The Police First Lines Quiz

Answer: "De Do Do Do De Da Da Da"

Sting calls this song from the album "Zenyatta Mondatta" "an articulate song about being inarticulate."

Answer: "Does Everyone Stare"

The next line is "I'm in a cold sweat, I panic and it makes me late". A great song for self-conscious people everywhere. From "Regatta de Blanc".

Answer: "So Lonely"

"So Lonely" was a single from The Police's first album "Outlandos D'Amour," which was released in 1978.

Answer: "Bombs Away"

The next line goes "His pay is good but his officers stink." I'm not exactly sure what this song is about - something about military dictatorships. From "Zenyatta Mondatta".

Answer: "Invisible Sun"

"Invisible Sun" from the album "Ghost in the Machine" is a comment on the plight of the people in Northern Ireland. The next line is "Looking at the barrel of an Armalite." I wrote an essay about this song for grade 10 social studies class.

Answer: "Truth Hits Everybody"

From "Outlandos D'Amour". "Outlandos D'Amour" was originally going to be called "Outlaws of Love." They decided to change "outlaws" to "outlandos" to make them sound more like commandos. "D'Amour," of course, is French for "of love."

Answer: "Bring on the Night"

The next line is "The evening spreads its sail across the sky." I always heard this second line wrong, thinking it was "the evening spreads itself across the sky." From "Regatta de Blanc".

Answer: "Synchronicity II"

The title "Synchronicity" is lifted from a book by Carl Jung, called "Synchronicity; An Acausal Connecting Principle." This book surmises that events which appear to be completely unrelated are, in fact, related.

Answer: "Darkness"

From the album "Ghost in the Machine." This album title was originally the title of a book by Koestler, which is about "man's automated behaviour."

Answer: "Peanuts"

I remember reading somewhere that this song is about Rod Stewart. Apparently The Police weren't big fans of his.

Answer: "Rehumanize Yourself"

The rest of the verse goes "None of his friends know right from wrong/ They kick a boy to death 'cause he don't belong/ You've got to humanize yourself." I never heard this verse properly. I always thought the first line was "He goes all night with his big boobs on." I knew I couldn't be right, though.

Answer: "Wrapped Around Your Finger"

A very literate song, heavily influenced by Homer's "Odyssey". Is it about Circe and Odysseus? Faces of alabaster, the Scylla and Charybdis ... who knows what Sting's intentions were.

Answer: "Hungry for You (J'Aurai Toujours Faim de Toi)"

The Police's only French song. The grammar is fine, but Sting's pronunciation is pretty fractured.

Answer: "Next To You"

The next line goes "When you live so many miles away." A musing on long-distance relationships. From "Outlandos D'Amour."

Answer: "On Any Other Day"

From "Regatta De Blanc." This album title refers to the fact that the band plays reggae-influenced music and that all the members have blond hair. They dyed their hair blond for an appearance in a Wrigley's Gum commercial in 1978.

Answer: "Message In a Bottle"

From "Regatta de Blanc," this was their first number one hit in the UK. They wouldn't hit number one in the US until the release of "Don't Stand So Close to Me" over a year later.

Answer: "Miss Gradenko"

"But are you safe Miss Gradenko?" is the next line. It's from "Synchronicity". I've always wondered what this song is about. It's written by Stewart Copeland. Did you know his father was a founder/member of the CIA?

Answer: "Canary in a Coalmine"

The next line is "Your sensibilities are shaken by the slightest defect." From "Zenyatta Mondatta".

Answer: "Mother"

This song scared me when I was a kid. The words and music are by Andy Summers. I thought he must be pretty twisted to write this song.

Answer: "Driven to Tears"

This song from "Zenyatta Mondatta" is a good blend of reggae and jazz.