[1980-1984 Best Songs]
Billboard Top 100, 1981, #71
Don't Stand So Close To Me could make this list on its lyrics alone.
A drama unfolds from the very first line:
Young teacher: the subject of school-girl fantasy.
Few would endorse such a relationship, but the torment the two characters endure makes them sadly sympathetic.
Loose talk in the classroom / To hurt they try and try
Strong words in the staff room / The accusations fly
The chorus doesn't even have to explain who's saying it to whom, or why it's being said.
By the end of the song, it's not clear where this is all headed, but the Lolita reference tells us it can only be somewhere unfortunate.
The music fits the words perfectly: tense, uncomfortable, slightly sad. The high pitch in Sting's voice comes off like a minstrel bearing a timeless, cautionary tale.
Billboard Top 100, 1981, #71
Don't Stand So Close To Me could make this list on its lyrics alone.
A drama unfolds from the very first line:
Young teacher: the subject of school-girl fantasy.
Few would endorse such a relationship, but the torment the two characters endure makes them sadly sympathetic.
Loose talk in the classroom / To hurt they try and try
Strong words in the staff room / The accusations fly
The chorus doesn't even have to explain who's saying it to whom, or why it's being said.
By the end of the song, it's not clear where this is all headed, but the Lolita reference tells us it can only be somewhere unfortunate.
The music fits the words perfectly: tense, uncomfortable, slightly sad. The high pitch in Sting's voice comes off like a minstrel bearing a timeless, cautionary tale.
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