As a solo musician and a member of The Police, Sting has received 17 Grammy Awards: he won Song of the Year for "Every Breath You Take", three Brit Awards, including Best British Male Artist in 1994 and Outstanding Contribution in 2002, a Golden Globe, an Emmy, and four nominations for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. In 2019, he received a BMI Award for "Every Breath You Take" becoming the most-played song in radio history. In 2002, Sting received the Ivor Novello Award for Lifetime Achievement from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors and was also inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Police in 2003. In 2000, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for recording. In 2003, Sting received a CBE from Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace for services to music. He was made a Kennedy Center Honoree at the White House in 2014 and was awarded the Polar Music Prize in 2017.
With The Police, Sting became one of the world's best-selling music artists. Solo and with the Police combined, he has sold over 100 million records. In 2006, Paste ranked him 62nd of the 100 best living songwriters. He was 63rd of VH1's 100 greatest artists of rock, and 80th of Q magazine's 100 greatest musical stars of the 20th century. He has collaborated with other musicians on songs such as "Money for Nothing" with Dire Straits, "Rise & Fall" with Craig David, "All for Love" with Bryan Adams and Rod Stewart, "You Will Be My Ain True Love" with Alison Krauss, and introduced the North African music genre raï to Western audiences through the hit song "Desert Rose" with Cheb Mami. In 2018, he released the album 44/876, a collaboration with Jamaican musician Shaggy, which won the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album in 2019.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sting_(musician)
Studio albums
The Dream of the Blue Turtles (1985)
...Nothing Like the Sun (1987)
The Soul Cages (1991)
Ten Summoner's Tales (1993)
Mercury Falling (1996)
Brand New Day (1999)
Sacred Love (2003)
Songs from the Labyrinth (2006)
If on a Winter's Night... (2009)
Symphonicities (2010)
The Last Ship (2013)
57th & 9th (2016)
44/876 (2018) (with Shaggy)
My Songs (2019)
The Bridge (2021)
We Work The Black Seam
Sting Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Your economic theory said it would
It's hard for us to understand
We can't give up our jobs the way we should
Our blood has stained the coal
We tunneled deep inside the nation's soul
We matter more than pounds and pence
Your economic theory makes no sense
One day in a nuclear age
They may understand our rage
They build machines that they can't control
And bury the waste in a great big hole
Power was to become cheap and clean
Grimy faces were never seen
Deadly for twelve thousand years is carbon fourteen
We work the black seam together
We work the black seam together
The seam lies underground
Three million years of pressure packed it down
We walk through ancient forest lands
And light a thousand cities with our hands
Your dark satanic mills
Have made redundant all our mining skills
You can't exchange a six inch band
For all the poisoned streams in Cumberland
Your economic theory makes no sense
One day in a nuclear age
They may understand our rage
They build machines that they can't control
And bury the waste in a great big hole
Power was to become cheap and clean
Grimy faces were never seen
Deadly for twelve thousand years is carbon fourteen
We work the black seam together
We work the black seam together
Should the children weep
The turning world will sing their souls to sleep
When you have sunk without a trace
The universe will suck me into place
One day in a nuclear age
They may understand our rage
They build machines that they can't control
And bury the waste in a great big hole
Power was to become cheap and clean
Grimy faces were never seen
But deadly for twelve thousand years is carbon fourteen
We work the black seam together
We work the black seam together
The lyrics of Sting's song "We Work The Black Seam" tells a story about a group of coal miners and their struggle to hold on to their livelihood in the midst of changes brought about by economic theories. The song speaks of the miners' blood that has stained the coal, and how they have tunneled deep inside the nation's soul, emphasizing the importance of their work. The first verse expresses the miners' frustration with the changing economic landscape that threatens their jobs. They cannot give up their jobs to conform to the demands of the economic theory that threatens their livelihoods.
The second verse talks about the potential dangers of nuclear power and the nuclear age, as well as the harm that can result from the careless disposal of harmful waste materials. Despite the promise of making power cheaper and cleaner, the song reminds us that the process involves risks and negative consequences. While machines were supposed to make work easier, the machines often end up beyond human control. The lyrics emphasize the importance of the black seam, which refers to the coal seam, to the mining community, as it has an impact in lighting up the cities.
