The Police was a rock band which formed in 1977 in London, England. The ban… Read Full Bio ↴The Police was a rock band which formed in 1977 in London, England. The band consisted of Sting (vocals, bass), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums). The band released five albums -- "Outlandos d'Amour" (1978), "Reggatta de Blanc" (1979), "Zenyatta Mondatta" (1980), "Ghost in the Machine" (1982) and "Synchronicity" (1983) -- before entering a hiatus in 1984 and ultimately disbanding in 1986

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)

Synchronicity I
The Police Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

With one breath, with one flow
You will know
Synchronicity

A sleep trance, a dream dance
A shared romance
Synchronicity

A connecting principle
Linked to the invisible
Almost imperceptible
Something inexpressible
Science insusceptible
Logic so inflexible
Causally connectable
Nothing is invincible

If we share this nightmare
We can dream
Spiritus mundi

If you act, as you think
The missing link
Synchronicity

A connecting principle
Linked to the invisible
Almost imperceptible
Something inexpressible
Science insusceptible
Logic so inflexible
Causally connectable
Nothing is invincible

We know you, they know me
Extrasensory
Synchronicity

A star fall, a phone call
It joins all
Synchronicity

A connecting principle
Linked to the invisible
Almost imperceptible
Something inexpressible
Science insusceptible
Logic so inflexible
Causally connectable
Nothing is invincible

It's so deep, it's so wide
You're inside
Synchronicity

Effect without a cause
Sub-atomic laws, scientific pause
Synchronicity
Synchronicity
Synchronicity
Synchronicity
Synchronicity
Synchronicity
Synchronicity
Synchronicity

Synchronicity
Synchronicity

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to The Police's song Synchronicity I are a contemplation of the concept of synchronicity, a phenomenon in which events seem to be meaningfully connected without any apparent causal relationship. The song suggests that there is a kind of universal principle at work that connects everything in the universe, visible and invisible, in a web of causality. The repeated and insistent refrain "synchronicity" emphasizes this idea, while the verses explore the implications of this principle for human experience. The dream-like quality of the lyrics and the music seems to suggest that the experiences of sleep and dream are somehow connected to this underlying principle of the universe.

The song's lyrics also suggest that there is a missing link between thought and action, and that synchronicity can bridge that gap. The phrase "The missing link/Synchronicity" suggests that synchronicity can somehow help us to actualize our thoughts and desires in a way that transcends normal cause-and-effect relationships. The final section of the song takes the idea of synchronicity to its most metaphysical extreme, suggesting that there is a kind of subatomic order to the universe that can be seen in the relationship between cause and effect. The repeated refrain "synchronicity" brings the song full circle, suggesting that this universal principle is both elusive and all-encompassing.

Line by Line Meaning

With one breath, with one flow You will know Synchronicity
The state of synchronicity can be achieved when people are in perfect harmony with each other.

A sleep trance, a dream dance A shared romance Synchronicity
Synchronicity can be felt during a dream or intimate moment with someone.

A connecting principle Linked to the invisible Almost imperceptible Something inexpressible Science insusceptible Logic so inflexible Causally connectable Nothing is invincible
Synchronicity is a principle that connects everything, even things that are invisible, imperceptible and defy scientific explanation. It cannot be explained through logic or science, but it is still able to connect things that seem invincible.

If we share this nightmare We can dream Spiritus mundi
If we collectively share our struggles, we can experience a more spiritual and connected life.

If you act, as you think The missing link Synchronicity
If you act in alignment with what you believe, you can achieve synchronicity.

We know you, they know me Extrasensory Synchronicity
Synchronicity can manifest in a psychic or extrasensory experience where we feel deeply connected to others.

A star fall, a phone call It joins all Synchronicity
Synchronicity can connect seemingly unrelated events or people in a surprising way.

It's so deep, it's so wide You're inside Synchronicity
Synchronicity is an all-encompassing experience that brings us closer to each other and the universe.

Effect without a cause Sub-atomic laws, scientific pause Synchronicity
Synchronicity can defy scientific laws and explanations, and create an effect without a clear, scientific cause.

Synchronicity Synchronicity Synchronicity Synchronicity Synchronicity Synchronicity Synchronicity Synchronicity Synchronicity Synchronicity
Repeatedly emphasizing the theme of the song, which is the concept of synchronicity.

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Gordon Sumner

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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