World In My Eyes

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World In My Eyes
Song	World In My Eyes
By	Depeche Mode
Songwriter	Martin L. Gore
Produced by	Depeche Mode Flood
Recorded at	Logic Studios, Milan Puk Studios, Denmark The Church, London
Length (mm:ss)	4:26 (album version) 4:00 (single edit)
Tempo	122 BPM
Time signature	4 4
Key	B♭ Minor
Engineered by	Pino Pischetola Peter Iversen Steve Lyon Goh Hotoda Alan Gregorie Dennis Mitchell Phil Legg
Engineering assistance	Daryl Bamonte Dick Meaney David Browne Mark Flannery
Mixed by	François Kevorkian
Design	Anton Corbijn Area
Recorded	1989–1990
Originally released	17 September 1990
Live performances as Depeche Mode	709 times *
Total live performances	709 times *

"World In My Eyes" is a song from the 1990 album Violator by Depeche Mode. It was released as a single on 17 September 1990.

Notes

Martin Gore says in the 17 February 1990 issue of NME:

Interviewer: On the opening track 'World In My Eyes' you seem to be saying 'Just for this moment pleasure and gratification are all that matters'. It's almost like (deep breath) existentialism.

Gore: Yes, and it's a very positive song. It's saying that love and sex and pleasure are positive things.

Dave Gahan told Gear Magazine in 1998:

"It's about being comfortable with somebody. When you're in a moment with someone and you realize you haven't said a word for the past couple of hours."

Gore described the evolution of the studio recording of 'World In My Eyes' in BONG magazine issue no. 37, 1998:

I remember the original demo of 'World In My Eyes' being slightly faster and maybe slightly more obvious. While we were recording it in Milan, Dave was going away for a couple of days, so we worked on it and turned it into this really moody piece. I can remember Dave arriving back in the studio, slightly jet-lagged and being totally shocked, thinking that we just ruined the song, but half a day later he came back and said 'That's really good, the way it's turned out.' It always takes a while to get used to things.

Alan Wilder explains in an editorial on Shunt, the official Recoil website:

'World In My Eyes' had in fact been recorded very early on during the Milan session and, perhaps for this reason, displayed familiar Depeche elements linking it with previous albums. It was completed in London and with its 'drop' 3rd verse and use of vocal double-tracking to fill out and build the later choruses, was probably the most 'electro' sounding track on the LP — something of a homage to Kraftwerk, in a rhythmical sense at least. Laughing in the face of criticism that electronic music was 'soulless' and would only appeal to a small eclectic audience, its success exhibited one of Depeche Mode's most fundamental philosophies.

2006 remaster engineer Kevin Paul explained in a November 2007 interview for Sound On Sound magazine:

I had about 20 or 30 different tapes for 'World In My Eyes' and I had to get them all to sync up and try to find the missing sounds. There is a snare-drum drop which is reversed — completely flipped. It wasn't on any of the tapes and it turned out it was most likely to have been done on an Akai with an Atari, run wild, so that was something Roger [Johnson] had to do. He had to find the sample and flip it and get the sound back. Everything then was backed up on floppy disks which now no-one can ever work. It is nigh-on an impossibility to get them to work as they did back then.

Andrew Fletcher explains in a 2017 interview for Hotmix Radio:

"For me, ['World In My Eyes'] really shows how we've managed to have all these people from different countries all over the world together, liking Depeche Mode."

Lyrics

World In My Eyes

Let me take you on a trip

Around the world and back

And you won't have to move

You just sit still

Now let your mind do the walking

And let my body do the talking

Let me show you the world in my eyes

I'll take you to the highest mountain

To the depths of the deepest sea

And we won't need a map

Believe me

Now let my body do the moving

And let my hands do the soothing

Let me show you the world in my eyes

That's all there is

Nothing more than you can feel now

That's all there is

Let me put you on a ship

On a long, long trip

Your lips close to my lips

All the islands in the ocean

All the heaven's in the motion

Let me show you the world in my eyes

That's all there is

Nothing more than you can touch now

That's all there is

Let me show you the world in my eyes

Songwriter: Martin L. Gore
Publishing Information: ©1990 Grabbing Hands Music Ltd/EMI Music Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.

