Closer
"Closer" is the B-Side of the "I Need You" single.
Lyrics
Closer each day with every sin
Now when did our life begin?
The ocean keeps rolling in
The night is oh so dark
And that dog will howl and bark
And your face is oh so stark
The ocean is creeping in
The ocean is creeping in
Closer each day with every sin
My heart is caving in
The ocean keeps rolling in
The ocean keeps rolling in
Now another long year has passed
And I don't know how long we'll last
I can hear your distant laughs
And the ocean keeps rolling in
And the sun seems oh so clear
I can hear its hiss and sneer
My stomach it starts to burn
Oh God let's hope we learn
The ocean is creeping in
With every and every sin
My heart's still caving in
The ocean keeps rolling in
The ocean keeps rolling in
Stay with me
It's hard to breathe
Lay with me
Please don't leave now
Close your eyes
Don't miss a beat now
The ocean keeps rolling in
The ocean keeps rolling in
The ocean keeps rolling in
The ocean keeps rolling in
The ocean is creeping in
Closer each day with every sin
Now when did our life begin?
The ocean keeps rolling in
The night is oh so dark
And that dog will howl and bark
And your face is oh so stark
The ocean is creeping in
The ocean is creeping in
Closer each day with every sin
My heart is caving in
The ocean keeps rolling in
The ocean keeps rolling in
Now another long year has passed
And I don't know how long we'll last
I can hear your distant laughs
And the ocean keeps rolling in
And the sun seems oh so clear
I can hear it's hiss and sneer
My stomach it starts to burn
Oh God let's hope we learn
The ocean is creeping in
With every and every sin
My heart's still caving in
The ocean keeps rolling in
The ocean keeps rolling in
Stay with me
It's hard to breathe
Lay with me
Please don't leave now
Close your eyes
Don't miss a beat now
The ocean keeps rolling in
The ocean keeps rolling in
The ocean keeps rolling in
The ocean keeps rolling in
Dave's Take
"The only time really that I plucked up enough courage to [write songs for Depeche Mode] was during the making of Ultra. I had that song, actually, which then was called "The Ocean Song" and I played it to Martin; it was a really rough demo- I mean it's basically me tapping my foot and singing the melody and singing some words. I played it to Martin and he really liked it. And then for whatever reason during the recording, it was presented to me that the song didn't really fit in with the theme and at that point I really backed off again. But it didn't matter because it started the ball rolling with me to just keep pushing and seeing what I had inside me."1
My Take
Wow, what a song. The beat sounds very similar to that of "Barrel of a Gun," and the reverb treatment given to Dave's voice takes me back to the Some Great Reward era. Apparently, this song was written sometime between Songs of Faith and Devotion and Ultra, and Dave demo-ed it to Martin with the hopes of including it on Ultra, though that didn't happen in the end. It probably sounded a lot different back then, but the way it was recorded for the 2003 single release definitely makes me feel like it would've fit right in on either Songs of Faith and Devotion or Ultra. It's too bad that it didn't, but I'm glad Dave finally released it and also glad that he was able to start contributing songs to Depeche Mode afterwards. The words to this song are just something else, though. Lyrically, I'm not sure that it would've fit in on either of those Depeche Mode albums; perhaps on an earlier album, like Black Celebration, it would've. Anyway, I get a feeling of extreme claustrophobia and dread. It is difficult to pick apart the lyrics of this song because I feel like I have to take it all in as a whole- it really makes me feel overwhelmed; it describes a whole mood. What in the world is that "ocean" that keeps getting "closer?" I really feel like this song would've been right at home on a later Soulsavers album, too, as well, given a different instrumental treatment.