Policy Of Truth
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7. Policy Of Truth List of Violator songs |
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Policy Of Truth
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| Song | Policy Of Truth |
|---|---|
| By | Depeche Mode |
| Songwriter | Martin L. Gore |
| Produced by | Depeche Mode Flood |
| Recorded at | Puk Studios, Denmark The Church, London Axis, New York |
| Length (mm:ss) | 4:55 (album version) 5:09 (single version) |
| Tempo | 114 BPM |
| Time signature | 4 4 |
| Key | A♭ Major |
| Engineering assistance | Daryl Bamonte Dick Meaney David Browne Mark Flannery |
| Mixed by | François Kevorkian |
| Recorded | 1989 – 1990 |
| Originally released | 7 May 1990 |
| Live performances as Depeche Mode | 615 times * |
| Total live performances | 677 times * |
"Policy Of Truth" is a song from the 1990 album Violator by Depeche Mode. It was released as a single on 7 May 1990.
Notes
Martin Gore in Bong issue no. 37, 1998:
"It has been one of my all time favourite songs that we’ve ever recorded. I really like the words to it and the whole concept of having to lie to keep up appearances – maybe it’s better to do that. I just really like the whole subject matter of the song. I like the Terry Hoax version or the one by Dishwalla from the tribute album, which is another rock version. I just like the fact that, sometimes the potential of the songs is seen when they are performed in a more conventional format. I think a lot of the time, the songs are overlooked, disregarded or not taken seriously because of the instrumentation we’ve used."
Q&A from Alan Wilder's Shunt:
Thierry: How did you create the intro melody sound of 'Policy Of Truth' (also used on 'Halo', if I'm not mad...)?
A: It's a single note sampled from a guitar and then looped and played from a keyboard. The loop is what gives it the vibrato effect.
Alan Wilder also says on Shunt:
With 'Policy [Of Truth]' it took forever to find a lead riff sound which worked. We even tried a flute at one point!
He elaborated on it in his '86 - 98' editorial:
Recorded initially during the Puk sessions, 'Policy' went through many changes before being almost completely re-recorded at The Church. "Usually this would signify problems with a song although in this case we knew it was a strong track, not least a potential single. The main riff of the song proved such a problem to get a sound for and we must have tried 100 different variations before settling on what had become perhaps the sound of the album - slide guitar."
He continues:
"The Puk period was much more prolific and although some tracks like 'Clean' and 'Policy Of Truth' went through many guises before the final versions were settled upon, we had the most productive and enjoyable time."
Lyrics
Policy Of Truth
You had something to hide
Should have hidden it, shouldn't you
Now you're not satisfied
With what you're being put through
It's just time to pay the price
For not listening to advice
And deciding in your youth
On the policy of truth
Things could be so different now
It used to be so civilised
You will always wonder how
It could have been if you only lied
It's too late to change events
It's time to face the consequence
For delivering the proof
In the policy of truth
Never again is what you swore
The time before
Never again is what you swore
The time before
Now you're standing there tongue tied
You'd better learn your lesson well
Hide what you have to hide
And tell what you have to tell
You'll see your problems multiplied
If you continually decide
To faithfully pursue
The policy of truth
Never again is what you swore
The time before
Never again is what you swore
The time before
Songwriter: Martin L. Gore
Publishing Information: ©1990 Grabbing Hands Music Ltd/EMI Music Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.
Music video
Live performances
- Main article: Available recordings of "Policy Of Truth"
- Main article: List of dates where "Policy Of Truth" was played
Trivia
- 'Policy Of Truth' has been covered by Terry Hoax (1992), Mog Stunt Team (1996), Dishwalla (1998), Rémember (2001), Hineon (2002), Vincent Venet (2002), Pat MacDonald (2003), The Pathfinder (2003), St. Petersburg Ska-Jazz Review (2005), 16Stitch (2005), Sylvain Chauveau and Ensemble Nocturne (2005), Yeah! (2005), Disown (2005), Diefenbach (2006), Path of Resistance (2007), Automob (2008), AK47 (Steven Rowe) feat. Angie Soft (2009), Brixtonboogie (2009), Trapt (2012), Rockabye Baby! (2012), Matt Nida feat. Lisa Schumann (2014), Music Box Mania (2014), and Chateau Pop (2017).
- 'Policy Of Truth' has been sampled in the following songs and remixes by Depeche Mode and other artists:
- 'Useless (The Kruder + Dorfmeister Session)' - Depeche Mode (1997)
- 'Going for Broke' - Coach Roebuck (2011)
- A version of the track was featured in a trailer for the 2022 film adaptation of Death on the Nile
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