Going Backwards

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Going Backwards
Song	Going Backwards
By	Depeche Mode
Songwriter	Martin L. Gore
Produced by	James Ford
Recorded at	Sound Design (Santa Barbara) Jungle City (New York)
Length (mm:ss)	5:43
Tempo	97 BPM
Time signature	4 4
Key	B Minor
Programmed by	Matrixxman Kurt Uenala
Engineered by	Jimmy Robertson
Mixing assistance	Brendan Morawski
Mastered by	Brian Lucey
Studio assistance	Connor Long Óscar Muñoz David Schaeman Brendan Morawski
Drums	James Ford
Art direction	Anton Corbijn
Design	SMEL
Recorded	April - August, 2016
Originally released	23 June 2017
Live performances as Depeche Mode	136 times *
Total live performances	136 times *

"Going Backwards" is a song from the 2017 album Spirit by Depeche Mode. It was released as a single on 23 June 2017.

Notes

Martin Gore told Amazon:

"An album starts taking shape, for me, really, when you have about four songs together, and we had gone down a cynical path. And I thought, "Okay well, maybe I just gotta go with this." Well as I said, it was definitely one of the first songs that I had written, and I think it was actually one of the first songs that we had started working on in the studio. And I think that from an early point we all deep down knew that it would be the first track on the album, so it was an important track. Even though we never regarded it as a single or anything like that, it was more of a statement."

When Neue Zürcher Zeitung hypothesised that "'Going Backwards' is about a civilizational regression where society and technology are developing as fast as never before", Martin Gore replied:

"Yes, but that's just a reason for decay. I have long believed that new technologies would bring the world together - the world would be united by them. We were all enthusiastic about the Arab Spring, when people started organising themselves with social media and fought for their freedom. But then everything went wrong: the Middle East seems to be falling apart."

Dave Gahan told Rolling Stone:

"If we want things to change, a revolution, we need to talk about it and about caring about what goes on in the world. It doesn't seem the way things are in London. We seem to be going in another direction, and I think Martin felt like he needed to express that [with 'Going Backwards']."

Hotmix radio asked Andy Fletcher about his favourite song of 'Spirit', and he replied:

"I think it would be '[Going] Backwards'. I don't know why. I've never really given it enough attention, because I do like 'Cover Me' as well, but we open our set with 'Backwards', and it really sounds good."

Lyrics

Going Backwards

We are not there yet

We have not evolved

We have no respect

We have lost control

We're going backwards

Ignoring the realities

Going backwards

Are you counting all the casualties

We are not there yet

Where we need to be

We are still in debt

To our insanities

We're going backwards

Turning back our history

Going backwards

Piling on the misery

We can track it all with satellites

See it all in plain sight

Watch men die in real time

But we have nothing inside

We feel nothing inside

We are not there yet

We have lost our soul

The course has been set

We're digging our own hole

We're going backwards

Armed with new technology

Going backwards

To a caveman mentality

We can emulate on consoles

Killings we can control

With senses that have been dulled

Because there's nothing inside

We feel nothing inside

We feel nothing inside (we feel nothing)

Nothing inside

We feel nothing inside (we feel nothing)

Nothing inside

Because there's nothing inside

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)

Live performances

Main article: Available recordings of "Going Backwards"

Main article: List of dates where "Going Backwards" was played

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