King of Pain - The Police

[abukibbe]

This song, this band...High School...Class of '85!  Wow, what memories!

[Agnostic72]

8 People are choking on a crust of bread...

[FuyuAkiWorld]

ouch... lols. Just listened to King of Suede.

[emmashort1]

MMMmmmmm Gotye's 'Now your just somebody that i used to know' sounds very much like this! strange that aye!

[dragonfitter]

@emmashort1 i think what you mean is the effect they use on gotyes voice sounds like stings

[cruiserweight190]

I remember seeing an interview a looooong time ago and Sting said he wrote this about his dentist I don't know if he was kidding or not though

[fishslayer4]

another great example of three muscians getting it done.

[Rahan482]

80's best years ever

[Ironmanissocool]

6 people do not have a soul.

[nazgulero]

But it's my destiny to be the king of pain...

WTF how do you come up with a line like that. I have never come up with a line like that, and I am 45...

[Audreysstone]

@nazgulero Lot's of cocaine and a giant ego!

[metallicaddictno1]

Mudvayne's version is way better than the original!!!!!!

[MrJohneybgood]

@metallicaddictno1 rubbish

[EoLoLoIoOoT]

@metallicaddictno1 You've blatantly never heard mudvaynes version.

[MrMcMad42]

Police are and will always be one of the best of not only the 80's, but of all five bands ever!, their fantastic music is timeless and will continue to enspire future generations of song writers/bands. May God Bless the Lads! Thankyou from the bottom of my heart for nearly 32 years of wonderful music that has blessed, graced and comforted my life! Your my HERO'S

[HayzeyCnut]

im 19, and seeing the police reunion tour was the best moment of my life! the older generations of music still live on!

[Rakabash]

'83 was a great year for Pop music. Sting is one of the true singer-songwriters to emerge in any decade. He also, is the type of musician that doesn't need to solo for 5 minutes a stretch to prove how good he is.

[70sRob]

Sting is so talented. This song still means so much to me. It still gets me through some tough ole times. Bitches! this is real music.

[scottybrookbank]

the music of the 70's and 80's will never die!! To those who think the current brand of music is any good at all you need to have your hearing checked

[mjvkc]

have just rediscovered this and want to play it a million times like i did 20 yrs ago....

[andyjay729]

Lovely images in this song.

[probrojeffro]

One of my favs off Synchronicity. I remember listening endlessly to this album. Great for the head, heart, and soul.

[xXblythe]

Sting is so good with words. Seriously amazing writing x

[tmcgordon]

LOVE LOVE this song!! Brings back the BEST (middle) school memories!! "The Police" was and still is one of the absolute BEST universal bands of all-time!! : )

[dadof2monkeys]

An all around AMAZING song. Lyrically, musically. Truly a masterpiece.

[1980MF1980]

I think it should of been "Wise" man looking for a shadow of a doubt,

[jpsmart59]

Sting, may he rest in peace. RIP 2011.

[xenbay]

@jpsmart59 he's not dead!

[jpsmart59]

@xenbay Not yet anyway....lol

[ChihuahuaboyDH]

@jpsmart59 Uh...Sting's NOT dead! He's very much alive!!! In fact, he turned 60 last month.

[Dhesyca]

@ChihuahuaboyDH And his entire musical career only seemed to get better...Did he ever even peak? I don't remember him going "over the hill" in his musical/lyrical writing skills

[andrechiesa]

que grande musica.. dificil não se arrepiar ouvindo esse classico...

[TheAltair4]

Great song from one of my favorite groups!

[Johnlindsey289]

@TheAltair4

Me too, my fave of theirs and do you like Weird Al's spoof?

[TheAltair4]

@Johnlindsey289 Yeah, Weird Al's King of Suede was funny.

[Johnlindsey289]

Awesome song and Weird Al's parody is great too

[humbertox]

This better be the Police version of this song and not that Mudvayne PIECE OF SHIT

....AH SHIT

[Stujet013]

5 people are only PRINCES OF PAIN

[Smashyonuts]

@Stujet013 your not funny or clever

[Stujet013]

@Smashyonuts Oh come on, Ive seen way worse ones! Plus I mean no disrespect at all to the song it's one of my favorite of the Police

[coastykid95]

We did this as a part of our marching show 2 years ago. This is my favorite song of all time. I love it so much.

