A short post about the work of my favorite singer, whom I love to listen to today. I think that for many music lovers, he also gives a lot of joy in his songs.
The feature film "The Bride", in which Sting played the main role, did not bring the singer an acting fame, but he introduced him to the man thanks to whom the song "Englishman In New York" was written. Together with Sting, he starred in the film, as they call him, "the idol of British gay culture" Quentin Crisp (real name Dennis Charles Pratt). The artists became friends and kept in touch by correspondence. Some time later, Sting, working on the album "Nothing Like the Sun", went to New York, where Crisp had moved shortly before. There he stayed with Quentin for three days. He in all colors described to Sting his difficult life in the homophobic England of the twenties of the last century. It is known that in one of the bitter jokes, Crisp said that he "looks forward to the documents on the adoption of citizenship, so that he can commit a crime and not be deported."
Soon, under the influence of these stories, the musician wrote "Englishman in New York". The Englishman in New York naturally means Quentin Crisp, to whom the song is dedicated. So Englishman in New York is not just a reflection on the differences between British and American. This is a call to gain courage and remain yourself, regardless of the opinions of others. Sting later said that the entire album "Nothing Like the Sun" is about mothers and women who support men throughout their lives. The video for the song was filmed by the famous director David Fincher, who portrayed Sting with his band in New York in the video. Quentin Crisp appears there. There are a great many covers of "Englishman in New York", and among them there are frank parodies in the spirit of "Italian in Paris" or "Korean in New York". The lyrics of the song are often remade for various kinds of humorous programs.
I write the translation of the lyrics with my own verse additions
Sting. Englishman in New York
I don't drink coffee, I always take tea dear
And it doesn't matter that my road is suddenly different,
I love it when toast is toasted on one side
Either the song sounds when the string is broken,
And you can tell by my accent when I say
That I live it and love it with delight,
I'm an Englishman in New York
Only those who live in Mallorca cannot understand us!
See I'm walking down Fifth Avenue
In reality, not in a dream - I am not sleeping.
And my cane is with me,
No, I don’t go down with her,
I take her with me wherever I go,
The talisman is mine ...
I'm an Englishman in New York
Wake up there ... in Mallorca!
I'm a foreigner,
I dance my dance
I'm a legal foreigner
And not Chinese, not Mexican,
I'm an Englishman in New York
Envy me in Mallorca
I'm a foreigner,
Not Chukchi and not Nanaets,
I'm a legal foreigner
It's good that he's not Thai since birth,
I'm an Englishman in New York
Soon you will all come here from Mallorca!
If "manners create man", as they say,
Without deception and do not hide,
Then he is the hero of the day
The same as me
He must endure ignorance and smile
To admire New York in the middle of the day
Be yourself! No matter what they say
If a new door has been opened to the world!
Etc...
I recommend watching and listening:
Photos and videos are posted from open Internet sources.
© Copyright: Eugene, 2017
Certificate of publication No. 117021802141
http://www.stihi.ru/2017/02/18/2141