Composition

Sample sources

"World In My Eyes" Depeche Mode 1990	Self-made samples
	Sample	Notes			Audio
	Synthesizer elements	The origin of the bass is a combination of a series of unique synthesized parts. According to Wilder, the bass parts are likely to have originated from the Minimoog and Flood's ARP 2600.			✖
	Vocal elements	A series of solo vocal "ahh" samples likely derived from vocals by Martin Gore play an oscillating melody during the outro of "World In My Eyes".			✖
	Sample sources
	Sample	Source	Status	Notes	Audio
	Drum, snare drum elements	Fad Gadget - Fireside Favourites - "Newsreel" - 7 November 1980	Confirmed	A manipulated snare derived from the opening moments of "Newsreel" from the 1980 Fad Gadget album Fireside Favourites is utilised throughout "World In My Eyes". Notably, this sample would also see use in the outro of "Personal Jesus". Former Depeche Mode member Alan Wilder recalled the snare drum sound of "World In My Eyes" in an undated Q&A on Shunt, the official Recoil project site: "[...] I think we made it from scratch or it could be a combination of analogue and a sample."	Click to display/hide audio example
	Guitar elements	Fleetwood Mac - "Black Magic Woman" - 29 March 1968	Confirmed	A guitar chord featured in the intro of Fleetwood Mac's 1968 single "Black Magic Woman" is utilised sporadically throughout "World In My Eyes". The guitar sound was performed by Fleetwood Mac founder Peter Green, who achieved its distinct shimmering effect by playing a D minor triad on the 17th fret with vibrato. A manipulated copy of the sample is played with an oscillating pitch bend layered with a separate sample (derived from Emulator II factory library disk #37: Electric Guitar) to produce a wavering verse section riff. A second copy of the sample appears on the first beat after each chorus section.	Click to display/hide audio example
	Drum elements	Bryan Ferry - Boys and Girls - "Don't Stop The Dance" - 1985	Confirmed	A drum element derived from the album version of Bryan Ferry's "Don't Stop The Dance" is utilised throughout "World In My Eyes" as a drum fill.	Click to display/hide audio example
	Synthesizer elements	Thomas Dolby - The Golden Age of Wireless - "She Blinded Me with Science" - 1982	Confirmed	A synth hit derived from the final moments of Thomas Dolby's 1982 single "She Blinded Me with Science" is utilised as an orchestral hit during the final bar of each chorus section of "World In My Eyes".	Click to display/hide audio example
	Drum elements	Kraftwerk - The Man-Machine - "The Man-Machine" ("Die Mensch-Maschine") - May 1978	Confirmed	"World In My Eyes" utilises a timestretched "clicking" percussion rhythm throughout its verse, chorus, and outro sections that is derived from the opening moments of Kraftwerk's "The Man-Machine".	Click to display/hide audio example
	Drum elements	Kraftwerk - Computer World - "Home Computer" ("Heimcomputer") - 1981	Confirmed	"World In My Eyes" employs a manipulated sample derived from the latter half of Kraftwerk's "Home Computer".	Click to display/hide audio example
	Bass elements	Sound Ideas - Series 1000 General Effects Library - CD #1018 Naval Boats, Ships, Motorcycles - Track #35 "SHIP, HORN" (filename "ShipHorn 1018_35") - 1983	Confirmed	A truncated sample of a naval ship horn derived from Sound Ideas's 1983 sound effects library Series 1000 General Effects Library CD #1018 Naval Boats, Ships, Motorcycles is utilised throughout the chorus sections of "World In My Eyes" as a bass layer. The library is notable for debuting as the first commercially available sound effects library of its kind on compact disc.	Click to display/hide audio example
	Orchestral elements	E-mu Systems - Emulator III Factory Library Vol. 1 > Groupo Sinfonia > Monotto Strings - "Strings E2", "Strings A#2", "Strings E3", "Strings C4"	Confirmed	A series of orchestral string riffs audible during the verse, chorus, and outro sections of "World In My Eyes" are performed using Emulator III Factory Library Vol. 1 voice "Monotto Strings".	✖
	Ambient elements	E-mu Systems - Emulator II factory library disk #36: Lead Guitar	Confirmed	An electric guitar sample derived from Emulator II factory library disk #36 "Lead Guitar" is played in reverse with an oscillating pitch bend and layered with a separate sample (derived from Fleetwood Mac's "Black Magic Woman") to produce the "whirl" effect that occurs during the verse sections.	✖
	Organ elements	E-mu Systems - Emax I factory library disk #ZD703: Rock Organ - SAMPLE 4	Confirmed	A manipulated sample of an organ derived from Emax I factory library disk #ZD703 "Rock Organ" is utilized throughout the chorus sections of "World In My Eyes".	✖
	Drum elements, rimshot, open hi-hat, closed hi-hat	Roland Corporation - Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer - 1980	Confirmed	A series of processed drum elements audible throughout "World In My Eyes" are derived from the Roland TR-808 drum machine.	✖

Live performances

Main article: Available recordings of "World In My Eyes"

Main article: List of dates where "World In My Eyes" was played

Live versions

This section provides an example of a live version of World In My Eyes from each tour that it was played.

