“Soul With Me” by Depeche Mode

It’s rare to find a song in which the protagonist not only faces death head-on but greets the experience with open arms, blissfully describing an ethereal ascent to a heavenly realm, which is the case with “Soul With Me” by Depeche Mode.

The song appears on the venerable band’s 2023 album “Memento Mori,” an end-of-life themed work in which several of the songs deal with death, loss and grief. The focus on mortality followed the death of long-time band member Andy Fletcher, who died suddenly on May 25, 2022.

Not only did that cause lead singer Martin Gore to contemplate his own mortality, but that process was broadened and deepened by the COVID-19 pandemic, which was killing thousands around the world as Gore was writing the album.

The song begins with a celestial, synthesized orchestration that foreshadows the heavenly references to come. Gore follows with an expression of release and relief in a groove that combines elements of pop, blues and jazz that seems to spiral in space.

I’m heading for the ever after
Leaving my problems
And the world’s disasters
I’m heading for the open sky

Then he builds the second stanza on imagery that mirrors common themes in “near death” experiences.

I see the beauty
As the leaves start falling
Follow the light
Towards the voices calling
I’m going where the angels fly

At the chorus, the song buildings into a rocking declaration:

And I’m taking my soul with me
And I’m taking my soul with me

Finally, Gore’s journey takes us to a place where the troubles of the world can no longer hurt him.

I’m ready for the final pages
Kiss goodbye to all my earthly cages
I’m climbing up the golden stairs
Go sing it from the highest tower
From the morning
‘Til the midnight hour
I’m going where there are no cares

The song closes with the repeated refrain, “And I’m taking my soul with me.”

Given the positive, expectant tone of the song, the beatific images, the escape from worldly woes, and the readiness to embrace the transition, one can image that someone who knows death is at hand, such as an individual in hospice care, might find comfort in this song. In it, death isn’t a scary thing, but truly a transition to a better place.