Depeche Mode – "Policy of Truth" (1990)

You’ll see your problems multiplied

If you continually decide

To faithfully pursue

The policy of truth

(Truer words were never spoken!)

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I’ve written before about the Genius website (formerly Rap Genius), which is – among other things – a place where you can find song lyrics.

The thing that sets Genius apart from all the other lyrics websites out there is that registered users can annotate the lyrics – as well as comment on others’ annotations.  (Every time you post on Genius, you get “IQ” points.  I have 744 IQ points – some people have over a million.)

The Genius logo

According to the Genius contributors who annotated the lyrics of Depeche Mode’s 1990 hit, “Policy of Truth,” that song is about someone who did something wrong and decided to confess his wrongdoing rather than conceal it.  (I almost wrote “his or her wrongdoing” there, but let’s fact it – the song’s undoubtedly about a dude . . . right?)

What exactly did the wrongdoer do wrong?  The song doesn’t say, but one annotator believes that it’s obvious that the wrongdoer was guilty of infidelity in one form or another.  

That seems like a pretty good guess, so I “upvoted” that annotation (i.e., gave it a virtual thumbs up.)

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The singer of “Policy of Truth” questions the wrongdoer’s decision to come clean.  “Hide what you have to hide” and keep it hidden, he advises.

He goes on to predict that the sinner will someday have second thoughts about the wisdom of spilling his guts:

You will always wonder how

It could have been if you’d only lied

But you can’t put the genie back in the bottle, or the toothpaste back into the tube.  And you certainly can’t unscramble the eggs after you scramble them:

It’s too late to change events

It’s time to face the consequence

If I was a betting man, I’d bet that Mr. Wrongdoer will have to face the consequence of his actions more than once.  

Depeche Mode

In fact, he’ll probably be getting grief for what he did for years – if not for the rest of his life.

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But maybe the scoundrel deserves to have his b*lls broken.  After all, it seems that this isn’t the first time he’s been guilty of this particular misdeed:

Never again is what you swore

The time before

Women – like judges – usually deal a little more harshly with repeat offenders, right?

God help him if he strays a third time.  As the saying goes, three strikes and you’re out.

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This song hit home for me because a young man I know very well has been suffering the consequences of his policy of truth.

He wasn’t guilty of adultery – although he might have been guilty of adultery in his mind.  

Him and every other male on the planet.  Even ex-President Jimmy Carter – a goody-goody if I ever saw one – admitted that.  “I’ve looked on a lot of women with lust,” Carter told Playboy magazine.  “I’ve committed adultery in my heart many times.”

My young man is a really good guy, and he felt so guilty about what he had done – even though he hadn’t really done anything – that he had to fess up.

If he had asked for my advice, I would have told him to KEEP YOUR COTTON-PICKIN’ MOUTH SHUT!

  

But he didn’t ask for my advice.  

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Before you accuse me of condoning dishonesty, ask yourself this question: who exactly benefitted from the young man’s decision to tell the truth?

Did he benefit?  He felt compelled to come clean, and by doing so he did get things off his chest.  But the price he paid for freeing himself from his guilty conscience was significant.

Did the young woman he confessed to benefit?  Or would she have been much happier not knowing what she now knows?  She might get a certain perverse pleasure from administering a good emotional flogging to him for his sins, but I’m guessing that in her case ignorance would have been bliss.

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Click here to listen to “Policy of Truth.”

And click on the link below to buy the song from Amazon: