PERSONAL JESUS
Reach out and touch faith
Your own personal Jesus
Someone to hear your prayers
Someone who cares
Your own personal Jesus
Someone to hear your prayers
Someone who’s there
Feeling unknown
And you’re all alone
Flesh and bone
By the telephone
Lift up the receiver
I’ll make you a believer
Take second best
Put me to the test
Things on your chest
You need to confess
I will deliver
You know I’m a forgiver
Reach out and touch faith – depeche mode
While I am no music aficionado, I do love lyrics and love to look up the lyrics to my favorite songs. I feel I get so much more out of a song if I know what they’re singing about. And how can you sing along if you don’t know the words? Some lyrics are great, some are crap (as with any form of the written word), some can stand alone, some work only within the context of the music. And, of course, there are iconic renditions like, “hold me closer, Tony Danza” which shows that sometimes, the best lyrics are the made-up ones. While Personal Jesus is hardly poetic, I have always been intrigued by this Depeche Mode song but was startled when I read what songwriter Martin Gore said served as inspiration for the piece: the book, Elvis and Me, by Priscilla Presley. Gore’s interpretation was not about their healthy love (if there was such a thing–I never read the book), but Priscilla’s God-like devotion to her mentor/man, and her role as Elvis’ confessor, his Jesus. Before having read this, I was sure, absolutely, positively sure this song was about phone sex.
photo credit: kerriwyattkent.com