• Play 1990 World Violation Tour (Without additional keyboard part): 1990-08-04 Dodgers Stadium, Los Angeles, CA, USA
• Play 1990 World Violation Tour (With additional keyboard part): 1990-10-23 Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, Paris, France
• Play 1993 Devotional Tour: 1993-06-30 Palais Omnisport De Paris Bercy, Paris, France
• Play 1994 Exotic Tour: 1994-05-14 Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountainview, San Francisco, CA, USA
• Play 1998 The Singles Tour: 1998-12-18 Forum, Inglewood, CA, USA
• Play 2005-2006 Touring The Angel: 2006-06-04 Rock Am Ring, Nurburgring, Germany
• Play 2009-2010 Tour Of The Universe: 2009-11-23 Tony Garnier, Lyon, France
• Play 2013-2014 Delta Machine Tour: 2013-10-11 Austin City Limits Festival, Austin, TX, USA
• Play 2017-2018 Global Spirit Tour: 2018-06-26 Volt Festival, Sopron, Hungary
• Play 2023-2024 Memento Mori Tour: 2023-03-23 Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, CA, USA

Trivia

• During the 1990 "World Violation" Tour, starting from 1990-10-14 Festhalle, Frankfurt, Germany, an additional keyboard part was played for dramatic effect during the intro of "World In My Eyes".
• The sampled snare drums featured in "World In My Eyes" (as sampled by Depeche Mode from "Newsreel" by Fad Gadget and "Don't Stop The Dance" by Bryan Ferry) are featured in "Diving", a piece of music released for the soundtrack of the 1995 Super Nintendo video game Waterworld by Ocean Software.
• 'World In My Eyes' has been sampled in the following songs by other artists:
  • 'Don't You Wanna Come?' – Kyper (1992)
  • 'Versatylin' Stylin' – The Next School (1990)
• 'World In My Eyes' has been covered by Simbolo, The Cure, China-Touch, Inscape feat. DJ Worlock, Ákos, Sonata Arctica, Running With Scissors, Mikro, Insular, Acylum, Rockabye Baby!, and Chateau Pop.

References

Depeche Mode songs released as singles 1981-1985: Dreaming Of Me • New Life • Just Can't Get Enough • See You • The Meaning Of Love • Leave In Silence • Get The Balance Right • Everything Counts • Love In Itself • People Are People • Master And Servant • Blasphemous Rumours / Somebody • Shake The Disease • It's Called A Heart 1986-1989: Stripped • But Not Tonight • A Question Of Lust • A Question Of Time • Strangelove • Never Let Me Down Again • Behind The Wheel • Little 15 • Personal Jesus 1990-1998: Enjoy The Silence • Policy Of Truth • World In My Eyes • I Feel You • Walking In My Shoes • Condemnation • In Your Room • Barrel Of A Gun • It's No Good • Home • Useless • Only When I Lose Myself 2001-2009: Dream On • I Feel Loved • Freelove • Goodnight Lovers • Precious • A Pain That I'm Used To • Suffer Well • John The Revelator / Lilian • Martyr • Wrong • Peace • Fragile Tension / Hole To Feed 2013-2017: Heaven • Soothe My Soul • Should Be Higher • Where's The Revolution • Going Backwards • Cover Me 2023: Ghosts Again Recoil songs released as singles 1992-1998: Faith Healer • Drifting • Stalker / Missing Piece 2000-2008: Strange Hours • Jezebel • Prey • Allelujah Dave Gahan songs released as singles 2003-2008: Dirty Sticky Floors • I Need You • Bottle Living / Hold On • A Little Piece • Kingdom • Saw Something / Deeper And Deeper 2012-2015: Longest Day • Take Me Back Home • All Of This And Nothing • Shine Martin Gore solo songs released as singles 1989-2003: Compulsion • Stardust • Loverman 2012-2015: Spock • Single Blip • Aftermaths • Europa Hymn • "Pinking" (Christoffer Berg Remix) Official releases Studio albums • Live albums • Compilation albums • Video albums • Singles