Fail

Notes

Martin Gore told Myśliwiecka 3/5/7:

"I think that if you ask each of the members of the band why we named the album 'Spirit', they would give you a different reason. But for me, it was kind of like that, because there's a line in the song 'Fail' that says "our spirit is gone". And I'm hoping that by pointing out that humanity is kind of gone astray, lost its way, that it helps us to find that path again. That it helps us find out spirit again."

Martin also told Intro magazin (translated from German):

"It is indeed the first case that we use the f-word. I find it appropriate, because in the last song it once again underlines the dark mood on 'Spirit'. When I began writing songs at the end of 2015 and early 2016, it felt to me as if the world was slowly getting doomed. I just had to make it a theme. And even though I did not think that Trump would become president, you could see how the Trump train was slowly taking up speed and was dragging the whole election campaign into the dirt. At the same time, you saw and see these horrible images from Syria every day, that no one seems to care about anymore. No wonder I got a gloomy look at the world and concluded: "We're fucked"? A little side-note: A young artist from Australia is working on a piece of art, in which she is drawing the words "we", "are", and "fucked" in sign language. It's a Christmas gift from my wife. I have yet to ask her, but I also think it would make a great design for a T-shirt."

Martin also told Classic Pop Magazine:

"[The line 'oh, we're fucked'] sums up the album in a way. The good thing about it is the lyrics might be depressing but the music is so pretty. Once the lyrics stop it ends on this nice lilting gentle piece of music. That’s the little bit of hope."

Dave Gahan echoes this to Paradiso:

"That song [Fail] is quite pessimistic, but there's also one phrase which it ends on where it kind of says 'Yes, we're fucked, but at the same time it also gives us - at the end - this hope'. And I also think 'Fail' is an interesting song because for me, the heart of it is actually in the melody. It's quite an uplifting melody. When you get to the end of the song, I always felt like, melodically, it was a complete contrast to the lyrical content."

Lyrics

Fail

People

Do we call this trying

We're hopeless

Forget the denying

Our souls are corrupt

Our minds are messed up

Our consciences bankrupt

Oh, we're fucked

People

What are we thinking

It's shameful

Our standards are sinking

We're barely hanging on

Our spirit has gone

And once, where it shone

I hear a lonesome song

People

How are we coping

It's futile

To even start hoping

That justice will prevail

That truth will tip the scales

Our dignity has sailed

Oh, we've failed

Songwriter: Martin L. Gore
Publishing Information: ©2015 Sony ATV Music Corp. and Grabbing Hands Music Ltd. All rights on behalf of itself and Grabbing Hands Music Ltd. admin. by Sony ATV Music Corp. (BMI). (USA). Published by Sony ATV Music Publishing Ltd Licensed by Grabbing Hands Music Ltd. (Rest Of The World)

Dates with available recordings of Fail

• There are currently no recordings of Fail available to download.

Dates where Fail was played

2017-2018 Global Spirit Tour

Fail was played only once during this tour.

• 2017-02-20 Global Spirit Tour Rehearsals, Avatar Studios, New York, NY, USA