The Meaning of Love

For other uses, see The Meaning of Love (disambiguation).

"The Meaning of Love"
Single by Depeche Mode
from the album A Broken Frame
B-side"Oberkorn (It's a Small Town)"
Released26 April 1982
RecordedMarch 1982
StudioBlackwing (London)
GenreSynth-pop
Length
  • 3:05 (album/7″ single version)
  • 4:59 (12″ version)
LabelMute
Songwriter(s)Martin Gore
Producer(s)
Depeche Mode singles chronology
"See You"
(1982) 		"The Meaning of Love"
(1982) 		"Leave in Silence"
(1982)
Music video
"The Meaning of Love" on YouTube
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

"The Meaning of Love" is a song by English electronic music band Depeche Mode from their second studio album, A Broken Frame (1982). It was released on 26 April 1982 as the album's second single.[2] It reached number 12 on the UK Singles Chart.

Background

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The single version of "The Meaning of Love" is the same as the album version from A Broken Frame. The "Fairly Odd mix" is an extended version with electronic experimentation added to the original mix.

The B-side is "Oberkorn (It's a Small Town)", an atmospheric instrumental written by Martin Gore as an intro for the Broken Frame Tour, in the town of Oberkorn, Luxembourg. The track was named after the town, due to the fact that the band were touring there and were told by their record company (Mute) that they needed to come up with a name for the B-side to "The Meaning of Love", thus they chose the town's name as they couldn't think of anything else.[3][4] A longer version called the "Development mix" features an ambient intro followed by the original song, and afterwards has a new arrangement of music.

The single was not released in the United States, but the 12″ "Fairly Odd mix" of the song features on the B-side of the "See You" US 12″ single.

Music video

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The video for "The Meaning of Love" was the second video to feature Alan Wilder, although he did not contribute to the song. The director was Julien Temple. The band disliked the video and did not include it on the Some Great Videos compilation album.

Track listing

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All tracks written by Martin L. Gore

7″: Mute / 7Mute22 (UK)

  1. "The Meaning of Love" – 3:05
  2. "Oberkorn (It's a Small Town)" – 4:07

12″: Mute / 12Mute22 (UK)

  1. "The Meaning of Love" (Fairly Odd mix) – 4:59
  2. "Oberkorn (It's a Small Town)" (Development mix) – 7:37

CD: Mute / CDMute22 (UK) – released in 1991

  1. "The Meaning of Love" – 3:05
  2. "Oberkorn (It's a Small Town)" – 4:07
  3. "The Meaning of Love" (Fairly Odd mix) – 4:59
  4. "Oberkorn (It's a Small Town)" (Development mix) – 7:37

CD: Sire / 40293-2 (US) – released in 1991

  1. "The Meaning of Love" – 3:05
  2. "Oberkorn (It's a Small Town)" – 4:07
  3. "The Meaning of Love" (Fairly Odd mix) – 4:59
  4. "Oberkorn (It's a Small Town)" (Development mix) – 7:37

Charts

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Weekly chart performance for "The Meaning of Love"
Chart (1982) Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[5] 17
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[6] 16
UK Singles (OCC)[7] 12
UK Indie (MRIB)[8] 2
West Germany (GfK)[9] 64
Chart (2002) Peak
position
Hungary (Single Top 40)[10] 17

References

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  1. ^ Raggett, Ned. "Meaning of Love – Depeche Mode". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  2. ^ "The Meaning of Love". DepecheMode.com. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  3. ^ Miller, Johnathan (1 September 2008). Stripped: Depeche Mode (3rd ed.). London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-1-84772-444-1.
  4. ^ "Oberkorn (It's A Small Town) - Depeche Mode Live Wiki". dmlive.wiki. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  5. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – The Meaning of Love". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  6. ^ "Depeche Mode – The Meaning of Love". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 15 December 2008.
  7. ^ "Depeche Mode: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  8. ^ Lazell, Barry (1997). "Depeche Mode". Indie Hits 1980–1989: The Complete U.K. Independent Charts (Singles & Albums). Cherry Red Books. ISBN 0-95172-069-4. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  9. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Depeche Mode – The Meaning of Love" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  10. ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
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