Dave is asking about in the song exists right outside our front door or maybe...it's not even a place at all but rather a state of mind? Hmmm...

References

1. "Welcome To...Dave Gahan's 'Kingdom', Eagerly Awaited New Single", http://hourglass.davegahan.com (August 30, 2007)