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 This criticism has later been withdrawn.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)
O My God
The Police Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
With God so far away
And my heart belongs to no one
So now sometimes I pray
Take the space between us
Fill it up some way
Take the space between us
Fill it up, fill it up
Oh my God you take the biscuit
Treating me this way
Expecting me to treat you well
No matter what you say
How can I turn the other cheek
It's black and bruised and torn
I've been waiting
Since the day that I was born
Fill it up, fill it up, fill it up
Take the space between us
Fill it up some way
Take the space between us
Fill it up, fill it up, fill it up
Fill it up, fill it up, fill it up
Fat man in his garden
Thin man at his gate
My God you must be sleeping
Wake up, it's much too late
Take the space between us
Fill it up some way
Take the space between us
Fill it up, fill it up, fill it up
Fill it up, fill it up, fill it up
Do I have to tell the story
Of a thousand rainy days
Since we first met
It's a big enough umbrella
But it's always me that ends up getting wet
The lyrics to The Police's "O My God" suggest a sense of loneliness and distance from God. The opening lines declare that everyone the singer knows is lonely and that God seems far away. The singer's heart belongs to no one, and sometimes they are driven to prayer. They then implore God to "take the space between us and fill it up some way," suggesting a longing for a deeper connection.
The chorus takes a more confrontational tone, with the singer addressing God directly. They accuse God of treating them poorly and expecting good treatment in return, despite the singer's grievances. They question how they could turn the other cheek when they feel hurt and disregarded, and express a sense of long-standing frustration. The repeated phrase "fill it up" takes on a new meaning as the song progresses, suggesting both the distance between the singer and God and the hope for a reunion or rekindling of their relationship.
The final verse introduces new characters--a fat man in his garden and a thin man at his gate--and poses a question to God: "my God you must be sleeping, wake up, it's much too late." The singer's frustration with God is palpable, suggesting a sense of abandonment or neglect. The song ultimately ends with a sense of resignation, with the singer acknowledging that they always seem to end up getting wet in the rain despite the size of the umbrella.
Line by Line Meaning
Everyone I know is lonely
The singer observes that he has not seen anyone who is happy around him and everyone feels lonely despite being surrounded by people.
With God so far away
The singer believes that the distance between the people and their God is far and thus they feel lonely and disconnected.
And my heart belongs to no one
The singer is single and has not found anyone to share his emotions, passion, and love with.
So now sometimes I pray
Despite feeling disconnected from God, the singer still prays in the hope of finding some solace in his life.
Take the space between us
The singer wants to remove the emotional distance between him and the people around him and bring them closer.
Fill it up some way
The singer wants to find a way to bridge the gap between him and others and make them feel connected.
Oh my God you take the biscuit
The singer is taken aback and upset with God's behavior and actions towards him.
Treating me this way
The singer feels mistreated and hurt by God's actions towards him.
Expecting me to treat you well
The singer feels like he is expected to treat God with respect and love despite feeling disconnected from him.
No matter what you say
The singer is not easily swayed by God's words and needs more than just words to feel connected.
How can I turn the other cheek
The singer is unable to forgive God's actions and cannot continue to turn the other cheek anymore.
It's black and bruised and torn
The singer's emotions and feelings are severely hurt and damaged by the distance from God.
I've been waiting
The singer has been waiting for God to make an effort and close the emotional distance between them.
Since the day that I was born
The singer has always felt this emotional distance from God, even from a young age.
Fat man in his garden
The singer sees a picture of a fat man in his garden, which represents the state of his life, filled with abundance and still feeling disconnected.
Thin man at his gate
The singer sees another picture of a thin man at his gate, which represents the state of his life, having less abundance and still feeling disconnected.
My God you must be sleeping
The singer feels that God is not making any effort to connect with him, and thus assumes he must be sleeping.
Wake up, it's much too late
The singer urges God to wake up and start making an effort to connect before it becomes too late.
Do I have to tell the story
The singer wonders if he needs to recount all of the past experiences and emotional distance he has felt with God to make him understand.
Of a thousand rainy days
The singer has experienced many sad and lonely days throughout his life.
Since we first met
The singer has felt disconnected from God since the first time he became aware of his existence.
It's a big enough umbrella
The singer believes that God's grace is enough to cover and protect everyone from even the worst of storms.
But it's always me that ends up getting wet
Despite God's grace being enough, the singer always feels the emotional pain and gets hurt despite believing in God.
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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