TED2014
Sting: How I started writing songs again
Filmed:
Readability: 2.9
2,538,577 views
Sting's early life was dominated by a shipyard—and he dreamed of nothing more than escaping the industrial drudgery. But after a nasty bout of writer's block that stretched on for years, Sting found himself channeling the stories of the shipyard workers he knew in his youth for song material. In a lyrical, confessional talk, Sting treats us to songs from his upcoming musical, and to an encore of "Message in a Bottle."
Sting - Composer, singer, author, actor, activist
He’s sold more than 100 million albums and earned 16 Grammy Awards, yet Sting continues to surprise. His fourteenth solo album, The Last Ship, features songs from his Broadway-bound musical of the same name. Full bio
He’s sold more than 100 million albums and earned 16 Grammy Awards, yet Sting continues to surprise. His fourteenth solo album, The Last Ship, features songs from his Broadway-bound musical of the same name. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:13
(Music)
0
1180
3122
00:16
♪ It's all there in gospels ♪
1
4302
3022
00:19
♪A Magdalene girl comes to pay her respects ♪
2
7324
3866
00:23
♪ But her mind is awhirl ♪
3
11190
1720
00:24
♪ When she finds the tomb empty ♪
4
12910
2368
00:27
♪ Straw had been rolled ♪
5
15278
2178
00:29
♪ Not a sign of a corpse ♪
6
17456
1729
00:31
♪ In the dark and the cold ♪
7
19185
1831
00:33
♪ When she reaches the door ♪
8
21016
2176
00:35
♪ Sees an unholy sight ♪
9
23192
2008
00:37
♪ There's a solitary figure and a halo of light ♪
10
25200
3843
00:41
♪ He just carries on floating past Calvary Hill ♪
11
29043
3997
00:45
♪ In an Almighty hurry ♪
12
33040
1650
00:46
♪ Aye, but she might catch him still ♪
13
34690
2972
00:49
♪ Tell me where are you gone, Lord ♪
14
37662
1964
00:51
♪ And why in such haste? ♪
15
39626
2004
00:53
♪ Oh don't hinder me, woman ♪
16
41630
2067
00:55
♪ I've no time to waste ♪
17
43697
1774
00:57
♪ For they're launching a boat
on the morrow at noon ♪
on the morrow at noon ♪
18
45471
3968
01:01
♪ And I have to be there before daybreak ♪
19
49439
3685
01:05
♪ Oh I cannot be missing ♪
20
53124
2168
01:07
♪ The lads'll expect me ♪
21
55292
1818
01:09
♪ Why else would the Good
Lord Himself resurrect me? ♪
Lord Himself resurrect me? ♪
22
57110
4040
01:13
♪ For nothing'll stop me. I have to prevail ♪
23
61150
3780
01:16
♪ Through the teeth of this tempest ♪
24
64930
2320
01:19
♪ In the mouth of a gale ♪
25
67250
1810
01:21
♪ May the angels protect me ♪
26
69060
2262
01:23
♪ If all else should fail ♪
27
71322
1760
01:25
♪ And the last ship sails ♪
28
73082
3668
01:28
♪ Oh the roar of the chains ♪
29
76750
3326
01:32
♪ And the cracking of timbers ♪
30
80076
1840
01:33
♪ The noise at the end of the world in your ears ♪
31
81916
3878
01:37
♪ As a mountain of steel makes its way to the sea ♪
32
85794
4296
01:42
♪ And the last ship sails ♪
33
90090
6673
01:48
So I was born and raised
34
96763
1622
01:50
in the shadow of a shipyard
35
98385
2887
01:53
in a little town on the northeast coast of England.
36
101272
4016
01:57
Some of my earliest memories
37
105288
2018
01:59
are of giant ships
38
107306
1978
02:01
blocking the end of my street,
39
109284
2730
02:04
as well as the sun, for a lot of the year.
40
112014
3045
02:07
Every morning as a child,
41
115059
1957
02:09
I'd watch thousands of men walk down that hill
42
117016
3105
02:12
to work in the shipyard.
43
120121
2098
02:14
I'd watch those same men
44
122219
1732
02:15
walking back home every night.
