I have always thought this song is about a man who's charged and (morally) tried for being unfaithful to his lover.
As he involves himself in this moral struggle, he assumes the role of a man who's being unfairly charged:
"here on the stand with the book in my hand. And truth on my side".
As he engages more in this moral strife, he assumes a very victimized and dignified position, so BEFORE defending himself, he asks for his sentence:
"Hand me my sentence. I'll show no repentance. I'll suffer with pride".
Then, AFTER accepting his sentence, he defends himself, arguing some sort of "innocent manhood purity", which justifies his unfaithfulness.
"Because my duty was always to beauty. And that was my crime.
...
If you see purity as immaturity. Well it's no surprise".
But then, at the end, the accused gives this moral confrontation a dramatic turn over: he shows he was not really feeling victimized and unfairly charged. He was actually being brazen, cheeky and shameless -very usual on Depeche's lyrics-. So, he tells his lover/accuser/judge that he feels "elation, high" to know he can trust this fix of injustice "time after time".
More over, at the very end he even gets offensive and asks her to "open her eyes", like asking her not to be stupid, and stop fooling herself.
I have always thought this song is about a man who's charged and (morally) tried for being unfaithful to his lover.
As he involves himself in this moral struggle, he assumes the role of a man who's being unfairly charged: "here on the stand with the book in my hand. And truth on my side".
As he engages more in this moral strife, he assumes a very victimized and dignified position, so BEFORE defending himself, he asks for his sentence: "Hand me my sentence. I'll show no repentance. I'll suffer with pride".
Then, AFTER accepting his sentence, he defends himself, arguing some sort of "innocent manhood purity", which justifies his unfaithfulness. "Because my duty was always to beauty. And that was my crime. ... If you see purity as immaturity. Well it's no surprise".
But then, at the end, the accused gives this moral confrontation a dramatic turn over: he shows he was not really feeling victimized and unfairly charged. He was actually being brazen, cheeky and shameless -very usual on Depeche's lyrics-. So, he tells his lover/accuser/judge that he feels "elation, high" to know he can trust this fix of injustice "time after time".
More over, at the very end he even gets offensive and asks her to "open her eyes", like asking her not to be stupid, and stop fooling herself.