Whether with his band, the Police, playing solo, or espousing the benefits of Tantric, well, physical expression, the songwriter and performer Sting has earned quite a name for himself. He’s collaborated with Puff Daddy, written hit songs, and made the world aware of new philosophies.
Videos by American Songwriter
Today, the 71-year-old Wallsend, England-born artist remains respected for his work and especially his smooth-yet-raspy singing voice. The 17-time Grammy Award-winner known for songs like “Every Breath You Take” and “Fields of Gold” was also inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2003.
But with all that experience and achievement to his name, one might wonder what Sting (born Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner) has to say about life and love, his craft, and the world around him. Without further ado, here are the 22 best Sting quotes.
1. “There’s no religion but sex and music.”
2. “One of the rewards of success is freedom, the ability to do whatever you like.”
3. “I want to get old gracefully. I want to have good posture, I want to be healthy and be an example to my children.”
4. “The deeper you get into Yoga you realize it is a spiritual practice. It’s a journey I’m making. I’m heading that way.”
5. “I really wanted to work with David Lynch. I was a big fan of The Elephant Man and Eraserhead.”
6. “I exist in a state of almost perpetual hysteria.”
7. “I have a big problem with piped music. I like either silence or to listen to it properly.”
8. “Like Yoga, the spiritual life is actually very difficult.”
9. “I don’t like singing before noon.”
10. “I always stayed fit because I’m a performer, and all of those things help me to perform.”
11. “It’s never easy to write a song. It’s the most difficult thing I do.”
12. “I try to give the media as many confusing images as I can to retain my freedom. What’s real is for my children and the people I live with.”
13. “I think you can get the wrong impression about me from my work and think I’m always a bit down. I’m not that way at all. I’m fun-loving.”
14. “I’m very much afraid of being mad—that’s my one fear.”
15. “My friends are Peter Gabriel, and Bruce Springsteen, and we’re singing about mortality, getting older. It’s an interesting time.”
16. “Success always necessitates a degree of ruthlessness. Given the choice of friendship or success, I’d probably choose success.”
17. “An uncle of mine emigrated to Canada and couldn’t take his guitar with him. When I found it in the attic, I’d found a friend for life.”
18. “The acceptance of death gives you more of a stake in life, in living life happily, as it should be lived. Living for the moment.”
19. “I realize that nothing’s as it seems.”
20. “I see songs not as a commodity used up when the album goes off the charts, which is often the case with pop songs. I see them as a body of work. Life should be breathed into them.”
21. “I hate most of what constitutes rock music, which is basically middle-aged crap.”
22. “I think love has something to do with allowing a person you claim to love to enter a larger arena than the one you create for them.”
Photo by Don Arnold/WireImage
