Wrapped Around Your Finger

I have known the meaning of this song for over 16 years, and now I feel confident enough to share it with everyone.

The Clash of the Titans was made in 1981, and this song came out in 1983. If you know the movie, and read the plot synopsis, it makes total sense. I think this song was written because of a love for Greek mythology, and the movie may have given them excellent obscure phrases to use in their lyrics, something The Police really enjoyed doing.

Plot synopsis<< In the movie, Calibos is son of the goddess of the sea, Thetis. He is engaged to marry Princess Andromeda - the heir to "all there is". Calibos gets into some serious mischief by slaughtering many living things, including Zeus's scared flying horses. The only winged horse spared is Pegasus. In the history of the Greek Gods, it is well known that they have battles of power amongst the Gods and Goddesses, and to punish Calibos, Zeus turns him into the sea monster Kraken. Infuriated Thetis vows that Andromeda will marry no one if not her precious son, and banishes Andromeda to an island to be the virgin sacrifice of the Kraken unless someone can solve her riddle.

Zeus's illegitimate son Perseus becomes the target of Thetis's fury and she transports Perseus from Seriphos to Joppa. Befriended by the scholar and playwright Ammon, Perseus learns of Andromeda and her plight: she cannot marry unless her suitor successfully answers a riddle, which is given to her by Calibos. Any suitor that fails to answer the riddle correctly is burned at the stake.

Perseus takes on this quest and has to overcome many dangerous passages in order to reach Andromeda. In addition to beating the three headed dog, outsmarting the blind witches who could see the future, and killing Medusa, he uses his mortal skills to beat the demons and obstacles created by the Gods and Goddesses. Using a sword, shield, and a helmet that renders its wearer invisible given to him by the gods, Perseus captures Pegasus and discovers the answer to the riddle - the ring worn by Calibos. Calibos nearly kills him, but Perseus cuts off his hand with his sword, though he loses his helmet in the fight.

Armed with this information, and having seen the movie more than twenty times, I believe the meaning of Wrapped Around Your Finger by The Police is a song written with the movie The Clash of the Titans as its subject. I will explain step by step with the lyrics:

LYRICS

Wrapped around your finger The Police

You consider me the young apprentice (Perseus - he was the apprentice to the scholar Ammon) Caught between the Scylla and charybdis (Scylla and Charybdis are two sea monsters of Greek mythology - I think they are using this as a double meaning - he's caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place deciding whether its worth his time, and also referrign to the sea monster) Hypnotized by you if I should linger (The danger of looking into Medusa's face and being turned to stone) Staring at the ring around your finger (The ring around Calibos's finger is the key to Andromeda - "looking at the prize")

I have only come here seeking knowledge (Perseus is seeking the answer to the riddle) Things they wouldn’t teach me of in college (again, referring to Perseus as the apprentice) I can see the destiny you sold (The destiny was Andromeda's destiny to marry Calibos) Turned into a shining band of gold (The whole thing got messed up and he was turned into the monster that would kill Andromeda unless the riddle was solved - the ring)

Ill be wrapped around your finger Ill be wrapped around your finger

Mephistopheles is not your name (In Greek mythology again, legend of a scholar who wagers his soul against the devil) But I know what you’re up to just the same I will listen hard to your intuition (The witches in the movie, have fortune-telling powers) And you will see it come to its fruition (The only way the witches can see is with the glass eye)

Ill be wrapped around your finger Ill be wrapped around your finger

The last part of the song is what really seals the deal for me - especially about Pegasus, the helmet that makes him invisible, and turning the Kraken to stone with the cut off head of Medusa)

Devil and the deep blue sea behind me (Perseus is riding on Pegasus over the sea) Vanish in the air you’ll never find me (Here he puts on the helmet to disappear in order to confuse the Kraken) I will turn your face to alabaster (Then he shows the Kraken Medusa's head and the sea monster is turned to stone and falls into the ocean) Then you will find your servant is your master (I think this is just the culmination of his efforts - he was a mere mortal and the Gods and Goddesses never thought that he would be able to do this)

And you’ll be wrapped around my finger You’ll be wrapped around my finger You’ll be wrapped around my finger

And so he gets the ring and presents it to Thetis who frees Andromeda and they are free to marry. Makes all the sense in the world to me. This will only make sense if you know the movie and Greek mythology fairly well.

References:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clash_of_theTitans(1981_film) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scylla_and_Charybdis en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mephistopheles lyricsfreak.com/s/sting+&+police/wrapped+around+your+finger_20132153.html

I hope this helps!