45
123951
2700
02:18
It has to be said, the shipyard was not
46
126651
1892
02:20
the most pleasant place to live next door to,
47
128543
3776
02:24
or indeed work in.
48
132319
2100
02:26
The shipyard was noisy, dangerous,
49
134419
3476
02:29
highly toxic,
50
137895
2016
02:31
with an appalling health and safety record.
51
139911
3496
02:35
Despite that, the men and women
52
143407
3168
02:38
who worked on those ships
53
146575
1650
02:40
were extraordinarily proud of the work they did,
54
148225
2892
02:43
and justifiably so.
55
151117
2000
02:45
Some of the largest vessels
56
153117
1534
02:46
ever constructed on planet Earth
57
154651
1928
02:48
were built right at the end of my street.
58
156579
3800
02:52
My grandfather had been a shipwright,
59
160379
3061
02:55
and as a child,
60
163440
1337
02:56
as there were few other jobs in the town,
61
164777
1872
02:58
I would wonder with some anxiety
62
166649
2564
03:01
whether that would be my destiny too.
63
169213
3158
03:04
I was fairly determined that it wouldn't be.
64
172371
3072
03:07
I had other dreams,
65
175443
1644
03:09
not necessarily practical ones,
66
177087
2502
03:11
but at the age of eight,
67
179589
1986
03:13
I was bequeathed a guitar.
68
181575
2792
03:16
It was a battered old thing
69
184367
1416
03:17
with five rusty strings, and was out of tune,
70
185783
3608
03:21
but quickly I learned to play it
71
189391
2448
03:23
and realized that I'd found a friend for life,
72
191839
5198
03:29
an accomplice, a co-conspirator
73
197037
2666
03:31
in my plan to escape from this surreal
74
199703
3884
03:35
industrial landscape.
75
203587
2688
03:38
Well, they say if you dream something hard enough,
76
206275
2082
03:40
it will come to pass.
77
208357
1740
03:42
Either that, or I was extremely lucky,
78
210097
2036
03:44
but this was my dream.
79
212133
2114
03:46
I dreamt I would leave this town,
80
214247
1682
03:47
and just like those ships,
81
215929
1552
03:49
once they were launched, I'd never come back.
82
217481
3188
03:52
I dreamt I'd become a writer of songs,
83
220669
3596
03:56
that I would sing those songs
84
224265
1378
03:57
to vast numbers of people all over the world,
85
225643
2918
04:00
that I would be paid extravagant amounts of money,
86
228561
4149
04:04
that I'd become famous,
87
232710
2205
04:06
that I'd marry a beautiful woman,
88
234915
2692
04:09
have children, raise a family,
89
237607
2640
04:12
buy a big house in the country,
90
240247
1984
04:14
keep dogs, grow wine,
91
242231
2720
04:16
have rooms full of Grammy Awards,
92
244951
2010
04:18
platinum discs, and what have you.
93
246961
3296
04:22
So far, so good, right? (Laughter)
94
250257
4614
04:26
And then one day, the songs stopped coming,
95
254871
4190
04:31
and while you've suffered from periods
96
259061
2917
04:33
of writer's block before, albeit briefly,
97
261978
3012
04:36
this is something chronic.
98
264990
1937
04:38
Day after day, you face a blank page,
99
266927
2134
04:41
and nothing's coming.
100
269061
1636
04:42
And those days turned to
weeks, and weeks to months,
weeks, and weeks to months,
101
270697
2272
04:44
and pretty soon those months
102
272969
1593
04:46
have turned into years
103
274562
1231
04:47
with very little to show for your efforts. No songs.
104
275793
4819
04:52
So you start asking yourself questions.
105
280612
2511
04:55
What have I done to offend the gods
106
283123
2173
04:57
that they would abandon me so?
107
285296
3567
05:00
Is the gift of songwriting taken away
108
288863
2736
05:03
as easily as it seems to have been bestowed?
109
291599
3257
05:06
Or perhaps there's a more --
110
294856
2033
05:08
a deeper psychological reason.
111
296889
2100
05:10
It was always a Faustian pact anyway.