The chorus reminds us that the miners worked together, sharing the risks and dangers, as they went about their work. The song also takes a turn towards mystical and philosophical themes, touching on the idea of life after death and the place of humanity in the universe. The song ends with a reminder to society that we are all in this together, as the turning world sings our souls to sleep.
Line by Line Meaning
This place has changed for good
The place where we work has changed for the better
Your economic theory said it would
Your theory of economics predicted the change
It's hard for us to understand
We have a hard time comprehending why the change is happening
We can't give up our jobs the way we should
We can't afford to lose our jobs, even though we know we should
Our blood has stained the coal
We have put our blood, sweat and tears into our work in the coal mines
We tunneled deep inside the nation's soul
We have dug deep into the earth to extract the coal that powers our nation
We matter more than pounds and pence
Our work is more important than money
Your economic theory makes no sense
Your theory of economics is flawed and does not match our reality
One day in a nuclear age
In the future, when nuclear power is more common
They may understand our rage
People may understand why we are so angry
They build machines that they can't control
People have built machines that are too powerful to control
And bury the waste in a great big hole
Nuclear waste is buried in large pits
Power was to become cheap and clean
Nuclear power was supposed to be cheap and clean
Grimy faces were never seen
People thought that nuclear power would not require dirty, dangerous work
Deadly for twelve thousand years is carbon fourteen
Nuclear waste will be dangerous for 12,000 years
We work the black seam together
We work in the coal mines together
The seam lies underground
The coal seam is beneath the surface
Three million years of pressure packed it down
The coal was formed by millions of years of pressure under the earth
We walk through ancient forest lands
We walk through the areas where ancient forests once stood, before the coal was formed
And light a thousand cities with our hands
We use the coal to power thousands of cities
Your dark satanic mills
Your factories that run on coal power
Have made redundant all our mining skills
Your factories have made our mining skills useless
You can't exchange a six inch band
You can't trade a narrow coal seam for the damage that coal mining causes
For all the poisoned streams in Cumberland
For all the waterways that have been poisoned by coal mining in Cumberland
Should the children weep
If children cry because of the damage caused by coal mining
The turning world will sing their souls to sleep
The world will eventually heal itself, and the children's suffering will end
When you have sunk without a trace
When you have disappeared without a trace
The universe will suck me into place
The universe will take its course, and things will fall into their proper places
But deadly for twelve thousand years is carbon fourteen
Nuclear waste will be deadly for millennia
We work the black seam together
We work in the coal mines together
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: GORDON SUMNER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
A Basque folk carol, originally based on Angelus ad virginem, a 13th or 14th Century Latin carol,[2] it was collected by Charles Bordes and then paraphrased into English by Sabine Baring-Gould, who had spent a winter as a boy in the Basque country. The tu
on gabriels_message
Sting's song "Gabriel's Message" is a rendition of the biblical story of the Annunciation, where the angel Gabriel visits Mary to inform her that she is to be the mother of Jesus Christ. The lyrics describe Gabriel's appearance as he descends from heaven with his wings as white as snow and eyes as bright as flames. Upon seeing Mary, Gabriel greets her with the words "All hail, thou lowly maiden Mary, Most highly favored lady," referring to her as a blessed mother and foretelling that her son will be Emmanuel, as prophesized by seers.
Mary's response to Gabriel's message is one of humility and acceptance, as she meekly bows her head and says, "To me be as it pleaseth God," praising and magnifying His holy name. The lyrics are a beautiful interpretation of this pivotal moment in Christian history, showcasing the wonder and awe of Gabriel's visitation, and the steadfast faith and acceptance of Mary's response.
Tommy Wells
on Don't Walk Away - Sting & Youssou N'Dour
I liked the Wild Thornberry's TV series.
What's your favorite episode of the show?
Jesus Ledesma Rios
on Englishman in New York
Thats been good way to learn English, tahnk´s...
Kolektivo Azul
on Russians
Russians <3