You consider me the young apprentice
Caught between the Scylla and Charibdes
Hypnotized by you if I should linger
Staring at the ring around your finger.

I have only come here seeking knowledge,
Things they would not teach me of in college.
I can see the destiny you sold turned into a shining band of gold.

I'll be wrapped around your finger.
I'll be wrapped around your finger
Mephistopheles is not your name
I know what you're up to just the same
I will listen hard to your tuition,
You will see it come to its fruition.
I'll be wrapped around your finger.
I'll be wrapped around your finger

Devil and the deep blue sea behind me,
Vanish in the air you'll never find me.
I will turn your face to alabaster,
When you'll find your servant is your master.

You'll be wrapped around my finger
You'll be wrapped around my finger
You'll be wrapped around my finger



Lyrics submitted by Demau Senae

Track duration: 05:14

"Wrapped Around Your Finger" as written by Gordon Matthew Sumner

Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


Wrapped Around Your Finger song meanings
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62 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:It is about a player. The big words are all a part of his spiel. He impresses this particular lady, with his knowledge and yet he is sly enough to be at this ladies feet , so to speak. She feels , she has a keeper. A very smart, accomplished person that she can yet manipulate , who will garnish her with a lavish , interesting life. She does not see that she is clearly being used and that this "naive" man of great knowledge is actually someone more sinister. By the last verse, the tables are clearly turned. He has all the control and she is just left to wonder and hope, if he ever comes back again.
    Flag HotTampaon May 20, 2013   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think this song was inspired by The Beautiful Galatea, the operatta by Franz Von Suppe. The song is being sung by the the sculptor Pygmalion.

    The sculptor Pygmalion has fallen madly in love with his statue of Galatea and does not want to sell it to Mydas, a patron of the arts. Instead he prays to Venus, the goddess of the love, that the statue be brought to life. The wish is granted but Galatea turns out to be a very independent-minded creature. She is unfaithful to Pygmalion with his servant Ganymed (because he is much more pleasing to her than Pygmalion) and does not reject Mydas, who offers her jewelry. When Pygmalion catches Galatea in a compromising situation, he successfully implores Venus to turn her back into stone. The jewelry offered by Mydas is also turned into stone, but the whole statue is sold to him.

    "I will turn your face to alabaster....when you find your servant is your master."
    Flag mikebanoson April 16, 2013   Link
  • 0
    Translation:See a movie from 1967 called Doctor Faust with Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor; its movie version of a play called "The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus, commonly referred to simply as Doctor Faustus, is a play by Christopher Marlowe". It clearly fits the songs verse and tone. Remember that Sting was an English teacher and would have been a fan of such a good play/story. david
    Flag dvdlynchon February 06, 2013   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think some are looking into this too deeply. ...

    It is nothing more than the tale of a young man who meets an older married woman somewhere, maybe at vacation location in a foreign area and is seduced by her for sex. The young man recognizes this and knows it is wrong but is intrigued by the idea. The older married woman thinks she is binding the young man with sex and he will fall in love with her, but in the end, it is she that is bound to him. He really had no feelings and was just using HER for sex and then essentially leaves when he is done.
    Flag MilesTegon December 09, 2012   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:To cut a long story short the main idea is......THE REVENGE IS MINE!!
    Flag empathy4Uon October 07, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Got Sting's 60th Birthday Bash via the App store and Rufus Wainwright sings this song so hauntingly and beautifully it took my breath away...absolutely love this song and really love all of the interpretations...I take it for a love song too..it's all in how you feel, isn't it?
    Flag lovesalsaon August 14, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:moreover would dare to say:
    hunter become hunted one...
    Flag zuficon May 09, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:would not agree this is a love song.

    master and student, belive this is all about, in some company, precisly shipping or more over on board of some vessel. At first, they both have theoretical knowledge, but sudent need practical knowledge, and after some time his master have to chose btw 2 sudents / sailors, let's say for 1.officer on board. After choice sudent is satisfied for quite short time, and along time pass by he seek more knowledge / distances / lands and he's in tihgt relation with his superior / master. After some time his intuition become masters intution (master - capitan on ship). For gratitude he will turn his face to alabaster (statue) and keep educate for generations of knowledge...