112
298989
3015
05:14
You're rewarded for revealing
113
302004
2227
05:16
your innermost thoughts,
114
304231
2012
05:18
your private emotions on the page
115
306243
1827
05:20
for the entertainment of others,
116
308070
1750
05:21
for the analysis, the scrutiny of others,
117
309820
5321
05:27
and perhaps you've given enough
118
315141
2049
05:29
of your privacy away.
119
317190
1993
05:31
And yet, if you look at your work,
120
319183
4250
05:35
could it be argued that your best work
121
323433
2271
05:37
wasn't about you at all,
122
325704
1388
05:39
it was about somebody else?
123
327092
2801
05:41
Did your best work occur
124
329893
2087
05:43
when you sidestepped your own ego
125
331980
3145
05:47
and you stopped telling your story,
126
335125
1500
05:48
but told someone else's story,
127
336625
1822
05:50
someone perhaps without a voice,
128
338447
2576
05:53
where empathetically, you stood in his shoes
129
341023
2528
05:55
for a while or saw the world through his eyes?
130
343551
3549
05:59
Well they say, write what you know.
131
347100
3977
06:03
If you can't write about yourself anymore,
132
351077
1723
06:04
then who do you write about?
133
352800
2613
06:07
So it's ironic that the landscape
134
355413
2849
06:10
I'd worked so hard to escape from,
135
358262
2365
06:12
and the community that I'd more or less abandoned
136
360627
2290
06:14
and exiled myself from
137
362917
2169
06:17
should be the very landscape,
138
365086
2001
06:19
the very community I would have to return to
139
367087
3080
06:22
to find my missing muse.
140
370167
3280
06:25
And as soon as I did that,
141
373447
2144
06:27
as soon as I decided to honor the community
142
375591
2359
06:29
I came from and tell their story,
143
377950
3386
06:33
that the songs started to come thick and fast.
144
381336
3434
06:36
I've described it as a kind of projectile vomiting,
145
384770
5833
06:42
a torrent of ideas, of characters, of voices,
146
390603
5922
06:48
of verses, couplets, entire songs
147
396525
3322
06:51
almost formed whole,
148
399847
2512
06:54
materialized in front of me
149
402359
1660
06:56
as if they'd been bottled up inside me
150
404019
1924
06:57
for many, many years.
151
405943
1974
06:59
One of the first things I wrote was just a list of names
152
407917
2495
07:02
of people I'd known,
153
410412
1929
07:04
and they become characters
154
412341
1302
07:05
in a kind of three-dimensional drama,
155
413643
2337
07:07
where they explain who they are, what they do,
156
415980
3360
07:11
their hopes and their fears for the future.
157
419340
4059
07:15
This is Jackie White.
158
423399
1310
07:16
He's the foreman of the shipyard.
159
424709
3844
07:20
My name is Jackie White,
160
428553
1656
07:22
and I'm foreman of the yard,
161
430209
1772
07:23
and you don't mess with Jackie on this quayside.
162
431981
2598
07:26
I'm as hard as iron plate,
163
434579
1920
07:28
woe betide you if you're late
164
436499
2020
07:30
when we have to push a boat out on the spring tide.
165
438519
2994
07:33
Now you can die and hope for heaven,
166
441513
1936
07:35
but you need to work your shift,
167
443449
2162
07:37
and I'd expect you all to back us to the hilt,
168
445611
2600
07:40
for if St. Peter at his gate
169
448211
2174
07:42
were to ask you why you're late,
170
450385
1815
07:44
why, you tell him that you had to get a ship built.
171
452200
3170
07:47
We build battleships and cruisers
172
455370
1599
07:48
for Her Majesty the Queen,
173
456969
1796
07:50
supertankers for Onassis,
and all the classes in between,
and all the classes in between,
174
458765
3613
07:54
We built the greatest ship in tonnage
175
462378
2299
07:56
what the world has ever seen
176
464677
3576
08:00
♪ And the only life worth knowing is in the shipyard ♪
177
468253
3757
08:04
♪ Steel in the stockyard, iron in the soul ♪
178
472010
3057
08:07
♪ Would conjure up a ship ♪
179
475067
1763
08:08
♪ Where there used to be a hull ♪
180
476830
3943
08:12
♪ And we don't know what we'll do ♪
181
480773
1392
08:14
♪ If this yard gets sold ♪
182
482165
3096
08:17
♪ For the only life worth knowing is in the shipyard ♪
183
485261
5296
08:22
(Applause)
184
490557
4868
08:27
So having decided to write about other people
185
495425
3362
08:30
instead of myself,
186
498787
2925
08:33
a further irony is that sometimes you reveal
187
501712
1927
08:35
more about yourself than you'd ever intended.
