"World in My Eyes" is a song by English

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

band

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting). Depeche ...

. It was released on 17 September 1990 as the fourth and final single from their seventh studio album, '' Violator'' (1990). The song peaked at number two in Denmark and Spain, number 17 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, and number 52 on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

Background

"Martin did the demo on his own," recalled

Andy Fletcher Andrew Fletcher may refer to: Government * Andrew Fletcher, Lord Innerpeffer (died 1650), Scottish judge * Andrew Fletcher (patriot) (1655–1716), Scottish writer, politician and patriot * Andrew Fletcher, British Member of Parliament for Haddin ...

. "I don't remember it standing out when we heard it then. But somehow, in the studio, it all came together brilliantly… Whenever I'm asked which of our tracks is my favourite, I always say 'World in My Eyes'." Martin Gore also stated that the song is a very positive song. "It's saying that love and sex and pleasure are positive things."

Release

The "World in My Eyes" single release includes two exclusive B-sides, "Happiest Girl" and "Sea of Sin", which were mixed by

François Kevorkian François Kevorkian (born 10 January 1954), also known by the stage name François K, is a French-born, U.S.-based DJ, producer, remixer and label owner of Armenian descent, who started his career DJing in clubs such as the Paradise Garage an ...

and feature additional production by Alan Friedman. The Jack Mix and Tonal Mix are the main 7" versions respectively, while the 12" versions are Kiss-A-Mix and Sensoria. No "original" versions of either tracks were released, or rather, both mixes serve as the finished versions of the tracks. The cover art for "World in My Eyes" has a photo of one of the band members making a shape similar to that of glasses with their hands. The 12" mix of "World in My Eyes" is the Oil Tank Mix, which was also mixed by Kevorkian, although it features a large amount of added synth

overdub Overdubbing (also known as layering) is a technique used in audio recording in which audio tracks that have been pre-recorded are then played back and monitored, while simultaneously recording new, doubled, or augmented tracks onto one or more av ...

s by Friedman and does not include the chorus or third verse. The 2004 re-release of the EU single includes a longer intro for this mix. On the Limited 12", there are pictures of all four members on the back of the sleeve. This includes two remixes of "World in My Eyes" and one of "Happiest Girl".

Music video

The music video for "World in My Eyes" was directed by

Anton Corbijn Anton Johannes Gerrit Corbijn van Willenswaard (; born 20 May 1955) is a Dutch photographer, film director and music video director. He is the creative director behind the visual output of Depeche Mode and U2,Pitman, Joanna"The silent partner"' ...

. There are two versions; the original version was not originally released to the public until ''

The Videos 86-98 ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

''. The original music video features some footage from the ''World Violation Tour'', while

Dave Gahan Dave may refer to: Film, television, and theater * ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film * Dave (TV channel), a digital television channel in the ...

and a girl he's with watch it from a drive-in cinema. The alternate version on '' Strange Too'' features the band in the car instead, more live footage, and the silent ending with Gahan is longer.

Track listings

All songs were written by

Martin L. Gore Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austra ...

. 7-inch, cassette: Mute / Bong20, CBong20 (UK) # "World in My Eyes" – 3:58 # "Happiest Girl (Jack Mix)" – 4:57 (remixed by

and Alan Friedman) # "Sea of Sin (Tonal Mix)" – 4:43 (remixed by

and Alan Friedman) 12-inch: Mute / 12Bong20 (UK) # "World in My Eyes (Oil Tank Mix)" – 7:29 (remixed by

and Alan Friedman) # "Happiest Girl (Kiss-A-Mix)" – 6:15 (remixed by

and Alan Friedman) # "Sea of Sin (Sensoria)" – 6:06 (remixed by

and Alan Friedman) 12-inch: Mute / L12Bong20 (UK) # "World in My Eyes (Dub in My Eyes)" – 6:55 (remixed by

and Alan Friedman) # "World in My Eyes (Mode to Joy)" – 6:32 (remixed by

Jon Marsh The Beloved are a British electronic music group best known for the singles " Sweet Harmony", "The Sun Rising", "Hello", "Your Love Takes Me Higher", and "Satellite". Originally a post-punk/ new wave band formed in 1983, they underwent a cha ...