[lintball0190]

@Ajliamwyattandco nah..Driven to Tears or Don't Stand So Close To Me. but i must admit that i love it at 3:06 when he sings "King of paaaaiiin"

[Bobertawesomeful]

this is one awesome deep song

[rexowens1000]

Love The Police!, almost all of their songs were GREAT!, thanks for posting!. rexowens1000

[ninelivestarzan]

It's the same old thing as yesterday. Describes the depressing monotony of life i suppose.

[onisazo]

theres a little black spot on the fb today..

[hawk1866]

we are all trapped - butterfly trapped in a spider's web, a flag for a rag and the wind won't stop, the king of pain - a fossil trapped in a high cliff wall, a salmon trapped in a frozen waterfall......the lyrics aren't hard to figure - a BRILLANT metaphor written by another methaphor - STING. Sharp and painfull is a sting......isn't that what his lyrics are? think about it.....

[CraigFoye80]

Please let me know if the next milestone reaches 100,000 views!!!

[euphoriands]

@CraigFoye80 106k Views :o

[Nodicei]

I think every language has a form of metaphors. Germans use metaphors alot to describe anger or excitement. I just found the one with the "ear flapping" funny as hell. Americans use idioms alot which unless you know the context in which they are used never get translated well. I used to what American shows on German TV Then later that same show would be broadcast on AFN (American Force Network-Europe). I always found the German translation of American slang to sound awkward in these shows.

[YoMamaBeenLurkin]

I love the intro... "There's a little Black negro on the sun today"..LOLS

[Dactuck]

@YoMamaBeenLurkin There's a a little white cracker on moon today!. I love this intro!

[lctrump1]

Not their best material, IMHO.

[jokester859]

love this,its so soothing!

[cessna151]

I WILL ALWAYS BE THE KING OF PAIN

[79978867547864536877]

how can you dislike this song? this song is like nostalga or however you spell it lol

[234helenrose]

Sting was a master lyricist!

[Tinkerlope]

@234helenrose

Sting IS a master lyricist

[NJWells92]

@Tinkerlope Then you have never heard of De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da

[MaimedAngel]

His analogies for describing deep depression are so accurate it's eerie...

[PSYLOCKEdefleppard]

I will always be the King Of Pain

[vinniej76]

Its the same old thin, as yesterday. God bless you Sting. You Rock!

[69RastaMama69]

freaking love this song, sting is awsome.

[ketchup143]

i'll always be king of pain...brillant

[NikkiThaBxtch]

This song is soooo addicting(: I freaking love the police. Besttt 80's bandd ever. ♥

[80pirt]

This song is actually about the story of Oedipus. yup

[hellhawk100]

This song played on the radio right after one of my highschool girlfriends dumped me...lol!

[MrProfessornutbutter]

I always felt this was my theme song.

[f1dcfan]

Superb!!! One of The Police's best!

[NobudeezDaughter]

For some reason people often shy off from other people's pain...it's why more songs like this are needed.

[Ajliamwyattandco]

Great song

[MaimedAngel]

Makes so much sense...I'm the Queen of Pain. ;D

[judenihal]

2:55 - my favourite part, when the A, hits the G.

[jeffbeck70]

i like how the bass is front and in the back at the same time. i really like the mix.

[CreoleNag]

So Awesome!!!

[ROBLOXiansRejct666]

I love this band

I'm almost 12

and I've loved the police ever since I was 2 :)

This band shall live on!

:D

[therealsoulproduct]

My favorite song off the "Synchronicity" album.

[beachchilly]

I wish i was born freakin earlier man... music these days sucks compared to other decades

[BackOff414]

@beachchilly In some cases, yes.

[StanBennet]

@beachchilly This came from the best summer of my life.

[ange8961]

FK"N BEST SONG IN THE THE WORLD !!

[suburbansoftrocker]

Don't try and copy Per Goat Face.

[mat1000128]

beautiful master piece

[kenpalmer1965]

This was a great song from this album. They used to play it all the time on the radio when it first came out in the 80's. Love this era of music plain and simple!

[stevevandien]

Funny how a song can evoke such vivid, powerful memories of the time in which one first heard it and for a month or three thereafter. Dang, this takes me back to my second semester in college, when I was in love for the first time, studying Camus, Orwell's "1984" and Ellison's "Invisible Man," while living on oranges, toasted cheese sandwiches, coffee and Diet Coke -- and weighing roughly 155 pounds (about one hundred less than I do now) at 6 feet one:) --

[Lovesock69able]

Frog jumpin' contest at 6:) (katalina translates) Champion sure to win. See?