188
503639
2470
08:38
This song is called "Dead Man's Boots,"
189
506109
1716
08:39
which is an expression
190
507825
1164
08:40
which describes how difficult it is to get a job;
191
508989
2782
08:43
in other words, you'd only get a job in the shipyard
192
511771
2299
08:46
if somebody else died.
193
514070
2123
08:48
Or perhaps your father could finagle you
194
516193
2614
08:50
an apprenticeship at the age of 15.
195
518807
3392
08:54
But sometimes a father's love can be misconstrued
196
522199
2482
08:56
as controlling,
197
524681
1863
08:58
and conversely, the scope of his son's ambition
198
526544
3092
09:01
can seem like some pie-in-the-sky fantasy.
199
529636
3988
09:05
(Music)
200
533624
4488
09:10
♪ You see these work boots in my hands ♪
201
538112
3489
09:13
♪ They'll probably fit you now, my son ♪
202
541601
2798
09:16
♪ Take them, they're a gift from me ♪
203
544399
2422
09:18
♪ Why don't you try them on? ♪
204
546821
2590
09:21
♪ It would do your old man good to see ♪
205
549411
2988
09:24
♪ You walking in these boots one day ♪
206
552399
2453
09:26
♪ And take your place among the men ♪
207
554852
2819
09:29
♪ Who work upon the slipway ♪
208
557671
2936
09:32
♪ These dead man's boots,
though they're old and curled ♪
though they're old and curled ♪
209
560607
2866
09:35
♪ When a fellow needs a job and a place in the world ♪
210
563473
2659
09:38
♪ And it's time for a man to put down roots ♪
211
566132
4693
09:42
♪ And walk to the river in his old man's boots ♪
212
570825
3912
09:50
♪ He said, "I'm dying, son, and asking ♪
213
578661
2960
09:53
♪ That you do one final thing for me ♪
214
581621
2852
09:56
♪ You're barely but a sapling,
and you think that you're a tree ♪
and you think that you're a tree ♪
215
584473
5420
10:01
♪ If you need a seed to prosper ♪
216
589893
2417
10:04
♪ You must first put down some roots ♪
217
592310
2887
10:07
♪ Just one foot then the other in ♪
218
595197
2464
10:09
♪ These dead man's boots" ♪
219
597661
3168
10:12
♪ These dead man's boots,
though they're old and curled ♪
though they're old and curled ♪
220
600829
2896
10:15
♪ When a fellow needs a job and a place in the world ♪
221
603725
2840
10:18
♪ And it's time for a man to put down roots ♪
222
606565
4888
10:23
♪ And walk to the river in his old man's boots ♪
223
611453
4692
10:28
♪ I said, "Why in the hell would I do that? ♪
224
616638
3135
10:31
♪ Why would I agree?" ♪
225
619773
2092
10:33
♪ When his hand was all that I'd received ♪
226
621865
2652
10:36
♪ As far as I remember ♪
227
624517
2592
10:39
♪ It's not as if he'd spoiled me with his kindness ♪
228
627109
3271
10:42
♪ Up to then, you see ♪
229
630380
2241
10:44
♪ I'd a plan of my own and I'd quit this place ♪
230
632621
2620
10:47
♪ When I came of age September ♪
231
635241
2684
10:49
♪ These dead man's boots
know their way down the hill ♪
know their way down the hill ♪
232
637925
3195
10:53
♪ They could walk there themselves,
and they probably will ♪
and they probably will ♪
233
641120
2485
10:55
♪ I've plenty of choices, I've plenty other routes ♪
234
643605
4915
11:00
♪ And you'll never see me walking
in these dead man's boots ♪
in these dead man's boots ♪
235
648520
5950
11:06
♪ What was it made him think ♪
236
654470
2084
11:08
♪ I'd be happy ending up like him ♪
237
656554
2706
11:11
♪ When he'd hardly got two halfpennies left ♪
238
659260
2583
11:13
♪ Or a broken pot to piss in? ♪
239
