Condemnation
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3. Condemnation List of Songs of Faith and Devotion songs |
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Condemnation
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| Song | Condemnation |
|---|---|
| By | Depeche Mode |
| Songwriter | Martin L. Gore |
| Produced by | Depeche Mode Flood |
| Recorded at | Madrid, Spain Chateau du Pape (Hamburg, Germany) |
| Length (mm:ss) | 3:22 (album version) 3:21 (Paris Mix) |
| Tempo | 58 BPM |
| Time signature | 4 4 |
| Key | B Major |
| Recorded | January 1993 |
| Originally released | September 13, 1993 |
| Live performances as Depeche Mode | 268 times * |
| Total live performances | 277 times * |
'Condemnation' is a song from the 1993 album Songs Of Faith And Devotion by Depeche Mode. It was released as a single on September 13, 1993.
Notes
Martin Gore in Bong issue no. 37, 1998:
"Being the songwriter, I am not supposed to keep saying that I think it's a great song, somebody else is supposed to say it. I really like that song, but I am not sure that we got the best out of it. Our album version is sort of pastiche gospel but the single version, that we recorded using gospel singers, is probably better. Although I am still not sure that that's the optimum we could have got out of the song."
Alan Wilder said in the May 1993 issue of Keyboard magazine:
"[O]n 'Condemnation', we put the piano through some kind of wobbly pitch-shifter. The idea of that track was to enhance the gospel feel that the song originally had without going into pastiche, and to try to create the effect of it being played in a room, in a space. So we began by getting all four members of the group to do one thing each in the same space. Fletcher was bashing a flight case with a pole, Flood and Dave were clapping, I was playing a drum, and Martin was playing an organ. We listened back to it. it was embryonic, but it gave us an idea for a direction."
Dave Gahan in Rolling Stone issue #670:
"When I first heard 'Condemnation', it was a total relief; I couldn't believe it."
Dave Gahan has frequently mentioned Condemnation as one of his favourite songs. However, soon after playing in South Africa in 1994, it was no longer Dave who sang Condemnation, presumably due to his health and the strenuous vocal task the song requires, but it was Martin, accompanied by Alan on piano (the earliest verifiable date on which this change occurred was on 1994-03-16 in Hong Kong). Martin also sang the song on the 2013-2014 Delta Machine Tour. Dave did perform the song on his short 2015 "Angels and Ghosts" Tour, but in 2016 he told Stirile Pro: "There's certain songs from 'Songs Of Faith And Devotion' that, I feel they capture a moment: 'Condemnation' being one of those. And it's hard for me to perform that song now, it brings up so many emotions."
Lyrics
Condemnation
Condemnation
Tried
Here on the stand
With the book in my hand
And truth on my side
Accusations
Lies
Hand me my sentence
I'll show no repentance
I'll suffer with pride
If for honesty
You want apologies
I don't sympathize
If for kindness
You substitute blindness
Please open your eyes
Condemnation
Why
Because my duty
Was always to beauty
And that was my crime
Feel elation
High
To know I can trust this
Fix of injustice
Time after time
If you see purity
As immaturity
Well it's no surprise
If for kindness
You substitute blindness
Please open your eyes
Songwriter: Martin L. Gore
Publishing Information: ©1992 Grabbing Hands Music Overseas/EMI Music Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.
Music video
Live performances
- Main article: Available recordings of "Condemnation"
- Main article: List of dates where "Condemnation" was played
Trivia
- 'Condemnation' is featured in season two episode thirty-three of Israeli television show Ha-Shminiya.