) # "Happiest Girl (The Pulsating Orbital Mix)" – 6:28 (remixed by

Dr. Alex Paterson Alex Paterson (also known as Dr Alex Paterson, born Duncan Alexander Robert Paterson; 15 October 1959 in Battersea, London) is an English musician and co-founder of ambient house group The Orb, in which he has worked since its inception. Life ...

and

Thrash Thrash may refer to: *Thrashing (computer science), where increasing resources are used to do a decreasing amount of work *Thrash (surname) *Thrash, mascot of the Atlanta Thrashers *''Thrash Rally'', a top-down perspective rally racing video game ...

) CD: Mute / CDBong20 (UK) # "World in My Eyes" – 4:00 # "World in My Eyes (Oil Tank Mix)" – 6:53 # "Happiest Girl (Kiss-A-Mix)" – 5:24 # "Sea of Sin (Tonal Mix)" – 3:37 * The three mixes are shorter because the CD single was planned to be a 3-inch CD and the songs were edited down to fit. However, even after the 3-inch plans were scrapped in favour of a regular CD, the edits were used anyway for the UK release. The German release (Mute INT 826.945), although displaying the same track list, uses the longer versions of these three mixes. CD: Mute / LCDBong20 (UK) # "World in My Eyes (Dub in My Eyes)" – 6:57 # "World in My Eyes (Mode to Joy)" – 6:31 # "Happiest Girl (The Pulsating Orbital Vocal Mix)" – 8:01 (remixed by

and

) # "Sea of Sin (Sensoria)" – 6:07 # "World in My Eyes (Mayhem Mode)" – 4:58 (remixed by

) # "Happiest Girl (Jack Mix)" – 4:57 CD: Mute / CDBong20X (EU; 2004) # "World in My Eyes" – 3:58 # "Happiest Girl (Jack Mix)" – 4:57 # "Sea of Sin (Tonal Mix)" – 4:43 # "World in My Eyes (Oil Tank Mix)" – 7:47 # "Happiest Girl (Kiss-A-Mix)" – 6:15 # "Sea of Sin (Sensoria)" – 6:06 # "World in My Eyes (Dub in My Eyes)" – 6:55 # "World in My Eyes (Mode to Joy)" – 6:32 # "Happiest Girl (The Pulsating Orbital Mix)" – 6:28 # "World in My Eyes (Mayhem Mode)" – 4:56 # "Happiest Girl (The Pulsating Orbital Vocal Mix)" – 8:01 * The "Oil Tank Mix" on this CD has a longer intro CD: Sire/Reprise / 9 21735-2 (US) # "World in My Eyes" – 3:59 # "World in My Eyes (Oil Tank Mix)" – 7:29 # "Happiest Girl (The Pulsating Orbital Mix)" – 6:28 # "Sea of Sin (Tonal Mix)" – 4:44 # "World in My Eyes (Mode to Joy)" – 6:32 # "Happiest Girl (Jack Mix)" – 4:58 # "Sea of Sin (Sensoria)" – 6:07

Personnel

David Gahan David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

– lead vocals *

Martin Gore Martin Lee Gore (born 23 July 1961) is an English songwriter, musician, singer, record producer and DJ. He is one of the founding members of the electronic rock band Depeche Mode and is the band's main songwriter. He is the band's guitarist an ...

–

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

, backing vocals *

Alan Wilder Alan Charles Wilder (born 1 June 1959) is an English musician, composer, arranger, record producer and former member of the electronic band Depeche Mode from 1982 to 1995. Since his departure from the band, the musical project called Recoil b ...

– keyboard, drum machine, backing vocals * Andrew Fletcher – keyboard, backing vocals

Charts

Notable cover versions

The Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith has re ...

covered the song for the 1998 tribute album ''

For the Masses ''For the Masses'' is a 1998 tribute album to the British band Depeche Mode, specifically the works of Martin Gore. The album charted in America and reached the Top 20 in Germany, making it the most successful Depeche Mode tribute album of all ...

''.

References

External links

Single information from the official Depeche Mode web site

Allmusic review
{{DEFAULTSORT:World in My Eyes 1990 singles 1990 songs Depeche Mode songs Music videos directed by Anton Corbijn Mute Records singles Song recordings produced by Flood (producer) Songs written by Martin Gore