661843
2797
11:16
♪ He wanted this same thing for me ♪
240
664640
2749
11:19
♪ Was that his final wish? ♪
241
667389
2400
11:21
♪ He said, "What the hell are you gonna do?" ♪
242
669789
2622
11:24
♪ I said, "Anything but this!" ♪
243
672411
3049
11:27
♪ These dead man's boots
know their way down the hill ♪
know their way down the hill ♪
244
675460
3313
11:30
♪ They can walk there themselves
and they probably will ♪
and they probably will ♪
245
678773
2655
11:33
♪ But they won't walk with me
‘cause I'm off the other way ♪
‘cause I'm off the other way ♪
246
681428
2801
11:36
♪ I've had it up to here, I'm gonna have my say ♪
247
684229
2544
11:38
♪ When all you've got left is that cross on the wall ♪
248
686773
2784
11:41
♪ I want nothing from you, I want nothing at all ♪
249
689557
2704
11:44
♪ Not a pension, nor a pittance,
when your whole life is through ♪
when your whole life is through ♪
250
692261
3000
11:47
♪ Get this through your head, I'm nothing like you ♪
251
695261
2864
11:50
♪ I'm done with all the arguments,
there'll be no more disputes ♪
there'll be no more disputes ♪
252
698125
5006
11:55
♪ And you'll die before you see
me in your dead man's boots ♪
me in your dead man's boots ♪
253
703131
9858
12:04
(Applause)
254
712989
4853
12:13
Thank you.
255
721561
1040
12:14
So whenever they'd launch a big ship,
256
722601
4637
12:19
they would invite some dignitary up from London
257
727238
2742
12:21
on the train to make a speech,
258
729980
1378
12:23
break a bottle of champagne over the bows,
259
731358
2705
12:26
launch it down the slipway
260
734063
1659
12:27
into the river and out to sea.
261
735722
2123
12:29
Occasionally on a really important ship,
262
737845
2437
12:32
they'd get a member of the royal family to come,
263
740282
2180
12:34
Duke of Edinburgh, Princess Anne or somebody.
264
742462
3119
12:37
And you have to remember, it wasn't that long ago
265
745581
2912
12:40
that the royal family in England
266
748493
2125
12:42
were considered to have magical healing powers.
267
750618
4183
12:46
Sick children were held up in crowds
268
754801
1816
12:48
to try and touch the cloak
269
756617
2245
12:50
of the king or the queen to cure them
270
758862
1444
12:52
of some terrible disease.
271
760306
2775
12:55
It wasn't like that in my day,
but we still got very excited.
but we still got very excited.
272
763081
3959
12:59
So it's a launch day, it's a Saturday,
273
767040
1968
13:01
and my mother has dressed
me up in my Sunday best.
me up in my Sunday best.
274
769008
2287
13:03
I'm not very happy with her.
275
771295
2675
13:05
All the kids are out in the street,
276
773970
1574
13:07
and we have little Union Jacks to wave,
277
775544
2772
13:10
and at the top of the hill,
278
778316
2056
13:12
there's a motorcycle cortege appears.
279
780372
2718
13:15
In the middle of the motorcycles,
280
783090
1467
13:16
there's a big, black Rolls-Royce.
281
784557
2695
13:19
Inside the Rolls-Royce is the Queen Mother.
282
787252
2595
13:21
This is a big deal.
283
789847
2065
13:23
So the procession is moving
284
791912
2012
13:25
at a stately pace down my street,
285
793924
2030
13:27
and as it approaches my house,
286
795954
2290
13:30
I start to wave my flag vigorously,
287
798244
2541
13:32
and there is the Queen Mother.
288
800785
1727
13:34
I see her, and she seems to see me.
289
802512
3708
13:38
She acknowledges me. She waves, and she smiles.
