Depeche Mode’s “My Cosmos Is Mine” Lyrics Meaning

Depeche Mode, the British act that has now been around for over four decades, is still on the grind with the release of their 15^th studio album, “Memento Mori”. We were treated to its lead single, “Ghosts Again“, in February of 2023. And now a month later, on March 9^th Columbia in conjunction with Mute Records has released a second song in advance of the project, “My Cosmos Is Mine”. To note, this is also the first track on the 12-song playlist of the album.

MARTIN L. GORE, AT IT AGAIN

Depeche Mode began as a quartet which also consisted of multi-instrumentalists Vince Clarke and Andy Fletcher. Clarke only stuck around for a year, while Fletcher remained for the cause until passing away in 2022 at the age of 60. 

So since then, the Depeche Mode brand has been kept alive by its other two founders, Dave Gahan and Martin Gore, the latter of which is the sole credited writer of “My Cosmos Is Mine”.

In fact Gore has been the principal author behind Depeche Mode’s catalog throughout the decades. And keep in mind that this is one of the most-renowned bands in music industry history. For example, Depeche Mode recently became Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees. And even their most-recent studio album, 2017’s “Spirit”, performed admirably both critically and commercially.

Meanwhile, the producers of this track are Marta Salogni and James Ellis Ford.

THE LYRICS OF “MY COSMOS IS MINE”

This song possesses what can be readily gathered as a confrontational tone. The phrase “my cosmos is mine” is akin to the vocalist asserting that he knows and is confident with himself, and therefore others should not try to impose themselves on him, particularly from a mental or emotional standpoint. 

“Don’t toy with my heart
Don’t knock down my shrines“

He continues:

“Don’t alter my headlines
My cosmos is mine”

Perhaps this is the kind of certitude that comes along with doing your thing as long and consistently as the Depeche Mode boys have.

But in terms of how the vocalist comes off with this don’t-f*ck-with-me type of attitude, it is mitigated by the wording of the bridge. In other words, you can, overtly via expressions such as “no war” and “no pain”, that he’s not looking for a fight. Rather, the world Dave and Martin idealizes, apparently, is not only one where people are brave enough to embrace their own beliefs but also don’t impede on others whose views may differ.

Or as Gahan has explained, the message behind this piece revolves around embracing the world as your own, though not in a prideful kinda way but rather along the lines of how you can maximize your time here. And that time is indeed finite, with the phrase “memento mori” (i.e. the title of the album) translating to “remember that you must die”. 

By this point both Gahan and Gore are officially sexagenarians, so maybe it can be said that they have a clearer view of mortality than those of us who haven’t reached there yet.

And this song does read as if it were written by an old man, if you will, i.e. someone who has grown so comfortable in his own skin that now he’s not privy to anyone jumping in and adding their two cents. And relatedly, perhaps we can say in recognition of death, he prefers that we all come to respect and relish the gift of life that we share.