The very language Sting uses to describe that character's plight under siege, terrified of the world, a storm raging at the gates gets at one of Sacred Love’s most compelling aspects. Among its other ambitions, the album is a bold attempt to weave meaningful connections between the struggles within the souls of individual people and the larger events wracking our social and political worlds. That goal makes perfect sense, given the album's genesis. Sacred Love was recorded during the agonizing build-up to the war on Iraq, and the urgency of that time suffuses the entire album -- most grippingly on This War. There’s a war on our compassion, he sings, There’s a war on understanding/There’s a war on love and life itself/Its war that they’re demanding. A stirring cry of protest, the songs rests on a single pointed question: Yes, you may win this coming battle/But could you tolerate the peace?
Excerpt—interview by Anthony DeCurtis
The very language Sting uses to describe that character's plight under siege, terrified of the world, a storm raging at the gates gets at one of Sacred Love’s most compelling aspects. Among its other ambitions, the album is a bold attempt to weave meaningful connections between the struggles within the souls of individual people and the larger events wracking our social and political worlds. That goal makes perfect sense, given the album's genesis. Sacred Love was recorded during the agonizing build-up to the war on Iraq, and the urgency of that time suffuses the entire album -- most grippingly on This War. There’s a war on our compassion, he sings, There’s a war on understanding/There’s a war on love and life itself/Its war that they’re demanding. A stirring cry of protest, the songs rests on a single pointed question: Yes, you may win this coming battle/But could you tolerate the peace?