# "Chains of Love" by Erasure **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 28, 2004, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chains-of-love-by-erasure/271611 "2004-10-28T03:02:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chains-of-love-by-erasure/271611/1 "2004-10-28T03:02:54Z")
What does this song mean? I tried looking it up on [Songmeanings.net](http://www.songmeanings.net/) and the only post somebody made just insulted the song. So, I know that there are plenty of you who know what this song is about, please let me join your ranks šŸ™‚ thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_Stimulus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Digital\_Stimulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_Stimulus)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chains-of-love-by-erasure/271611/2 "2004-10-28T05:31:13Z")
I always took it pretty much at face value - about a couple whose relationship was souring and one member was trying to recall good times past and inspire newfound meaning. However, since you asked, I had to go back and look at the lyrics. The following (copied from the [rare lyrics](http://lyrics.rare-lyrics.com/E/Erasure/Chains-Of-Love.html) website): > [@](#): > > Do you remember > Once upon a time ahaha > When there were open doors > An invitation to the world > We were falling in and out with lovers > Looking out for others > Our sisters and our brothers seems to belie my interpretation. Thinking about it more, coupled with my understanding that Erasure has (at least some) gay members, perhaps itā€™s a commentary on gay culture? Perhaps the popular recognition of AIDS? (Album published in 1988, which is about the right time.) Of course, I have to disclaim that Iā€™m making a WAGā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chains-of-love-by-erasure/271611/3 "2004-10-28T06:48:07Z")
Andy Bell is indeed gay. Vince Clarke is the other half of Erasure. Not sure of the meaning for ā€˜Chains of Loveā€™. ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chains-of-love-by-erasure/271611/4 "2004-10-28T11:34:10Z")
> [@Digital Stimulus](#): > > Thinking about it more, coupled with my understanding that Erasure has (at least some) gay members, Are bears catholic? Does the pope go in the woods? > [@](#): > > perhaps itā€™s a commentary on gay culture? Perhaps the popular recognition of AIDS? Iā€™d go along with that. Though itā€™d be a mistake to read too much depth into a Erasure song. They did totally disposible pop. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chains-of-love-by-erasure/271611/5 "2004-10-28T12:37:06Z")
Still do. New album out early next year to follow up on their 2003 covers album. Although it could be argued that some of their songs (notably ā€œThe Circusā€) are somewhat deeper than your average disposable pop song and were intended to be at least somewhat thought-provoking. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_H](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a5b964/32.png) [@Bill\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_H)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chains-of-love-by-erasure/271611/6 "2004-10-28T17:36:40Z")
Great band, great song. Iā€™ve always assumed the meaning as **Digital Stimulus** does. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chains-of-love-by-erasure/271611/7 "2004-10-29T03:52:21Z")
When I first heard it, I thought that maybe they were singing about people in general, then, when I found out that they, or at least one of them, is/are gay, then maybe theyā€™re singing about the gay community, but either way, what confuses me about the song has nothing to do with that. In the song you hear them singing about how great things were, and then comes the chorus _Come to me, cover me, hold me Together weĀ“ll break these chains of love DonĀ“t give up, donĀ“t give up Together with me and my baby Break these chains of love_ So, love is the problem? That doesnā€™t sound rightā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_Stimulus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Digital\_Stimulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_Stimulus)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chains-of-love-by-erasure/271611/8 "2004-10-29T04:37:21Z")
> [@Master Control](#): > > So, love is the problem? That doesnā€™t sound rightā€¦ I donā€™t think that _love_ is the problemā€¦itā€™s the _chains_. The guesses Iā€™ve put forth are that the ā€œchainsā€ are either relationship stagnation or some result of AIDS. Still, they seem like sketchy explanations to meā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chains-of-love-by-erasure/271611/9 "2004-10-29T05:09:27Z")
How would you view ā€˜Piano Songā€™? A soulful ballad, or? ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_Stimulus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Digital\_Stimulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_Stimulus)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chains-of-love-by-erasure/271611/10 "2004-10-29T13:24:11Z")
> [@danceswithcats](#): > > How would you view ā€˜Piano Songā€™? A soulful ballad, or? Iā€™ll have to assume thatā€™s an Erasure tune, but Iā€™m not familiar with it. _The Innocents_ is the only album of theirs Iā€™ve listened toā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chains-of-love-by-erasure/271611/11 "2004-10-29T15:09:50Z")
I remember listening to it when it came out. The way I interpreted it, it was about how AIDS had returned society back to an era where it was ā€œokayā€ or acceptable to persecute gays - in other words, homosexuality was gaining in societal acceptance, then AIDS emerges and is cast as a ā€œgay diseaseā€ (remember one of AIDSā€™ first names was GRID - ā€œgay-related immunodeficiencyā€) and that scared the populace as a whole, which led old-style gay persecution. Awful. I remember the lyrics: Do you remember - there was a time When people on the street Could go hand to hand together, talk about the weather, making plans together Comfort me cover me hold me- together weā€™d break these chains loveā€¦ etcā€¦ My $.02 ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chains-of-love-by-erasure/271611/12 "2004-10-29T16:23:52Z")
Not like they donā€™t know that the concept is hard to expressā€¦ ā€œHow can I explain when there are few words I can choose? How can I explain when words get broken?ā€