Lyric discussion by DevotedAngel 

Cover art for Shine lyrics by Depeche Mode

"You've been hanging from a rope of mediocrity Strung up by your insecurities You can shine for me Somebody has to shine for me It's difficult not to shine for me"

This song just makes me think about Dave asking Martin to have songs written by him on the album and getting rejected. While there were claims that Dave's songs didn't fit the themes of 'Ultra' and 'Exciter'. 'Paper Monsters' did get a lot of flack for "mediocre lyrics" by the press. Perhaps Gore agreed with them before the world was even privy to them? Anyways, I think Dave said that he felt like a "tool" that he was only useful because of his voice and that's what I think about during the "Somebody has to shine for me" part.

I am under the belief that many of the songs are not beholden to a single topic.

My Interpretation