    As Sting is englishman, this explanation looks to me colser than love song.
    anybody maybe agree...
    Flag zuficon May 09, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:"When you find your servant is your master" ...:) That's marriage! LOL. Or it's bite the hand that feeds you.
    Flag Thia007on November 30, 2011   Link
  • +1
    My Interpretation:Hi guys,
    I definitely see that connection dag88 made. I know many people will disagree with me. But hey, everyone has the right to their own opinion.
    For a while now I've thought about becoming a priest.
    I started hearing God's call as a little kid, watching TBN and EWTN. My family thought I was weird because I prayed at night and preferred watching Christian television.
    After starting my first year in college, my whole "becoming a priest" mentality changed. Leaving my family was really hard me. Not surprisingly, I feared growing old alone.
    Just recently I asked God if he could give an opportunity to try my luck with the ladies. No, not in the way you're thinking, I just wanted to have a girlfriend. Unfortunately, God has made clear that is not the life for me. I have asked plenty of girls out and they have all declined. And I don't think my looks are to blame for this. When I was in high school, my friend Edgar would call me Don Juan because several girls liked me.
    Just recently I noticed that one of my friends was showing signs that she liked me. Once when I went with one of my friends to a party, she came up to me and asked me if the girl I with was my girlfriend. And during mass, she glanced over to look at me several times. And I know this wasn't in my head. When returning the gesture, she would turn her head and pretend she hadn't been looking at me. Unfortunately, when I asked her out, she rejected me.
    I couldn't believe it, even the girl that showed the most promise rejected me. It was probably the age difference. She is 2 years older than me.
    Not too long ago, I bought a cassette player and went to a thrift store to buy some cassettes. One of those cassettes was Synchronicity. And boy do I love this tape.
    The song that I like most on this tape is, not surprisingly, "Wrapped Around Your Finger". Anyways,this is what the song means to me. Don't hate. This is just my interpretation.

    "You consider me the young apprentice"
    Obviously to me this means that the girl I like thinks I'm too young. But it can also attest to the feelings I've been undergoing of not being good enough for God.
    "Caught between the Scylla and Charibdes."
    According to Wikipedia, this metaphor means "having to choose between two evils". And of course, you guys already know what they are,but I wouldn't necessarily consider them evil. Choosing the girl over God is definitely bad because it goes against God's will. On the other hand, choosing God means living a life of solitude.
    "Hypnotized by you if I should linger
    Staring at the ring around your finger."
    I am fascinated by both marriage and the priesthood. For me the metaphor of the ring ties both desires in nicely.
    "I have only come here seeking knowledge,
    Things they would not teach me of in college."
    College can never really teach how to live your life. It's up to you to decide which path you'll take.
    "I can see the destiny you sold
    Turned into a shining band of gold."
    The girl I liked didn't even give me chance to be her boyfriend. For her, school was more important than love.
    "Mephistopheles is not your name,
    But I know what you're up to just the same."
    I know what Jesus wants of me, and I know that the girl I like really does like me but won't admit to it.
    "I will listen hard to your tuition,
    And you will see it come to its fruition."
    This is the climax of my story. After weeks of confusion, I decided to accept God's plan.
    "Devil and the deep blue sea behind me
    Vanish in the air you'll never find me."
    Again we see the metaphor of the two hard choices in the first line. In the second line, I realize that it was the Devil who influenced my desire to leave the path I was on, for the Devil often gets to us through our emotions and desires.
    "I will turn your face to alabaster,
    Then you'll find your servant is your master."
    In these last verses, I have chosen to ignore the Devil's temptations and follow in the footsteps of Jesus, who, through his servant love and death on the cross, draws us out of our pride and makes us fit for God. For those of you that know your Bible, Christ's servant love is clearly shown in the story of the washing of the feet.
    Anyways, I hope this interpretation has been helpful to whoever reads it. I'm interesting in seeing other people's take on this song.
    Flagged MarkG131on November 14, 2011   Link

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