The band reunited in January 2007 for a reunion tour that lasted until August 2008.
Biography
The Police formed in early 1977 in London by Stewart Copeland (drums), Gordon Sumner, better known as Sting (bass and lead vocals), and Henry Padovani (guitar). Andy Summers later joined the group, and after a very short stint as a quartet, Padovani left the band. The Police became one of the most popular bands in the late 70s and throughout the 80s.
The Police are notable as one of the first mainstream white pop groups to adopt reggae as a predominant musical form and to score major international hits with reggae-styled material. (The first all-white reggae band with permanent members and frequent recording in Europe was Peps Blodsband, lead by Peps Persson from south Sweden who changed from blues to reggae 1974/75). Although reggae was already very popular in the United Kingdom (due to the large number of Caribbean immigrants) and a number of Western European countries, reggae was little known in the United States and rejected by most black artists in U.S, and prior to the emergence of the Police only a handful of reggae songs had enjoyed any significant chart success. The Police, UB40, The Clash and Bob Marley (Jamaican, partly living in England after being shot in Jamaica, are considered with a number of new wave, rock and ska bands as one of the leaders of the Second British Invasion of the U.S.
The Police were strongly influenced by reggae (especially reggae drumming and base lines), jazz and, in the beginning, punk rock – something that came to be shifted more and more towards pop during the 80s. Their lyrics also changed from challenging, but yet somewhat politically restrained punk- and new wave lyrics, to after 1982 in some songs emphasize environmental awareness and human oneness. The biggest hits, however, had romantic or sexual themes. The Police met together with other "white" British bands which played reggae, as UB40, criticism from black English rastafarian reggae bands like Aswad (in a BBC documentary on TV) and Steel Pulse, for being accomplices in the music industry of "Babylon", stealing the Caribbean slave descendants' musical treasure. This criticism has later been withdrawn. Aswad has even made the covers of Police songs like "Roxanne".
Tension grew between the band members, because unlike most other bands, they did not share songwriting credits. They released their last album, Synchronicity, in 1983, selling over 8 million copies. Synchronicity is critically regarded as their best album, with hits such as Synchronicity II, King of Pain, and probably their best known song, Every Breath You Take. In 1984, after touring in support of Synchronicity, The Police went on hiatus while Sting pursued his acting and solo music careers. Two years later, The Police reformed and played a few concerts for Amnesty International. Soon after the band went into the studio. Sting wanted to re-record their old songs but Andy and Stewart wanted to leave the originals alone and only two songs were re-recorded during these studio sessions. Although the group is considered to have disbanded in 1984, 1986 was the last time The Police engaged in any musical activity.
In 1992 the band released "Message in a Box", their 4 CD box set, and performed at Sting's wedding to Trudie Styler. A live CD was released in June 1995. On March 10, 2003 The Police were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and performed Message in a Bottle, Roxanne and Every Breath You Take.
The Police reformed in 2007 and opened the Grammy award ceremony of that year with a performance of Roxanne. Towards the end of May the band began a world tour. In 2008 the tour ended at Madison Square Garden, New York on August 7, and The Police disbanded for good. Sting was quoted towards the end of the tour that he had achieved closure with the band and revealed that The Police would never tour or record again.
Sting has said that the material on the album Ghost in the Machine were inspired by the writings of Arthur Koestler, and that the Police's final studio album Synchronicity was influenced by the writings of Carl Jung. Sting also peppers his songs with literary allusions: the song "Don't Stand So Close to Me" mentions Vladimir Nabokov's novel Lolita; "Tea in the Sahara" alludes to the novel The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles; and "Wrapped Around Your Finger" refers both to the sea monsters Scylla and Charybdis, from Greek mythology, and to Mephistopheles, from the German legend of Faust .