290
806220
2750
13:40
And I wave my flag even more vigorously.
291
808970
2563
13:43
We're having a moment,
292
811533
1411
13:44
me and the Queen Mother.
293
812944
1714
13:46
She's acknowledged me.
294
814658
1844
13:48
And then she's gone.
295
816502
3039
13:51
Well, I wasn't cured of anything.
296
819541
4123
13:55
It was the opposite, actually.
297
823664
1604
13:57
I was infected.
298
825268
3324
14:00
I was infected with an idea.
299
828592
2607
14:03
I don't belong in this street.
300
831199
2717
14:05
I don't want to live in that house.
301
833916
2628
14:08
I don't want to end up in that shipyard.
302
836544
3075
14:11
I want to be in that car. (Laughter)
303
839619
3407
14:15
I want a bigger life.
304
843026
1964
14:16
I want a life beyond this town.
305
844990
2544
14:19
I want a life that's out of the ordinary.
306
847534
3984
14:23
It's my right.
307
851518
1314
14:24
It's my right as much as hers.
308
852832
2862
14:27
And so here I am at TED,
309
855694
4599
14:32
I suppose to tell that story,
310
860293
2535
14:34
and I think it's appropriate to say the obvious
311
862828
4574
14:39
that there's a symbiotic and intrinsic link
312
867402
4290
14:43
between storytelling and community,
313
871692
3230
14:46
between community and art,
314
874922
2196
14:49
between community and science and technology,
315
877118
3014
14:52
between community and economics.
316
880132
2766
14:54
It's my belief that
317
882898
3388
14:58
abstract economic theory
318
886286
2049
15:00
that denies the needs of community
319
888335
2774
15:03
or denies the contribution that community makes
320
891109
3171
15:06
to economy is shortsighted, cruel
321
894280
3939
15:10
and untenable.
322
898219
2608
15:12
(Applause)
323
900827
3756
15:16
The fact is, whether you're a rock star
324
904583
2896
15:19
or whether you're a welder in a shipyard,
325
907479
3620
15:23
or a tribesman in the upper Amazon,
326
911099
3260
15:26
or the queen of England,
327
914359
1552
15:27
at the end of the day,
328
915911
4136
15:32
we're all in the same boat.
329
920047
4040
15:36
♪ Aye, the footmen are frantic in their indignation ♪
330
924087
4148
15:40
♪ You see the queen's took
a taxi herself to the station ♪
a taxi herself to the station ♪
331
928235
3999
15:44
♪ Where the porters, surprised
by her lack of royal baggage ♪
by her lack of royal baggage ♪
332
932234
3877
15:48
♪ Bustle her and three corgis
to the rear of the carriage ♪
to the rear of the carriage ♪
333
936111
3888
15:51
♪ For the train it is crammed
with all Europe's nobility ♪
with all Europe's nobility ♪
334
939999
3910
15:55
♪ And there's none of them
famous for their compatibility ♪
famous for their compatibility ♪
335
943909
3708
15:59
♪ There's a fight over seats ♪
336
947617
2018
16:01
♪ "I beg pardon, Your Grace ♪
337
949635
1902
16:03
♪ But you'll find that one's mine,
so get back in your place!" ♪
so get back in your place!" ♪
338
951537
4564
16:08
♪ "Aye, but where are they going?" ♪
339
956101
2203
16:10
♪ All the porters debate ♪
340
958304
1989
16:12
♪ "Why they're going to Newcastle
and they daren't be late ♪
and they daren't be late ♪
341
960293
4047
16:16
♪ For they're launching a boat
on the Tyne at high tide ♪
on the Tyne at high tide ♪
342
964340
3750
16:20
♪ And they've come from all over,
from far and from wide" ♪
from far and from wide" ♪
343
968090
3850
16:23
♪ There's the old Dalai Lama ♪
344
971940
2143
16:26
♪ And the pontiff of Rome ♪
