“Words are very unnecessary” – unless you’re writing an article about the meaning behind Depeche Mode’s “Enjoy The Silence” of course. The song was written by the band’s main songwriter Martin Gore and released as a single in early 1990. “Enjoy The Silence” became a worldwide hit and is known as one of Depeche Mode’s greatest songs. In this article, we will explore the meaning behind the iconic song!
The Meaning of the Song
“Enjoy the Silence” is a song about the power of silence and the potential harm that words can cause. The song presumably addresses a relationship, with the narrator expressing to his lover to enjoy each other’s presence in silence instead of exchanging trivial and harmful words.
Songwriter Martin Gore likes to remain silent about the meaning behind his songs, even to his own bandmates. “Martin didn’t like to explain his songs to anyone and knowing that, the other group members would rarely ask him what they were about,” band member Alan Wilder said. “It’s clear to me that he enjoys the ambiguity of his words and the subversive quality of some of them is probably what makes them interesting.”
If the song is personal for songwriter Martin Gore it most likely addresses his relationship with designer Suzanne Boisvert. The two started dating in 1989, the same year “Enjoy the Silence” was written.
The Creation of the Song
Martin Gore initially wrote “Enjoy the Silence” as a slow ballad. Upon hearing a demo of the song, Alan Wilder felt it needed a beat. “It was a great tune crying out for the kind of treatment it eventually got,” Wilder stated.
“Alan [Wilder] and Flood, who was producing the album, had this idea to put a beat to it,” Lead singer Dave Gahan recalled in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. “They said, ‘Get out of the studio and come back in two days.’ When we came back, Flood said to Martin, ‘I need you to come up with a guitar line,’ so Martin started to play this riff, and that was it. Then he said ‘Dave, go sing,’ and I did. We literally recorded it in a couple of days.”
After the song fell into place all the band members felt “Enjoy the Silence” had great hit potential. “I think that’s the only time in our history when we all looked at each other and said, ‘I think this might be a hit,” Martin Gore commented to Mojo Magazine.
The Legacy of Enjoy the Silence
Depeche Mode released “Enjoy the Silence” as the second single of the band’s successful album Violator. The song was a worldwide hit and reached the top 10 in many countries, including the US and the UK. The album Violator was also a huge success and gave the band international stardom. Thanks to songs like “Enjoy the Silence” and “Personal Jesus”, the album sold over 7.5 million copies worldwide.
The single was supported by a music video directed by Anton Corbijn. The video featured lead singer Gahan dressed as a king walking through various remote landscapes with a deck chair. The concept represents a man who has it all but is in search of a quiet place to sit. The idea aligns with the theme of the song, where silence is conveyed as meaningful and peaceful.
In 1991, “Enjoy the Silence” won a Brit Award for best British single of the year. In the decades thereafter, “Enjoy the Silence” proved to be one of Depeche Mode’s most enduring tracks. The song is the band’s biggest hit and ranks as one of the greatest songs in Depeche Mode’s rich repertoire.
Interested in more stories behind iconic songs? Click here
