Sting – I Burn For You

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  General Comment:To understand the lyrics, I think we have to bear in our mind the following points:
  
  - The striking contrast between the coolness of water and the heat of fire is the backbone of the lyrics
  - The protagonist and the second person in the lyrics move from outside to inside of a room as the time elapses and eventually into the protagonist's mind
  - The venue of the song is probably Dorset Beach and Devon Coast in the UK which are well known for their archaeological sites
  
  "Now that I have found you
  In the cool'th of your evening smile
  The shade of your parasol
  And your love flows through me
  Though I drink at your pool
  I burn for you, I burn for you"
  
  So in the first verse, the protagonist and the second person are outside of the room. Probably in early evening for the protagonist see the shade of the parasol. Here "pool" "drink" and "flows" represent water (coolness) and "parasol (which means prevents the sun)" and "burn".represent fire (heat).
  
  "You and I are lovers
  When night time folds around our bed
  In peace we sleep entwined
  And your love flows through me
  Though an ocean soothes my head
  I burn for you, I burn for you "
  
  The second verse, they are in the room. The line "When night time folds around our bed" shows few hours have elapsed since the first verse. "Ocean" and "flows" represent water and "burn" represents fire.
  
  "Stars will fall from dark skies
  As ancient rocks are turning
  Quiet fills the room
  And your love flows through me
  Though I lie here so still
  I burn for you, I burn for you "
  
  The last verse takes place in the protagonist's mind. The lines "Stars will fall from dark skies" and "As ancient rocks are turning (probably the ebb tide)" imply it's about the breaking of dawn. Although no apparent word but "flows" representing "water" is found here, the line "As ancient rocks are turning" as a whole describes the ebb tide representing "water."
  
  As for the "ancient rocks," you can see many fossils at Dorset Beach.

  Flag quemonon December 28, 2012   Link

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  General Comment:The slow version on Bring on the Night is just about the most sexually charged song I've ever heard. After the main part of the song, Omar Hakim, Sting's drummer on the Blue Turtles Tour, launches into one of the most amazing drum solos you'll ever see/hear. If you love this song but have never seen the movie Bring on the Night, go get it now (the drum solo is not included on the version on the record (they fade out before it), tho that version is good, too).
  
  I hear this song, and I just think of naked people on a bed, with the moon shining in and the breeze blowing the long white linen window curtains over them.

  Flag gkaiseron July 25, 2008   Link

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  General Comment:Romantic and powerful song. I like the live version from the Bring on the Night live CD.

  Flag Joedudeon August 09, 2007   Link

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  General Comment:Phaedra the flame is burning away and we are still crazed. I kiss your sun-tanned elbow, angel. I kiss your lips. It's clear you've given up on you but there's still light with you.

  Flag sillybunnyon July 23, 2006   Link

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  General Comment:I happened to notice someone on line saying Trudie probably doesn’t like Sting performing this—which he has lately—because he wrote it in his Frances years—but my guess is that it’s like rediscovering an old loved poem you wrote. Singing it now doesn’t have to mean he’s suddenly pining away for his ex-wife because I doubt he is. And given the fact that her husband is a superstar and sex symbol—an attractive man who constantly has women fawning over him and has been for quite a number of years—I’ll say Trudie has obviously held her own. Could be that their love affair is so solid; it can handle a song written for an old flame quite nicely.

  Flag sillybunnyon July 22, 2006   Link

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  General Comment:I wonder if this is a favorite of his. It is on the Brimstone and Treacle soundtrack, the B side to Wrapped Around Your Fingers in 1983, features on Bring on the Night in 1986 and 2005; Sting at the Movies 1997 and Songs of Love 2003.
  I think I read somewhere that he wrote this in his free time as a teacher when his students were taking a test and wanted The Police to perform it early--their first album? but Andy and Stewart felt it was a bit heavy.
  It is in some ways. I also recall reading that Sting says since he can write lyrics, he many times finds other forms of communication daunting. So this may seem ultra-passionate but haven't we all felt this way at some point or another? It's like a passionate love letter--perhaps to Fran but probably to a lover that came before her.
  What does it mean? He smoulders beneath the surface rather than outwardly and he can feel love. Not everyone can. How wonderful for him that he is enjoying such a passionate existence and he shares this with others in song.

  Flag sillybunnyon July 19, 2006   Link

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