philipburrows wrote: 

I don't know if this song refers to that story, but I do know it was Solomon, not Herod, and the woman was Bathsheba.  David was the offspring.

Certain lines in the song seem to refer to Shelley's Ozymandias:

OZYMANDIAS

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,
Half sunk, a shatter'd visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamp'd on these lifeless things,
The hand that mock'd them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains: round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

Since you're in London, you may find it interesting that Shelley wrote the sonnet in response to an earlier poem of the same theme written by Horace Smith:

In Egypt's sandy silence, all alone,
Stands a gigantic Leg, which far off throws
The only shadow that the Desert knows:
"I am great OZYMANDIAS," saith the stone,
"The King of Kings; this mighty City shows
"The wonders of my hand." The City's gone,
Nought but the Leg remaining to disclose
The site of this forgotten Babylon.
We wonder, and some Hunter may express
Wonder like ours, when thro' the wilderness
Where London stood, holding the Wolf in chace,
He meets some fragments huge, and stops to guess
What powerful but unrecorded race
Once dwelt in that annihilated place.

philipburrows wrote:
no, he wrote it for me.

Am I right in thinking that this song is based on a story of King Herod, who after getting the hots for one of his Generals wifes, sent said General off to certain death, leaving old Herod to ply his wily ways on the wife. General, duly died and Herod became consumed with guilt.

 Wisecrowe wrote: 
Original for when exactly? This song is nearly 18 years old.

 CoYoT51 wrote: 
WTF? Are you kidding me? Masterpiece? Huge Artist? Wrong. Dead wrong.

An outstanding song, texture, and instrumentation.

And to people saying this is not original ... wow, what an original thing to say.

Sting you suck, do something original. Quit the mystical recitation of crap you've been doing since you quit the Police.

I love the words, but he seems to be just reciting the lyrics as quickly as he can without pause or feeling. Guess that's the point, but I don't get it.

pianocomposer wrote:

I heard him say the whole album is dedicated to the memory of his parents, specifically his father.

MonkeyPod wrote:The songs still crap...though Trudie's looking better LoL

MonkeyPod wrote:

I believe "soul cages" refers to the human body, which houses the soul. This is an excellent piece of work. Sting got more sophisticated and better with age, unlike most musicians.

I read somewhere that Sting's father died while he was writing the music for this album. No wonder he got a little metaphysical.

ekeyte wrote:

Right up there, if not the best of his solo efforts. Glad to hear it on RP... don't think I have before in years of listening.

EssexTex wrote:
You're busted!



Why it was done

Not everyones cup of tea, but certainly mine.
Erudite and intelligent, somewhat unlike myself!

"Mad about you"?.....no Stink you're just mad!

Sounds pretty much like every other Sting song...

This is my favorite song by Sting.

Has a 'Pastime Paradise' feel to it. Definitely one of Sting's better songs.

This is the best tune in that album and alongside 'Russians' and 'Moon Over Bourbon Street' make up a trilogy of songs that highlight the creativity of one of the most important musicians of the 20th and 21st centuries. Add 'Desert Rose' in the mix and have a quartet whilst you're at it.

www.cubaninlondon.blogspot.com

I'm a fan.

meydele wrote:I'm sure you don't deserve that...even tantric sex gets tiresome after a while.

EssexTex wrote:

Ooooo! May I be sealed in there with him?

Seal him in a soundproof room...and walk away

One of the masterpieces of a huge artist.

As a musician formally trained in classical and jazz, I find Sting's music fascinating. Odd time signatures and chord progressions, wonderful syncopation and a band that is unsurpassable....and I happen to really like his voice.

His session players must have major chops just to read the music!

Sting may produce great 'music' on his own, but for me, his 'music' doesn't do it for me. Much prefer the Police. Dead horse, I know...

This is Sting at the height of his (solo-pop) powers, IMHO.

rp playing a bad song? no way

Fiji5555 wrote:

Like lathyris, Sting is just different since he departed the Police. Dream of the Blue Turtles is one of the best albums I own (and I have thousands). After that he went into hiding musically (for my tastes) but soul cages is suprisingly fresh.

Does he still take his shirt off at concerts? HaHa.

Kudos to Sting for doing that concert in Lebanon after all the violence and upheaval but...this is too generic.