The Early ’90s Sting Ballad That Paul McCartney Said He “Should Have Written”

At some point, all joy and love eventually come to an end. There is the courtship, love, and then the inevitable: death. This was part of the sentiment behind Sting‘s 1993 hit “Fields of Gold,” released on his fourth album, Ten Summoner’s Tales.

Sting wrote the song after purchasing a 16th-century manor house near a barley field in Wiltshire, England. Inspired by the amber and golden-tinged sunsets and colors surrounding the fields, the song was also a tribute to Sting’s love, Trudie Styler, whom he married in 1992.

You’ll remember me when the west wind moves
Upon the fields of barley
You’ll forget the sun in his jealous sky
As we walk in fields of gold

So she took her love
For to gaze a while
Upon the fields of barley
In his arms she fell as her hair came down
Among the fields of gold

“I’m using poetic license to alter syntax,” said Sting of the lyric So she took her love for to gaze awhile upon the fields of barley. “I wanted to create a timeless idea that the song could have been written in the sixteenth century.”

Will you stay with me?
Will you be my love?
Upon the fields of barley
We’ll forget the sun in his jealous sky
As we lie in fields of gold

See the west wind move like a lover so
Upon the fields of barley
Feel her body rise when you kiss her mouth
Among the fields of gold

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“In England, our house is surrounded by barley fields, and in the summer it’s fascinating to watch the wind moving over the shimmering surface, like waves on an ocean of gold,” said Sting of the song, which peaked at No. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100.

“There’s something inherently sexy about this sight, something primal,” he added. “Lovers have made promises here, I’m sure, their bonds strengthened by the comforting cycle of the seasons.”

Within the lyrics is a deeper message of commitment and keeping promises made to a lover.

I never made promises lightly
And there have been some that I’ve broken
But I swear in the days still left
We’ll walk in fields of gold
We’ll walk in fields of gold

Many years have passed since those summer days
Among the fields of barley
See the children run as the sun goes down
Among the fields of gold

When writing the song on guitar, Sting wanted a simple song without much instrumentation, only a subtle synth in the background, and brought it to his band, which included former E Street Band keyboardist David Sancious. “‘Fields Of Gold’ is really a live, in-the-studio recording,” said Sancious of the simplicity of the track. “There’s actually no overdubs on it. It’s a really simple song.”

“You Stole My Song.”

Decades after its release, Paul McCartney also shared his admiration for “Fields of Gold,” giving Sting one of the highest compliments.

“I liked Sting’s ‘Fields Of Gold,’ and I thought, ‘Y’know what, I should have written that,” said Paul McCartney in an interview with Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker in 2018. “How dare he? I told him: ‘You stole my song.’ I thought that was a nice one, y’know?” 

Sting later responded to McCartney’s praise of his song.

“Paul McCartney says he wishes he would have written ‘Fields Of Gold,’” said Sting. “There are more than a few of Paul’s that I wish I would have written. To hear this from someone I owe my life to is very special. Thank you, Paul.”

Photo: Dave M. Benett/Getty Images