It's a lot, it's a lot, it's a lot, it's a lot
It's a lot, it's a lot, it's a lot, like life

There's a new game we like to play you see
A game with added reality
You treat me like a dog
Get me down on my knees

We call it master and servant
We call it master and servant

It's a lot like life
This play between the sheets
With you on top and me underneath
Forget all about equality

Let's play master and servant
Let's play master and servant

It's a lot like life (it's a lot like life)
And that's what's appealing
If you despise (it's a lot like life)
That throwaway feeling
From disposable fun
Then this is the one

Domination's the name of the game in bed or in life
They're both just the same
Except in one you're fulfilled at the end of the day

Let's play master and servant
Let's play master and servant

Master and servant
It's a lot, it's a lot, it's a lot, it's a lot
It's a lot, it's a lot, it's a lot, like life
It's a lot, it's a lot, it's a lot, it's a lot
It's a lot, it's a lot, master and servant
It's a lot, it's a lot, it's a lot, it's a lot
It's a lot, it's a lot, it's a lot, like life

It's a lot like life (it's a lot like life)
And that's what's appealing
If you despise (it's a lot like life)
That throwaway feeling
From disposable fun
Then this is the one

Let's play master and servant (it's a lot)
Come on, master and servant (it's a lot)
Let's play master and servant (it's a lot)
Come on, master and servant (it's a lot) (it's a lot)
Let's play master and servant (it's a lot) (it's a lot)
Come on, master and servant


Lyrics submitted by shut

Master And Servant Lyrics as written by Martin Gore

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Master And Servant song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

25 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +9
    Song Meaning

    This COULD have a lot to do with a BDSM relationship

    But I don't believe songs have to be confined to one meaning.

    This song's about the daily grind. Day-to-day life of working for a job that you're a slave to, buying products that companies tell you to...and comparing it to a BDSM relationship. In this case, "The Man" (employment/commercialism/etc) is the Dom, and you are the Sub.

    OneChaoson November 10, 2008   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    "Domination's the name of the game In bed or in life They're both just the same Except in one you're fulfilled At the end of the day"

    I thought the sexual referrence was rather obvious, so he's also saying: that in one you get off from being walked on, the other, well, simply just walked on!

    We call it: master and servant. Lovely twist to a sick act.

    Anyways, I'm not disreguarding the other meanings. I enjoy taking multiple meanings from songs, but I think this one should be voiced.

    D,eto.xon September 27, 2008   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    It's definitely about D/s, pretty standard really. A little conventional, but I'm certain from some subtler expressions (in "Pain that I'm Used to," "Mercy in You," "Behind the Wheel," ect.) that the songwriter is a submissive, he usually just doesn't come out and say it this blatantly.

    It's actually a pretty good explanation, though I like "Pain that I'm Used to" better.

    Wintermut3on September 24, 2008   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    Gotta love this song! This is one of the songs that got me into DM to begin with. As for the meaning, well... it's alot like life, eh? Martin's life!

    Helixion June 12, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Bondage, Employment as well as sex

    Qsqawon July 05, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Such a sexy song. It's about S&M. Kind of obvious, though.

    SweetInsanity_3on January 05, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I disagree with the comment about S&M, and maybe I take it a little bit too seriously... This song is about a D/s relationship, with no real references that suggest that it involved Sadism, Masochism, Bondage, or Discipline. While these things are commonly used together, they are not all the same thing.

    Also, I think the song is awesome, it's definately one of my favorites from Depeche Mode. I rarely hear any songs with relation to BDSM, and when I have found one it's by Depeche Mode, awesome. I like BDSM, this song, and Depeche Mode, it's all fantastic.

    RobbyRaccoonon March 05, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    This is the ultimate S&M fuck song. It's unquestionably about the lifestyle though, not just in a sexual setting. "Domination's the name of the game In bed or in life They're both just the same" Martin wants to be dominated 24/7. God, I feel like I know that man so well...

    themopo976on March 28, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I think that besides domination and submission in sex, he's saying that it's the same for life out of the bedroom. Though what I've found is that people who are submissive in every day life make good doms and people who are dominant in every day life like to submit in a safe way.

    sangsueon June 01, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    "It's lot like life..." was the final vertict for "M&S" to get past the censors and gain airplay on the BBC when DM and their UK label, Mute Records, released it as a single--that, and also, luckily for DM and Mute, the one censor with the pull to have kept "M&S" off the air was out sick that day!! Hehehehe...

    pharmageekon September 08, 2006   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Album art
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Album art
When We Were Young
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
Album art
Magical
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Album art
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it. “I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.