This whole album is fantastic, tho I have to be in just the right mood to listen to it.
Sting has made it pretty clear what this song is about. But what is so great to me about it is the sharpness with which he paints his images. I spent some time in northern England and actually found myself one day at the mouth of the River Tyne (just outside Newcastle) as it flowed out to sea. As I stood in the shadow of an old Roman fort; I looked out across the river and saw "a city in the fog and an old church tower where the seagulls played." It was one of those awesome/surreal moments in life--a moment with a true soundtrack. The song came into my head, and all the pieces fell into place.
This whole album is fantastic, tho I have to be in just the right mood to listen to it.
Sting has made it pretty clear what this song is about. But what is so great to me about it is the sharpness with which he paints his images. I spent some time in northern England and actually found myself one day at the mouth of the River Tyne (just outside Newcastle) as it flowed out to sea. As I stood in the shadow of an old Roman fort; I looked out across the river and saw "a city in the fog and an old church tower where the seagulls played." It was one of those awesome/surreal moments in life--a moment with a true soundtrack. The song came into my head, and all the pieces fell into place.