So Lonely

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“So Lonely”
“So Lonely” cover
Single by The Police
from the album Outlandos d'Amour
Released November 1978
February 1980 (re-release)
Format vinyl record (7")
Recorded 1978
Genre New Wave
Length 4:52
Label A&M - AMS 7402
Writer(s) Sting
Producer Stewart Copeland,
Sting,
Andy Summers
The Police singles chronology
"Walking on the Moon"
(1979)
"So Lonely"
(1980)
"Don't Stand So Close to Me"
(1980)
Outlandos d'Amour track listing
"Next to You"
(1)
"So Lonely"
(2)
"Roxanne"
(3)

"So Lonely" is a song by The Police, appearing on the 1978 studio album Outlandos d'Amour and released as a single in November 1978 and again in February 1980 as a re-release. The single didn't chart on the first occasion but reached number 6 after the second release. The other singles from Outlandos D'Amour, "Roxanne" and "Can't Stand Losing You", followed a same scenario of not charting very high in 1978, but doing very well on a re-release. This is probably due to the fact that The Police had their breakthrough in 1979.

Sting has admitted that he used Bob Marley's No Woman No Cry as the basis for this song:

"People thrashing out three chords didn't really interest us musically. Reggae was accepted in punk circles and musically more sophisticated, and we could play it, so we veered off in that direction. I mean let's be honest here, 'So Lonely' was unabashedly culled from 'No Woman No Cry' by Bob Marley. Same chorus. What we invented was this thing of going back and forth between thrash punk and reggae. That was the little niche we created for ourselves."

Sting, Revolver 4/2000[1]

The video for the song depicts the band walking around the streets of Tokyo, including the subway trains.

The song has been covered many times, including a version by Limbeck on a Police tribute album put out on The Militia Group.

The band O.A.R. has used the song as a tag on their song That Was a Crazy Game of Poker.

It has also been ridiculed by many critics, who joke that Sting was singing Sue Lawley or even Salami instead of So Lonely at the chorus.

Contents

[edit] Songwriting Credits

[edit] Track listing

[edit] 7": A&M / AMS 7402 Flag of the United Kingdom

  1. "So Lonely" - 3:10
  2. "No Time This Time" - 3:30

[edit] References

  1. ^ Sting.com