345
974083
1960
16:28
♪ Every palace in Europe, and
there's nay bugger home ♪
there's nay bugger home ♪
346
976043
3554
16:31
♪ There's the Duchess of Cornwall
and the loyal Prince of Wales ♪
and the loyal Prince of Wales ♪
347
979597
4268
16:35
♪ Looking crushed and uncomfortable
in his top hat and tails ♪
in his top hat and tails ♪
348
983865
3982
16:39
♪ Well, they haven't got tickets ♪
349
987847
1615
16:41
♪ Come now, it's just a detail ♪
350
989462
2211
16:43
♪ There was no time to purchase
and one simply has to prevail ♪
and one simply has to prevail ♪
351
991673
3741
16:47
♪ For we'll get to the shipyards
or we'll end up in jail! ♪
or we'll end up in jail! ♪
352
995414
3997
16:51
♪ When the last ship sails ♪
353
999411
3769
16:55
♪ Oh the roar of the chains ♪
354
1003180
2922
16:58
♪ And the cracking of timbers ♪
355
1006102
2842
17:00
♪ The noise at the end of the world in your ears ♪
356
1008944
3486
17:04
♪ As a mountain of steel
makes its way to the sea ♪
makes its way to the sea ♪
357
1012430
3984
17:08
♪ And the last ship sails ♪
358
1016414
3199
17:11
♪ And whatever you'd promised ♪
359
1019613
3078
17:14
♪ Whatever you've done ♪
360
1022691
1581
17:16
♪ And whatever the station in life you've become ♪
361
1024272
3930
17:20
♪ In the name of the Father,
in the name of the Son ♪
in the name of the Son ♪
362
1028202
3830
17:24
♪ And no matter the weave of
this life that you've spun ♪
this life that you've spun ♪
363
1032032
4380
17:28
♪ On the Earth or in Heaven or under the Sun ♪
364
1036412
3849
17:32
♪ When the last ship sails ♪
365
1040261
3649
17:35
♪ Oh the roar of the chains ♪
366
1043910
3310
17:39
♪ And the cracking of timbers ♪
367
1047220
1750
17:40
♪ The noise at the end of the world in your ears ♪
368
1048970
3898
17:44
♪ As a mountain of steel
makes its way to the sea ♪
makes its way to the sea ♪
369
1052868
4338
17:49
♪ And the last ship sails ♪
370
1057206
7696
17:58
Thanks very much for listening to my song.
371
1066228
1766
17:59
Thank you. (Applause)
372
1067994
7320
18:31
Thank you.
373
1099144
3798
18:37
Okay, you have to join in if you know it.
374
1105959
2390
18:40
(Music) (Applause)
375
1108349
7350
18:47
♪ Just a castaway ♪
376
1115699
2381
18:50
♪ An island lost at sea, oh ♪
377
1118080
3990
18:54
♪ Another lonely day ♪
378
1122070
2143
18:56
♪ With no one here but me, oh ♪
379
1124213
4080
19:00
♪ More loneliness than any man could bear ♪
380
1128293
6494
19:06
♪ Rescue me before I fall into despair ♪
381
1134787
5967
19:12
♪ I'll send an S.O.S. to the world ♪
382
1140754
3132
19:15
♪ I'll send an S.O.S. to the world ♪
383
1143886
2904
19:18
♪ I hope that someone gets my ♪
384
1146790
3348
19:22
♪ I hope that someone gets my ♪
385
1150138
3142
19:25
♪ I hope that someone gets my ♪
386
1153280
3146
19:28
♪ Message in a bottle ♪
387
1156426
3257
19:34
♪ Message in a bottle ♪
388
1162357
3621
19:41
♪ A year has passed since I wrote my note ♪
389
1169599
6161
19:47
♪ I should have known this right from the start ♪
390
1175760
6130
19:53
♪ Only hope can keep me together ♪
391
1181890
6371
20:00
♪ Love can mend your life ♪
392
1188261
2037
20:02
♪ but love can break your heart ♪
393
1190298
3899
20:06
♪ I'll send an S.O.S. to the world ♪
394
1194197
3000
20:09
♪ I'll send an S.O.S. to the world ♪
395
1197197
3155
20:12
♪ I hope that someone gets my ♪
396
1200352
3186
20:15
♪ I hope that someone gets my ♪
397
1203538
3211
20:18
♪ I hope that someone gets my ♪