Discography
* Outlandos d'Amour (1978)
* Reggatta de Blanc (1979)
* Zenyatta Mondatta (1980)
* Ghost in the Machine (1981)
* Synchronicity (1983)
Born in the '50s
The Police Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Born in the fifties
Born
Born in the fifties
Born
Born in the fifties
Born
Born in the fifties
My mother cried
When president Kennedy died
She said it was the communists
But I knew better
Would they drop the bomb on us
While we made love on the beach
We were the class they couldn't teach
'Cause we knew better
We were born
Born in the fifties
Born
Born in the fifties
Born
Born in the fifties
Born
Born in the fifties
They screamed
When the Beatles sang
And they laughed when the King fell down the steps
Oh they should've known better
Oh we hated our Aunt
Then we messed in our pants
Then we lost our faith and prayed to the TV
Oh we should've known better
We were born
Born in the fifties
Born
Born in the fifties
Born
Born in the fifties
Born
Born in the fifties
We freeze like statues on the pages of history
Living was never like this when we took all those G.C.E.'s
Oh you opened the door for us
And then you turned to dust
You don't understand us
So don't reprimand us
We're taking the future
We don't need no teacher
Born
Born in the fifties
Born
Born in the fifties
Born
Born in the fifties
Born
Born in the fifties
Born
Born in the fifties
Born
Born in the fifties
Born
Born in the fifties
Born
Born in the fifties
The Police's song Born In The 50's is a nostalgic look back at the era of the Baby Boomers. The song starts with a repetition of the phrase "Born in the fifties" and the use of this phrase lends a sense of identity and belonging to that generation. The song then moves on to talk about some of the realities of that era, such as the fear of a nuclear attack while making love on the beach in the midst of the Cold War. However, even amidst such fears, the Baby Boomer generation saw themselves as a class who knew better than their parents who had lived through World War II.
The song then goes on to reference some of the cultural milestones of the era, like the death of President Kennedy, where the older generation blamed Communism but the Baby Boomers 'knew better'. They also reference the Beatles and Elvis Presley, who were icons of the era, and the older generation's reaction to their music. The Baby Boomers' rejection of traditional values is further reflected in the line "we lost our faith and prayed to the TV"; perhaps referencing the increasing influence of television on the younger generation.
Towards the end of the song, the Baby Boomers are portrayed as "statues on the pages of history", capturing the fleeting nature of their youth and their place in history. The song ends on a bit of defiance, with the line "We're taking the future, we don't need no teacher," suggesting a desire to forge their own path and not be dictated to by the older generations.
Line by Line Meaning
We were born
We came into existence
Born in the fifties
Born during the decade of the 1950s
Born
Came into being
Born in the fifties
Born during the decade of the 1950s
Born
Came into existence
Born in the fifties
Born during the decade of the 1950s
Born
Came into being
Born in the fifties
Born during the decade of the 1950s
My mother cried
My mother shed tears
When president Kennedy died
When President Kennedy was assassinated
She said it was the communists
My mother attributed the assassination to communists
But I knew better
But I understood that it was more complicated than that
Would they drop the bomb on us
Would we experience nuclear war
While we made love on the beach
While we engaged in romantic activities by the seashore
We were the class they couldn't teach
We were a group of individuals who could not be instructed in the conventional manner
'Cause we knew better
'Cause we possessed superior knowledge and insight
They screamed
They shouted in excitement
When the Beatles sang
When The Beatles performed
And they laughed when the King fell down the steps
And they found humor in seeing Elvis Presley trip and fall
Oh they should've known better
Oh, they ought to have had better judgment
Oh we hated our Aunt
Oh, how we loathed our aunt
Then we messed in our pants
Then we experienced an incident in which we soiled ourselves
Then we lost our faith and prayed to the TV
Then we experienced a crisis of faith and turned to television as a source of comfort
Oh we should've known better
Oh, we ought to have had better judgment
We freeze like statues on the pages of history
We are depicted motionless in historical records
Living was never like this when we took all those G.C.E.'s
Life was never as challenging as when we took our General Certificate of Education exams
Oh you opened the door for us
Oh, you provided us with opportunities
And then you turned to dust
And then you disappeared or failed us
You don't understand us
You do not comprehend our experiences or perspectives
So don't reprimand us
So do not scold or criticize us
We're taking the future
We are creating or shaping the future
We don't need no teacher
We do not require any educators to guide us or teach us
Born
Came into existence
Born in the fifties
Born during the decade of the 1950s
Born
Came into being
Born in the fifties
Born during the decade of the 1950s
Born
Came into existence
Born in the fifties
Born during the decade of the 1950s
Born
Came into being
Born in the fifties
Born during the decade of the 1950s
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Gordon Sumner
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Daniel
on Roxanne
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Até agora não conseguí !
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