Oh, the tears that you weep
For the poor tortured souls
Who fall at your feet
With their love begging bowls

All the clerks and the tailors
The sharks and the sailors
All good at their trades but
They'll always be failures

Alms for the poor
For the wretched disciples
And the love that they swore
With their hearts on the bible

Beseeching the honor
To sit at your table
And feast on your holiness
As long as they're able

Love needs its martyrs
Needs its sacrifices
They live for your beauty
And pay for their vices

Love will be the death of
My lonely soul brothers
But their spirit shall live on in
The hearts of all lovers

Your holding court
With your lips and your smile
Your body's a halo
Their minds are on trial

Sure as Adam is Eve
Sure as Jonah turned whaler
They're crooked love thieves
And you are their jailor

Love needs its martyrs
Needs its sacrifices
They live for your beauty
And pay for their vices

Love will be the death of
My lonely soul brothers
But their spirit shall live on in
The hearts of all others

Love will be the death of
My lonely soul brothers
But their spirit shall live on in
The hearts of all others


Lyrics submitted by Fistan

The Love Thieves Lyrics as written by Martin Gore

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

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The Love Thieves song meanings
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    General Comment

    This is my favorite depeche mode song. It's one of the more poetic ones as well. To me the whole song is quite simple. It's about love, how we'll never be able to live up to it's beauty. It's not a religious song necessarily, But I think it implies that love is a god.

    "Love needs its martyrs Needs its sacrifices They live for your beauty And pay for their vices"

    What has martyrs and sacrafices?gods. And at one point we are all disciples of love. he talks of 'paying for their vices'. It's a large price we pay for love,even death sometimes. Did anyone else notice he keeps talking about death?

    "Love will be the death of My lonely soul brothers But their spirits shall live on in The hearts of all lovers"

    'Their spirits shall live on in the hearts of all' Romantics!

    plathgirlon July 25, 2007   Link

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