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 This criticism has later been withdrawn.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)
Don't Stand So Close To Me
The Police Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Of schoolgirl fantasy
She wants him so badly
Knows what she wants to be
Inside her, there's longing
This girl's an open page
Book marking, she's so close now
Don't stand, don't stand so
Don't stand so close to me
Don't stand, don't stand so
Don't stand so close to me
Her friends are so jealous
You know how bad girls get
Sometimes it's not so easy
To be the teacher's pet
Temptation, frustration
So bad it makes him cry
Wet bus stop, she's waiting
His car is warm and dry
Don't stand, don't stand so
Don't stand so close to me
Don't stand, don't stand so
Don't stand so close to me
Loose talk in the classroom
To hurt they try and try
Strong words in the staff room
The accusations fly
It's no use, he sees her
He starts to shake and cough
Just like the old man in
That book by Nabakov
Don't stand, don't stand so
Don't stand so close to me
Don't stand, don't stand so
Don't stand so close to me
Don't stand, don't stand so (please don't stand so close to me)
Don't stand so close to me
Don't stand, don't stand so (please don't stand so close to me)
Don't stand so close to me
Don't stand, don't stand so (please don't stand so close to me)
Don't stand so close to me
Don't stand, don't stand so (please don't stand so close to me)
Don't stand so close to me
Don't stand, don't stand so (please don't stand so close to me)
Don't stand so close to me
Don't stand, don't stand so (please don't stand so close to me)
Don't stand so close to me
The Police's song "Don't Stand So Close to Me" tells the story of a young teacher who becomes the subject of a schoolgirl fantasy. The song highlights the tension and struggle between the teacher's desire for the attention of a young student and his moral obligation to resist it. The lyrics depict the teacher's conflicting emotions as he experiences temptation and frustrations that lead to physical sickness. He is aware of the social and legal consequences of giving in to such temptations, which is undoubtedly why he is trying to resist.
The chorus, "Don't stand, don't stand so close to me," is a plea, as the teacher is aware of the possible ramifications of the physical closeness between him and his student. The song also demonstrates how society reacts to the teacher's attraction to his student; loose talk and strong words are spoken in both the classroom and teacher's lounge with accusations flying around. However, the teacher still feels drawn to the young girl and struggles to fight his emotions.
Overall, the song's meaning is about sexual temptation and the struggle to control it. It also highlights the danger of such temptation, particularly when it involves someone who is in a position of authority over another person.
Line by Line Meaning
Young teacher, the subject
Of schoolgirl fantasy
She wants him so badly
Knows what she wants to be
The young teacher is the object of desire for a particular schoolgirl who has fantasies of being with him.
Inside her, there's longing
This girl's an open page
Book marking, she's so close now
This girl is half his age
The schoolgirl is deeply yearning to be with the young teacher, and he's the only one who can read her desires. Her age is only half of his, making the situation inappropriate.
Her friends are so jealous
You know how bad girls get
Sometimes it's not so easy
To be the teacher's pet
The schoolgirl's friends are envious of her position and how close she is to the young teacher. It can be difficult to maintain the status of a teacher's pet.
Temptation, frustration
So bad it makes him cry
Wet bus stop, she's waiting
His car is warm and dry
The temptation of being intimate with the young girl is overwhelming for the teacher, to the point of tears when he thinks of it. She waits for him in the rain as he sits in his car, tempted to take her home.
Loose talk in the classroom
To hurt they try and try
Strong words in the staff room
The accusations fly
There are rumors in the classroom that are intended to damage the young teacher's reputation, and the staff room is full of strong accusations and suspicion.
It's no use, he sees her
He starts to shake and cough
Just like the old man in
That book by Nabakov
The teacher is unable to resist the attraction and becomes physically ill at the sight of the young girl. This is similar to the older man in Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov.
Don't stand, don't stand so
Don't stand so close to me
Don't stand, don't stand so
Don't stand so close to me
The teacher is warning the schoolgirl not to get too close to him as their desire for each other can't be acted upon.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Gordon Sumner
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Daniel
on Roxanne
Algum leitor sabe a letra de Saludos Caballeros ?
Até agora não conseguí !
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