[NYNYRaider]

ALWAYS BEEN MY THEME SONG! especially in love matters!

[Guitarman5150]

@NYNYRaider I know that feeling!

[busamakis66]

That's it.

[MrEdgeofchaos]

i'm gonna be workin on a piano cover of this song, does anyone know the key of it?

[03dmaxkolb]

this song rapes ass

[Onshki]

this song is addictive

[guitarwizard85]

I have stood here before inside the pouring rain

With the world turning circles runnin 'round my brain

I guess I'm always hoping that you end this reign

But it's my destiny to be the King of Pain

[jayno1cutler]

This quality is perfect! >Thanks alot for uploading this great songs!

[moscowamerika]

no words speak truer....."ouch"

[wordupassholes]

I love these guys to death

[skiweeds]

is that a pic of blotter paper?

[shizzle5150]

ouch... LOL

[yourhereimthere]

clever's the word my man

[galikop]

playing this song, on and on and on....

[blackberrycobbler4me]

clever song.....there a rich man sleeping on a golden bed..there skeleton choking on a crust of bread

[dannyW900]

i love andy's guitar solo on this song.

[Ajliamwyattandco]

This is the best song the Police made

[JAB5625]

@Ajliamwyattandco I agree. I will never, ever get sick of this song...

[brianwesley28]

@Ajliamwyattandco

It is an okay song. I'd say that my favorite song by the Police is difficult to choose. This isn't it, but it is okay. Maybe something like Wrapped Around Your Finger. Sting did some good solo work, as well.

[jayno1cutler]

@Ajliamwyattandco Sorry im late on your comment but i totally agree. Its by far the best.

[09mex]

@Ajliamwyattandco i completely agree!

[lintball0190]

@Ajliamwyattandco nah..Driven to Tears or Don't Stand So Close To Me

[xenbay]

@Ajliamwyattandco best song for me is wrapped around your finger

[Nightfall4etnerity]

Boah das ist die SACD! Absolut gutes Teil hab ich auch ;). Gibts auch noch als DVD-Audio :D. Hab ich auch^^. Bei dem sound fliegen dir die löffel weg!!!!

[101stairbourne]

this is what you just said in english

Boah is the SACD! I'm absolutely good part;). Is also available as DVD-Audio: D. So I have ^ ^. At the sound you fly away the spoon!!

[sk8erguy552]

dude, no offense, but translators never work, thats a literal translation, word for word, so there isnt context to anything, plus they're inaccurate. and when i say that its a literal translation, take french for example (the only other foreign language i speak fluently) you would say "Cava?" or "Comment cava?" meaning how are you, but literally, it means "is it going?" and " How's it going" the 2nd one makes more sense in english though but you get the point

[MisterSin87]

@101stairbourne lol i couldn't agree with him more. lmao

[Nodicei]

@101stairbourne... LOL some German idioms are just impossible to translate: "Bei dem sound fliegen dir die löffel weg!!!!" This tune is some good it'll set your ears(loeffel) on fire.

[olliephelan]

@Nodicei correct me if im wrong but germans dont use as much metaphor as english , or simile etc .

BUT regardless of which language NO poetry can be translated into a different tongue without losing a lot , especially the musical quality of the words themselves.

[Alikah1]

@101stairbourne I understood it about as well when he said it.

[swordinademonskull]

@101stairbourne You can't rely on online translator programs. It will not pick up slang, first of all. Second, other languages have completely different sentence arrangements. If you want to translate a language, then study it. That is the ONLY way to find the best fit. Honestly there is no such thing as an accurate translation. All you can do is find the most understandable fit.

[moscowamerika]

@Nightfall4etnerity SAUKRAIL! ARSCHLOCK! ARSCGROBBLER!!!!!!!!

[4everClassicrock]

@Nightfall4etnerity um i don't know how to speak in your langueges but, i gotta say, i really like you discripition of the song Lol

[shupea18]

whats the name of the song that has a similar beginning to this, except it uses a bass guitar and it has like 3 or 4 extra notes

[townshend445]

Whipping Post by Allman Bros. band.???

[shupea18]

na, its not that...its a bass guitar with the same rythmn as this piano part, but theres like a few extra notes......either a bass guitar or a piano (or both)

[sk8erguy552]

do you mean Janie's Got a Gun by Aerosmith?

