anonymous December 28th, 2007 06:28PM  
Heroin. I used to think this song was literally about riding with your best friend who has recently betrayed your friendship. But now, especially considering Dave Gahan's ol' drug problem, I think taking a ride is using, never being let down is never coming down from the effects, who's wearing the trousers is the dangers of hard drug use, i.e. It can kill you easily, and, of course, the best friend is heroin.

anonymous October 10th, 2008 07:22PM  
This is about drug abuse. Taking a ride with your best friend is most likely about Heroin. Never let me down means literally that the user does not want to "come down" from the trip. Very straightforward lyrics:

Promises me I'm as safe as houses
As long as I remember who's wearing the trousers

He has to remember that Heroin is in control of him, and not vice versa.

Marcoyeyo October 14th, 2009 07:59AM  
I think this song is about addiction, and how conscious you are when you are addicted.

anonymous February 25th, 2010 09:15PM  
This song is definitely homoerotic in nature. This does not mean that the songwriter is gay or that you're gay for listening to it. But the expression "wearing the trousers" exclusively refers to romantic relationships, and the rest of the song fits perfectly with that interpretation.

I know a lot of people won't like this interpretation, but it is the most literal interpretation of the text. If the song IS about heroin, then the entire song is a metaphor comparing the relationship of a junkie to his drugs with an abusive homosexual relationship. At least acknowledge that.

Personally, I interpret this song as being about two male best friends who mess around and develop a sexual relationship, but are still in denial about their feelings for each other - hence, they continue to call each other their "best friend". However, one of them always likes to be in control, perhaps because he's afraid of being seen as gay or effeminate. The narrator steps out of line - he doesn't "remember who's wearing the trousers" - and his "best friend" flies into a rage and stops seeing him.

The song takes place after they patch things up, while they're having make-up sex. "Taking a ride" and "flying high" are metaphors for sex, especially the use of the phrase "...he's taking me" - which is congruent with the statement that the narrator's "best friend" likes to always be in control. The narrator's "best friend" promises that he won't abuse or leave the narrator again, that the narrator will be "safe as houses". This is a common thing for an abuser to say in relationship abuse, and the song ends with the narrator convincing himself that he is indeed safe and his relationship is just fine.

Again, I don't believe that the songwriter is necessarily bisexual. I believe he's using this scenario to show how people hurt each other, and how victims often convince themselves that they're not being hurt. The tragedy of the song is that the victim - the narrator - really does "want to be" with his best friend. He will delude himself in whatever way necessary, just to be with him.

anonymous February 27th, 2010 05:38AM  
This song is definitely about drug use. Not heroine though. Martin never took it.