Lyrics for Policy Of Truth as interpreted by shut

Policy Of Truth Lyrics
You had something to hide
Should have hidden it, shouldn't you
Now you're not satisfied
With what you're being put through

It's just time to pay the price
For not listening to advice
And deciding in your youth
On the policy of truth

Things could be so different now
It used to be so civilised
You will always wonder how
It could have been if you'd only lied

It's too late to change events
It's time to face the consequence
For delivering the proof
In the policy of truth

Never again
Is what you swore
The time before
Never again
Is what you swore
The time before

Now you're standing there tongue tied
You'd better learn your lesson well
Hide what you have to hide
And tell what you have to tell
You'll see your problems multiplied
If you continually decide
To faithfully pursue
The policy of truth

Never again
Is what you swore
The time before

Interaction
Mail to a friend Send Lyrics to a Friend
Share on Facebook

Stumble It
Add to Del.icio.us Add to Del.icio.us




  • 32 Comments
  • Printer Friendly Lyrics
oldest first     Expand All
Ratgirl
06-13-2002

Rated 0 
I love this song! It's very beautiful, and the musical programing is top notch. Definitly a 1st rate song!

Log in to reply
incu
05-08-2004

Rated 0 
this song is about the people who wrote the bible and them changing it for power and money

Log in to reply
beautiful.disaster
11-09-2004

Rated 0 
umm no its not--where the heck did u get THAT idea?? its about a relationship. has nothing to do with the bible

Log in to reply
Sozluk
12-22-2004

Rated 0 
This is a truly POWERFUL and life changing song!! When you hear it for the 1st time you will never look at the world the same way again. Musically it is incredibly sinister and mysterious, lyrically it points to the fact that the world revolves around honest and that being truthful all the time can really get you hurt.

Log in to reply
stoolhardy
12-25-2004

Rated 0 
No I don't think this song is written toward the religious fanatics, incu - although it could be applied toward that context, nothing about this song seems to point in that direction.

Although this song could apply to a relationship built upon lies, I think the meaning of this song is more general: It describes how taxing on your soul it can be to live your life based upon lies. That's the meat and potatoes of this song. This song is quite haunting - Does anyone remember the music video too?

Log in to reply
stoolhardy
12-25-2004

Rated 0 
Actually I take back what I wrote - ha ha... I have done this a lot on this site. The interpretation I wrote above is more what I thought the song was about when I was 12 when this song first came out. I thought in my juvenile mind that had to do with paying the price for telling lies, but it's sort of the the opposite.

Those awful things you did in the past that you now regret, you thought you could liberate yourself by disclosing the truth to people? No, your honesty will be punished in our world where privacy is increasingly eroded. Not too many songs are about this interesting phenomenon. The song always has that "you don't know who is really watching" feel to it. Great stuff, got to revisit these songs.

Log in to reply
stoolhardy
12-25-2004

Rated 0 
I'd also like to add that the riffs in this song sound like elaborations of emergency sirens set to music. It's cool for this cold-feeling song. Actually I've heard a lot of songs use sounds like this. Aerosmith's "Dream On" uses emergency-siren-like notes too.

Log in to reply
The Process
12-30-2004

Rated 0 
You can find the video for this song in http://www.musictelevisionsucks.net/
It is really an awesome song! I associate it with some time of my life where I always listened to it, memories in songs are the best

Log in to reply
Veeka
01-29-2005

Rated 0 
This song's on my top three favorite songs of Depeche Mode :)

At first I thought the song was about someone cheating on their SO and getting caught...but basically this songs about someone doing something they're not suppose to and getting caught for it. Pretty open ended :)

Log in to reply
krystalykangel
02-02-2005

Rated 0 
This song is not one of my most favorite from DM but it does have a message. To me, it is about secrets or mistakes done in the past when younger. They could have been fixed but nothing was done and now it is too late to change them. It can be applied to any event in life not just relationships.

Log in to reply
Ander Knight
02-19-2005

Rated 0 
I don't care what it means, for the meanings are many. But this is one of my favorite DM songs, and frankly, when I first heard it, I had it stuck in my head all day. The electronic sound and cool refrain make it rather catchy. Defintely one of the best songs I have heard on the radio.

Log in to reply
AnthonyElite
03-20-2005

Rated 0 
In my head...its about a couple, and one of them is cheating. And instead of lieing about it, they decide to tell thier partner. Instead of listening to that old saying "Ignorance is Bliss" they have come clean and suffer for it.

Log in to reply
1 Reply
ca_styles
06-22-2005

Rated 0 
this is one of my fave depche songs. Its one of those songs you play when your driving alone at night. Martin Gore proves once again he is a song writing genius.