[sk8erguy552]

i know its a stretch but that might be it

[georgemerloiu]

I'm not sure if this is what you're refering, but I think it's Patti Smith-Because the Night; it has a little resemblence in the begining of the song.

[AJEEZYEZE]

listen to the "a band called pain" remake

[Vulfi93]

Fuck the police. But NOT the Police.

[townshend445]

Description LOL

[debfan74]

I love this song...but also as a fan of Alanis Morissette, she done a great remake of this on her unplugged cd

[MrJohnny2020]

The Police are GODS

[eakeeboi]

Very much like this music!...

[harrynicholas]

Perfect lyrics.

[ND7652]

To one of the BEST SONGS EVER

[stevevandien]

One of the great rock records -- everything, from the evocative lyrics to the stark production, WORKS, absolutely --

[MeEncantaKiley]

Ok this song kicks ass and the lyrics are very intresting.

[129kathleen]

this is a unusually great song coming from a just plain great band

[Uip4py111]

that's my soul up there

[Master1Icy]

Apparently this song was written around the time his mother died, he might be talking about himself.

[TitanNerd68]

He was. I don't know about his mother, but I do know he had split up with his wife and was having disagreements with the others in the band.

[cliveconcept]

don't you people know sting is BLACK

[bamdude3]

thanx 4 trying.

[absly5]

wang.....

[paradiddleplegic]

Not sure if black people would, but I hear that this kind of music is deeply enjoyable for Mexicans.

[DiazdelVivar]

the beggining of this song is spiritual... in these days that doesn't happens; today music I mean....

[YoMamaBeenLurkin]

Do you think any Black people would listen to a song like this.??

[PianoHamsters]

Lol wtf

[wyteboyhithard]

hahahahahahaahhaha lol i dont know why everyone gave you a thumbs down that shit is funny coming from a black guy

[Metalwolf0X9]

This is a great song to clear your mind to!

[wyteboyhithard]

and to smoke a joint to

[vonnegutwannabe]

Who likes Guitar Hero?

[shenloken2]

"There's a Skeleton Choking on a crust of bread."

What does that mean by chance?

[Pooshhead]

That's a good question. I hadn't noticed it untill you mentioned it.

[se214]

This is an example of the brilliant imagery used by Sting in his music. It's hard to say for certain, without asking Sting himself, what is meant by this line, but I can make an attempt to interpret. In the lyrics, he is naming items in nature that are in various levels of "pain" and suffering. Then in the bridge section of the song, he adds a twist of irony to the suffering. The skeleton has had no food, and that is why it is just bones. It finally gets food (crust of bread), but chokes on it.

[ND7652]

Yes after ALL these years you still cant apply the meaning of the lyric yet it's obvious

[stevevandien]

At his best (as here), Sting is a brilliant writer --

[chocolatelovermary]

I think it means that a starving kid is choking. It is sad because the kid is so hungry, but when he does get some food, he can't have it because he is choking. "Skeleton" used to show how hungry, skinny, and starved the kid is. I use the word "kid" because kids are typically starving, since they can't get a job. Hope this helps!

[youngjedi72]

wow pretty deep, are you a teacher?

[theblockcrew]

@chocolatelovermary you're so far off the mark with your interpretation about the song!! It is about depression. It's so clear! Sting was bipolar btw.

[07hg1]

@theblockcrew was he really? never knew but know the song makes sense O.o

[dorourke105]

Butterfly trapped in the spider web help meeeee help meeeee

[bamdude3]

no but they recently did a reunion tour.

[leighdappa]

LOL

What's that got to do with the price of cheese?

PS: I'm a "half choc" by the way!

[roscoegino]

LOL@ouch

[Decorum3]

l33t

[JORGEPSOUSA911]

I've got this album on vinyl! All I have to say is every song in it is awesome!

[Kaless134]

Timeless classic....awesome....

[Pooshhead]

Very True.

[chalal0tte]

<3

more letters

[Michlimania]

Alluringly frightening. I first heard this piece in the summer of 1983. It was the morning after a wild LSD trip...I had an LSD hangover and this is indelibly etched in my mind forver.

[paul0388]

an lsd hangover? I never experienced one of those, how much did you have and how late? Lol, I never listened to this tripping but I may tonight... hehe