King Of Pain

Is it not the consensus that Sting is bipolar?

Whether he is "officially" diagnosed as bipolar or not, he's made reference to being very depressed for long periods of time, and the lyrics in this song paint exactly the kind of bleak and hopeless picture of the world that someone in the midst of a depressive episode would experience. I was long ago diagnosed as bipolar, so have been there, have experienced these lyrics... and I'd like to offer what is perhaps a different twist on them, an interpretation that is, to me, maybe slightly more illuminating as to the state of mind of someone who's "in it."

First, I think it's important to note that the imagery he creates relates not just to the suffering of the living, but to a kind of randomness in the world that effects all things. Beyond the fox, the gull, the whale, etc., (the living things), there's also a hat in a tree and a rag on a flagpole... not to mention the sunspots themselves. All of these, together, suggest a kind of negative, naturalistic view of the world (and universe), a view where things "just happen" and traits "just are," all of it out of anyone's control. In this world-view, pain and suffering and death are simply part of a meaningless lottery. What I think Sting is saying, in a nutshell, is, "Well, if nature can be so random and so indifferent to things like these (the fox, whale, etc.), then why in the world would I expect nature to be any more kind to ME? I'm no more entitled than the whale, the fox, or the butterfly."

Alnother neat thing: like any chaotic system, sunspots are paradoxically both random, and predictable. Each spot ("soul") is random as to where specifically it appears and the course of its "life." Still, when they're viewed collectively, sunspots are cyclical, following an 11 year pattern. This is interesting because, in a similar way, bipolar disorder is cyclical when viewed on longer time scales (years, or a lifetime), and yet it is often completely random as to when any one episode will arrive. It's an interesting parallel, though I'm not sure it was intended by Sting.

Yeah... basically it is a guy saying how depressed he is... but it's a surprisingly beautiful song if you really listen. It's about a man saying he's destined to always be hurting, that the pain will never go away no matter what he does or where he goes. He's asking for someone to help him but ultimately knows they can't.

Hopefully shauncreaney has chilled and found a bit of tolerance in his life. It’s not enough to just dislike the song—he’s got to roll into go-to-hell-bastard. Hope he manages to exorcize his jealousy demons …

This is a very creative song with loads of well constructed imagery. I dismiss any references to Satan and think this is a song about depression. The black spot on the sun is a day that starts out good but is destined to tank and he knows it. The owner of the hat might also have felt his day tanked.

And this has happened often. It’s the same old thing as yesterday. The rain is pouring, the wind won’t stop, the world is doing circles—life sucks. The end of the reign refers to a desire for this crappola to stop and the destiny is his doubt that it will.

The remaining images are examples of having a piss-ass frustrating day. We all have them. Songwriters can immortalize feelings that do not necessarily continue in a steady, daily flow.

I didn’t know Iran had Nazi prisons and I’m sorry—I shouldn’t have said that—but I couldn’t resist.

Sting wrote this following his separation from Frances. At the time, he was also not getting along with Stewart and Andy.
Sting wrote this in Jamaica at the house where Ian Fleming wrote the James Bond books. Sting: "I conjured up symbols of pain and related them to my soul. A black spot on the sun struck me as being a very painful image." This was a tough song to record. Sting didn't accept most of the suggestions from Andy Summers and Stuart Copeland. The Police recorded this on the Caribbean Island of Monserrat. There was a great deal of tension in the band, and this was their last album.

I have had episodes of clinical depression (the suicidal kind, not just being in a sad mood) all my life, and if anybody ever asked me to describe how it feels, I would play them this song. The images are so detailed and acute, the music so funereal. It's not even like a cry of pain, it's the total vacuum of hopelessness. An outstanding song.

I don't see the link to Jung. There could definitely be one, though. Sting's a well-read guy. I love this song, by the way. The instrumetation isn't whiny, and Sting's voice isn't, either, but the words carry a lot of weight.

I love this song. It is about being depressed, but the morbid things you notice when you are depressed. Also how difficult it is to come out of depression.

I wasn't aware that anyone was ever tortured in a Nazi prison camp in Iran.

There are 15 examples of "pain" listed in the song. If the context of this album, they might be seen not only as symbols, but as examples of synchronicity: The singer hurts in ways similar to the people, animals, and objects in the examples. All of the examples involve a verb in the present tense, so you might imagine the various events and states happening "now".

The first two lines say a lot. "There's a little black spot on the sun today. That's my soul up there." Meaning it's so small, that no one notices. This guy is depressed but rarely lets it out. He is the king of pain. He always thought somebody could help cure him of this but he knows it won't happen. He seems to find beauty in the dissonance. Great song, too.