Driven to Tears

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the 2006 SpongeBob SquarePants episode, see
SpongeBob SquarePants (season 4)
.
"Driven to Tears"
YouTube

"Driven to Tears" is a song written by

political activism that would recur throughout much of Sting's and the Police's subsequent music.[2] On classic rock radio stations, the song is usually followed immediately by “When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Still Around
”.

Theme

The theme of the song is the divide between rich and poor.[3] It was one of the first politically themed songs the Police released, and the first that Sting wrote.[4][5][6] Sting was inspired to write the song while on tour in the United States in 1979 after seeing the plight of starving children in Biafra on television.[4][7] Sting has stated that the title and song came to him because he was literally driven to tears by the show.[4] The song asks questions but finds no answers.[6] One line of the song refers to the fact that people can afford the technology to watch television, but not food for the starving children.[7]

Composition

The song is in the

Allmusic critic Chris True describes the song as a "midtempo reggae workout."[2]

Author Chris Welch states that "Driven to Tears" "surges with an unstoppable anger."[7] The Washington Post music critic Robert Hull claimed that the song "has the driving force of Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac."[12] Allmusic critic Chris True considers Summers' short guitar solo to be one of his best.[2] Summers himself considered "Driven to Tears" one of the better songs Sting wrote that formed "the meat" of Zenyatta Mondatta.[13]

Live history

A live performance (circa 1980) of "Driven to Tears" is the opening number of the film Urgh! A Music War.

Sting played "Driven to Tears" at the

Message in a Box.[7]

The song was included in the setlist for Sting's 2014 "On Stage Together" concert tour with legendary artist Paul Simon.[14] This rendition featured a guitar and a violin solo performed by Sting's accompanying musicians.

Covers

  • "Driven to Tears" has been covered by Mike Portnoy, Neal Morse and Randy George on the 2012 album Cover 2 Cover.[15]
  • Marco Minnemann covered the song on the 2007 album Play the Police.[16]
  • Pearl Jam performed "Driven to Tears" on their 2003 and 2009 tours with the line, "too many cameras and not enough food" replaced with "...and not enough truth." Sting sang the song with Pearl Jam at Madison Square Garden on May 2, 2016.[17]
  • Actor
    Robert Downey, Jr. sang the song with Sting at Sting's 60th birthday concert at the Beacon Theatre in New York City on October 1, 2011.[18]

Personnel

  • Sting – bass guitar, vocals
  • Andy Summers – guitar
  • Stewart Copeland – drums

References

  1. Allmusic
    . Retrieved 2012-09-22.
  2. ^ a b c d True, C. "Driven to Tears". Allmusic. Retrieved 2012-09-23.
  3. ISBN 9780275993603
    .
  4. ^ a b c Newman, M. (December 13, 2003). "Century Award". Billboard. pp. 23–27.
  5. ^ "Zenyatta Mondatta". Allmusic. Retrieved 2012-09-22.
  6. ^
    ISBN 9780470282403
    .
  7. ^
    ISBN 0711953023
    .
  8. ISBN 9780879307103
    .
  9. ISBN 9780879302603
    .
  10. ISBN 9781598696271
    .
  11. ^ Fricke, David (December 25, 1980). "Zenyatta Mondatta". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2012-09-22.
  12. ^ a b "Zenyatta Mondatta". thepolice.com. Retrieved 2012-09-22.
  13. ISBN 9780312374815
    .
  14. ^ Graff, Gary (February 9, 2014). "Paul Simon and Sting Merge Voices, Styles in Tour Opener: Live Review". Billboard.com.
  15. ^ "Cover 2 Cover". Allmusic. Retrieved 2012-09-23.
  16. ^ "Play the Police". Allmusic. Retrieved 2012-09-23.
  17. ^ "Home". watchitgotofire.wordpress.com.
  18. ^ "Sting and Robert Downey Jr – Driven to Tears (HQ)" – via YouTube.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Driven_to_Tears&oldid=1174471068"