398
1206749
2946
20:21
♪ Message in a bottle ♪
399
1209695
6432
20:28
♪ Message in a bottle ♪
400
1216127
3844
20:34
♪ Message in a bottle ♪
401
1222353
3917
20:40
♪ Message in a bottle ♪
402
1228581
4409
20:47
♪ Walked out this morning ♪
403
1235562
2458
20:50
♪ I don't believe what I saw ♪
404
1238020
3820
20:53
♪ A hundred billion bottles ♪
405
1241840
2427
20:56
♪ Washed up on the shore ♪
406
1244267
3693
20:59
♪ Seems I'm not alone in being alone ♪
407
1247960
5319
21:05
♪ A hundred billion castaways ♪
408
1253279
3181
21:08
♪ Looking for a home ♪
409
1256460
3507
21:11
♪ I'll send an S.O.S. to the world ♪
410
1259967
3217
21:15
♪ I'll send an S.O.S. to the world ♪
411
1263184
3226
21:18
♪ I hope that someone gets my ♪
412
1266410
2957
21:21
♪ I hope that someone gets my ♪
413
1269367
3264
21:24
♪ I hope that someone gets my ♪
414
1272631
2994
21:27
♪ Message in a bottle ♪
415
1275625
6263
21:33
♪ Message in a bottle ♪
416
1281888
6331
21:40
♪ Message in a bottle ♪
417
1288219
3912
21:46
♪ Message in a bottle ♪
418
1294404
3566
21:49
So I'm going to ask you to sing after me,
419
1297970
1542
21:51
okay, the next part.
420
1299512
1832
21:53
It's very easy. Sing in unison.
421
1301344
2125
21:55
Here we go.
422
1303469
4467
22:01
♪ Sending out an S.O.S. ♪ Come on now.
423
1309978
3342
22:05
Audience: ♪ Sending out an S.O.S. ♪
424
1313320
2900
22:08
Sting: ♪ Sending out an S.O.S. ♪
425
1316220
3014
22:11
Audience: ♪ Sending out an S.O.S. ♪
426
1319234
3083
22:14
Sting: ♪ I'm sending out an S.O.S. ♪
427
1322317
3201
22:17
Audience: ♪ Sending out an S.O.S. ♪
428
1325518
2932
22:20
Sting: ♪ Sending out an S.O.S. ♪
429
1328450
3100
22:23
Audience: ♪ Sending out an S.O.S. ♪
430
1331550
2544
22:26
Sting: ♪ Sending out ♪
431
1334094
13086
22:39
♪ Sending out an S.O.S. ♪
432
1347180
2667
22:41
♪ Sending out an S.O.S. ♪
433
1349847
2984
22:44
♪ Sending out an S.O.S. ♪
434
1352831
2999
22:47
♪ Sending out an S.O.S. ♪
435
1355830
6064
22:53
♪ Yoooooooo ♪
436
1361894
8619
23:02
Thank you, TED. Goodnight.
437
1370513
1952
23:04
(Applause)
438
1372465
4000
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Sting - Composer, singer, author, actor, activistHe’s sold more than 100 million albums and earned 16 Grammy Awards, yet Sting continues to surprise. His fourteenth solo album, The Last Ship, features songs from his Broadway-bound musical of the same name.
Why you should listen
Premiering in 2014, The Last Ship—with direction by Joe Mantello, music and lyrics by Sting and book by John Logan and Brian Yorkey—is inspired by Sting's memories of the English seafaring community of Wallsend where he was born and raised. The story is set against the demise of the local shipbuilding industry and is anchored by a group of unemployed workers who take back the shipyard to build one last ship.
The constant throughout Sting's enduring career has been his propensity to evolve. From his tenure as lead singer and bassist with The Police, producing classic hits like "Every Breath You Take" and "Message In A Bottle," to his acclaimed ventures as a solo artist, Sting is one of the world's most renowned and distinctive musicians.
An actor, composer, author and committed activist, Sting, along with wife Trudie Styler, founded the Rainforest Fund in 1989 to protect the world's rainforests and the indigenous people living there. This year, the organization celebrates its 25th anniversary.
Sting | Speaker | TED.com