I Sometimes Wish I Was Dead

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I Sometimes Wish I Was Dead
Song	I Sometimes Wish I Was Dead
By	Depeche Mode
Songwriter	Vince Clarke
Produced by	Depeche Mode Daniel Miller
Recorded at	Blackwing Studios (London)
Length (mm:ss)	2:16
Tempo	129 BPM
Time signature	4 4
Key	D Major
Engineered by	Eric Radcliffe John Fryer
Originally released	6 November 1981
Live performances as Depeche Mode	56 times *
Total live performances	56 times *

"I Sometimes Wish I Was Dead" is a song from the 1981 album Speak & Spell by Depeche Mode.

Notes

This song has three known distinct versions other than the album version. Each one is detailed below.

Early live version

There is an early live version of this song believed to be within the date range of November 1980 and February 1981, with the only available recording being from an unknown date and venue. The song's arrangement and lyrics are completely different from future versions. You can listen to the unfortunately poor-quality audio and read transcribed lyrics below:

Lyrics

I Sometimes Wish I Was Dead There's a new sound and it's all around and I think that you can hear it too The sound won't stop and I like it a lot cause it makes me feel so new There's a new sound and it's all around and I think that you can hear it too The sound won't stop and I like it a lot cause it makes me fondly think of you It's getting stronger all the time and I like to hear it in my mind I'm smiling big because I'm thinking of you and of all the times you smile And I know we're together in love forever And I'll love that til we die The lovely feeling in my head and I might be happy forever dead I know you don't want me going away and you broke my heart in two I cried and I cried cause I wanted to die I wanted just to be with you Things are spinning in my head and I sometimes wish that I was dead Songwriter: Vince Clarke Publishing Information: No publishing information available for this particular version of the song.

This original set of lyrics is likely where the song's title came from since it makes sense in context; the last lyric of this version of the song includes "I sometimes wish that I was dead".

Spring 1981

There is also the Spring 1981 live version which has an overall different sound to the album version but with the final lyrics. The best sounding version is from 1981-04-06 Bridge House, London, England, UK and can be listened to below:

Sometimes I Wish I Was Dead (Flexi-Pop Mix)

This song was issued on a Flexidisc for the 1981-09-11 issue of Flexipop magazine and titled "Sometimes I Wish I Was Dead". This version was reissued in 2018 as part of the 12" singles vinyl boxsets, sourced from the master tape for significantly improved sound quality. The Flexipop version's intro, middle 8, and pre-outro differ from the album version, which was released later in 1981 as part of Speak & Spell.

The audio can be listened to from the official Depeche Mode YouTube account below:

Live versions of the song from Autumn 1981 and later closely resemble the final album version.

Lyrics

I Sometimes Wish I Was Dead (album version)

New sound all around

You can hear it too

Getting hot, never stop

Just for me and you

Playing on my radio and saying that you had to go

New day turn away

Wipe away the tear

New night, feel right

Knowing that you're here

Dancing with you all the time, and don't you think that it's a crime

Back street never meet

Never say goodbye

I know where you go

But I don't know why

You say that it's from above, and I say this is modern love

Songwriter: Vince Clarke
Publishing Information: ©1981 Musical Moments Ltd./Sony Music Publishing Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Live performances

Main article: Available recordings of "I Sometimes Wish I Was Dead"

Main article: List of dates where "I Sometimes Wish I Was Dead" was played