Sting – Think Bensonium

Song 1: Russians 2022 Version, Sting

Roderick Benson — Sun, 03 Apr 2022 18:55:16 +0000

Covid Island Discs came to an end after the UK finally came out of all lockdown restrictions on the 16^th of July 2021. However, a lot has happened since my final Covid Island Discs post. Besides the many covid-19 variants (now up to Omicron XE) that mean the incidence rate in Britain is as high as it has ever been, although thankfully, the pathogenicity of the disease is now much less with the majority of the UK population being vaccinated and the virus itself is becoming less pathogenic, the most terrible development of 2022 has been the invasion of Ukraine by Putin’s Russia. This has resulted in senseless death of many thousands of innocent Ukrainians and Russians alike.

It was therefore significant that on the 25^th of March 2022, Sting re-released a Cello/guitar version of his famous hit Russians which first appeared on the Dream of Blue Turtles album that was released in 1985. After the collapse of the Berlin wall, we all thought that this song had been safely assigned to history. As with so many assumptions in this fallen world, how wrong we all turned out to be. Anyway, I guess the only good thing to come out of Putin’s unspeakable wickedness is at least we get an updated version of this Sting classic to enjoy for another 30 years (assuming Putin doesn’t do something completely insane).

Day 412: Russians, Sting

Roderick Benson — Wed, 05 May 2021 23:00:42 +0000

This song I guess is a bit dated now, but it captures the nervousness of a potential nuclear war that hovered over all us during the cold war. As someone who loves lyrics this song certainly is a good example of the wordsmith’s art as it captures in lyrics the hope that nuclear war will never happen because those who control the ICBM arsenals also love their children. Below is the full lyrics of this song.

2022 Update: Hmm sadly not as dated as we would have liked .

In Europe and America there’s a growing feeling of hysteria
Conditioned to respond to all the threats
In the rhetorical speeches of the Soviets
Mister Krushchev said, “We will bury you”
I don’t subscribe to this point of view
It’d be such an ignorant thing to do
If the Russians love their children too
How can I save my little boy from Oppenheimer’s deadly toy?
There is no monopoly on common sense
On either side of the political fence
We share the same biology, regardless of ideology
Believe me when I say to you
I hope the Russians love their children too

There is no historical precedent
To put the words in the mouth of the president?
There’s no such thing as a winnable war
It’s a lie we don’t believe anymore
Mister Reagan says, “We will protect you”
I don’t subscribe to this point of view
Believe me when I say to you
I hope the Russians love their children too
We share the same biology, regardless of ideology
But what might save us, me and you
Is if the Russians love their children too

Day 131: If you love someone, set them free, Sting

Roderick Benson — Wed, 09 Sep 2020 15:57:58 +0000

After all the letters Sting received from couples saying how “Every Breath you take” was such a romantic song that captured the dynamics of their relationship Sting apparently in dismay exclaimed “why do people misunderstand my bloody music?”. In order to make the point that “Every breath you take” had nothing to do with young couples keeping a close eye on their other half, Sting released this song offering his own relational advise to such couples.

Day 16: Money for Nothing by Dire Straits (and Sting)

Rbenson — Sun, 16 Aug 2020 21:59:42 +0000

OK I will admit this wasn’t going to be my original entry but then Anthony Holmes reminded me of this album in one of his posts. It makes sense to post it today because it also fits with my rock collaboration theme where Sting does the “I want my MTV”.

However, another reason for posting is because I have quite a funny back story to this song. In 1985, the year after I had left school this album was released. That year my school friend Mark Short, who was doing journalism at the time, rang me to ask if I knew anything about an unfolding story of the 1985 Higher School Certificate papers being stolen. I was nonplussed that he should think I would know anything about such seedy goings on.

Yet of course Mark was one step ahead of the game as it turned out that the whole unsavoury affair was centred around our local high school (Balgowlah Boys High School, oh yeah mate that the sort of names we give our suburbs in Aus) where some characters in that school managed to get hold of the national test papers before they were sat by the general public. How do I know this? Well my dear late friend Jonathan Higgs, who was one of the top students in the school, was approached by one of the boys, who had the 2 unit HSC mathematics paper, and asked if he could solve a particular problem from it. Of course Jon did not know it was his year’s HSC and given he was a 4 unit maths student, he never sat the 2 unit paper anyway. Looking back so many years later, it still makes me laugh.

So why is this story connected with this song you ask? Well after the fiasco blew over, some cheeky group released a cover song of Money for Nothing which was all about the stolen 1985 HSC papers. I don’t remember any of the lyrics except for the iconic Sting line: “I want my MTV” which they of course changed to “I want my HSC”.