Log in to reply
proteus
06-27-2005

Rated 0 
'Truth' makes fun of 'Honesty is the best policy'. Quite simply, it isn't. And no one is completely honest. Excuses and exceptions are irrelevant - 'To spare someone's feeling'. No Mr.& Mrs. Morals-Hypocrite. We are all selfishly dishonest nearly every day and often times it saves OUR asses. We all know this; we all do it.... and then have the gall to ask for a mate who is completely honest. Depeche Mode is simply stating something that's dawned on all of us at numerous points in our lives when we 'bought' the going statement about honest/policy, and that is, "I should've lied". Might not make you feel good to admit, but it can sometimes to tell a lie. Besides, it's not the responsibility of truth to make anyone feel good. I rest.

Log in to reply
AgentOren
03-11-2006

Rated 0 
I think this song is more general and philosophical, and deals with the ideal of "always tell the truth".

It's about an honest person who is very sincere, and beleives that telling the truth is the right thing to do, IN ANY SITUATION. However, this ideal brings troubles to this person, at times...

It is possible that Martin wrote this song about Dave Gahan, which is known for his (over-) sincerity, mostly in public interview. Something that the other band members (including Martin) didn't like at times...

So, what's the message? To be a liar? no... The message is actually a compromise:
"Hide what you have to hide, and tell what you have to tell".

Log in to reply
playboi
06-09-2006

Rated 0 
Was this song written for a purpose, or is it something before its time it makes me paranoid, and talkin some1 through his dilemma and trying to say to this person, should've listened to advice instead saying things in the truth. Bla bla bla, i cudn't give a shit, it's only a song.

Log in to reply
englishj
07-31-2006

Rated 0 
It makes sense that this song is more open-ended about telling the truth than just somebody cheating in a relationship, but the line "never again is what you swore the time before" really speaks to a relationship - where somebody cheated, then promised they would never do it again, but did anyway. How else could that line be interpreted?

Log in to reply
nirado
09-15-2006

Rated 0 
......Maybe I am high, but I picture this song as a conversation that Judas has with Jesus, days before he turned on him.

Log in to reply
figgyfew2
06-14-2007

Rated 0 
I'm really surprised that no one here has suggested that this song is about being gay and the difficulties one faces trying to be "out." I think it's pretty obvious....

Log in to reply
Esoteryk
08-02-2007

Rated 0 
I agree with the people whoo see it as a song about the downside of being completely honest. I always had trouble with the meaning of this song. I came to the conclusion that it is, actually, very literal. It's about the price you pay for the freedom of being totally honest with the world about who you are. There is always punishment waiting for complete truth. It's a somewhat disturbing truth about life we don't like to believe is true.

Log in to reply
Esoteryk
08-02-2007

Rated 0 
I agree with the people whoo see it as a song about the downside of being completely honest. I always had trouble with the meaning of this song. I came to the conclusion that it is, actually, very literal. It's about the price you pay for the freedom of being totally honest with the world about who you are. There is always punishment waiting for complete truth. It's a somewhat disturbing truth about life we don't like to believe is true.

Log in to reply
zee deveel 17
09-21-2007

Rated 0 
this song really is about the need to lie because being truthful can cause problems for you. we all have things we need to hide and keep to ourselves and revealing those things could get you hurt.

Log in to reply
mridlen
10-09-2007

Rated 0 
The thesis of the song rests with these 4 lines:

"It's too late to change events
It's time to face the consequence
For delivering the proof
In the policy of truth"

I think it says that it's too late to change what you have done, so if you tell the truth you are going to face the consequences of your actions, with the implication that telling the truth is a bad idea. Even though the pronoun "you" is used, I can't help but think he is having a conversation with himself, and kicking himself for what he said.

Log in to reply
Musixex
03-01-2008

Rated 0 
Great concept, exeptional wording. Something I find myself saying alot is that people shouldn't ask questions they don't want the answers to. So often people think they want everything out in the open, and can't mind there own bussiness, when in all actuallity, they would be way better off being in the dark

Log in to reply
starfire
07-03-2008

Rated 0 
She cheated on him and decided to tell him the truth and he is telling her it's the price you pay for telling if you had lied you wouldn't have broken our relationship.

Log in to reply




  • Add Your Comments
What does this song mean to you?

You must be logged in to post your comments.

Feel free to create an account with us, or log in with your existing account, to start adding your comments to songs.





Popular
Top:   Lyrics, Artists, Albums
Random:   Lyric, Artist, Album

Your Ad Here