"So Lonely" - The Police

Submitted by albertomg05 t3_zvlfrz in Music

Hey guys, hope y'all are doing well and spending a good Xmas holiday with your families 👍. The Police is one of my favorite rock bands and there's one song about their 1st album that always cheers me up. Although "So Lonely" has got depressive lyrics the way all the instruments blend into the song it's pretty cheerful and I always listen to this song when I'm sad or when I'm extremely happy. Don't know if you as well so I'd be so glad to know if you feel the same as me when you listen to this song.

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Peircez t1_j1pqfwc wrote

That whole first album is fantastic.

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trimondo_blondomina t1_j1psliv wrote

All five of their albums are fantastic. About 50-60 percent of what they wrote could’ve been singles. There’s one or two duds an album, but when they’re firing on all cylinders, they’re the greatest pop band of their era.

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Peircez t1_j1pxnz8 wrote

True. My least liked is probably Ghost in the Machine, but even that one is fantastic. Invisible Sun…. Amazing.

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save-therhino- t1_j1q5l9t wrote

There are no duds in any of their albums.

Mother

Be my girl sally

They aren’t the best and I am the all time police fan

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Shoboshi80 t1_j1rz67r wrote

I would say "Born in the 50s", an ode to Boomers that would make Steven Pinker blush, is one of their rare duds and on "Outlandos...", their best album

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gogozrx t1_j1stqgb wrote

Funny... I like Mother quite a lot

Edit: just went and listened again. Yup, this is the song that got me into the band. The 7/4 signature, the absolutely brilliant guitar Solo.... Fuck yeah.

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save-therhino- t1_j1ukh3i wrote

I don’t hate any of their songs. Some better than others but I don’t hate any

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quiet-kookaburra t1_j1pvtkc wrote

Duds? Mother comes to mind! I know what it’s meant to be but holy fuck it’s a tough listen.

EDIT: Hehe! Down voted by the purists who really do love their mums.

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NewAssumption4780 t1_j1u07h0 wrote

Even though technically they were a ska/pop band, the inner tension of the trio gave them a definite rock flare. We will never see another like them.

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ClivesKebab t1_j1puao0 wrote

Seriously, how good a drummer is Stewart Copeland. ‘So Lonely’ is a perfect song

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Moontoya t1_j1pvuxn wrote

He plays juuuuuust fractionally ahead of where the beat would 'normally' beat.

Gives the band that snappy / bouncing pacing

He's an instrumentalist not simply a drummer

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Rukarumel t1_j1rjjor wrote

I think it’s more common work. All instruments support each other.

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MonsterRider80 t1_j1rpggr wrote

He is so underrated. He’s an amazing talent. I think there very few, if any, drummers that can play the hi-hat the way he does.

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gogozrx t1_j1stw8w wrote

I don't think anyone who knows anything about drumming underrates him.

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rooigevaar t1_j1tl4va wrote

I remember a Sting interview saying that, after a reunion of sorts, it had been great to be back together again, but soon the old frustrations returned, including Copeland's speeding up and slowing down.

Some love footage has confirmed that for me since then. Am I alone?

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stateit t1_j1pp3cc wrote

If you're British and of an age where you heard it when it came out, you'll likely know the song as 'Sue Lawley'.

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libertinauk t1_j1pq134 wrote

I always heard it as "Salami" 😊 seriously though it's one of their best songs, the drum fills in it are amazing.

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albertomg05 OP t1_j1pp8n3 wrote

No way, I'm European in my adulthood but I would like to have heard the song like that 😂

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Fonzee327 t1_j1qxdjj wrote

When I was a teen my first job was at a deli making sandwiches and cheesesteaks. My friends and I changed many song lyrics to match the setting and this one was “salami, salami! Hahaha I still think it if the song comes on.

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mnstormfront t1_j1q8d8r wrote

One of the best songs is Walking on the moon... talented dudes

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albertomg05 OP t1_j1q8gei wrote

Yeah dude that bass line hits so much

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mnstormfront t1_j1q8lwr wrote

Being a bassist myself.. totally agree...and people dont know how hard it is to sing and play bass at same time...i cant ,many people cant

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albertomg05 OP t1_j1q940p wrote

I've got started playing bass around 2 months ago and I find it more interesting than playing guitar, it's a matter fact that it's easier playing than playing guitar but I think that following the whole song with a changing tab along it is very entertaining and because you can play For Whom The Bell Tolls' bass intro 😉

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mnstormfront t1_j1q9iav wrote

Awesome. Welcome to bass! Lots of great help on the internet to learn. Start with easy songs before trying something like Led Zeppelin stuff..good luck 🤞

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albertomg05 OP t1_j1qa1sq wrote

Dunno why but I am able to learn difficult tabs so fast, for example I learnt Peace Sells bass intro in almost 10 minutes, it may sound so easy for some people but for my is a great goal XD. But the only problem is that I don't know anything about music theory and I don't know how to tune the bass and I only can tune it memorizing the studio version sound and trying to replicate it.

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mnstormfront t1_j1qapvc wrote

Gotta get a tuner, they are only $20 to 30 bucks.. Dont need theory as much a s ear to hear what different notes sound like , and what the root chords are,and how to use em. Practice!

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BeachedBottlenose t1_j1pr78s wrote

I’ve battled depression all my life so a teenage me connected to this song, as well as Does Everyone Stare and Contact. They were absolutely my favorite band at the time - this is when they were active. I saw them in 1980 and then two more times. Then Sting a few years later.

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BassClef70 t1_j1ptyle wrote

Jealous. I was hip to them from around Don’t Stand onward but didn’t get to catch anything live until Nothing Like The Sun tour. Learned to play to a lot of those albums though.

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dotnetdotcom t1_j1pv480 wrote

I feel low low low
I feel low low low
I feel low low lo o o

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pleasework_forgard t1_j1qgbzr wrote

I find the Police woefully under appreciated by younger generations. I might not like myself for writing it…but maybe it’d be great for them to get into the TikTok game where one song gets loads of play then people check out their entire catalogue, and suddenly they’re in an ad and movie again etc etc.

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christien t1_j1q3567 wrote

great song.....love the key change near the end

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More-Stick9980 t1_j1q3uta wrote

First album I ever bought, and still one of my favourites.

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TheMysticBard t1_j1q6600 wrote

I remember always listening to this song and album on the bus in high school on my dads cassette and player. Such an underrated song

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MrHappy4 t1_j1qa5cs wrote

They hit it out of the park with their discography. My favorites are Does Everyone Stare, King of Pain and Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic. But I could put them all on chronologically and never skip anything.

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firthy t1_j1qaruh wrote

Sue Lawley

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sash71 t1_j1qgr4g wrote

Was looking for this. I can remember my mum and dad calling it Sue Lawley too.

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objective267 t1_j1purgv wrote

Love this song! You've just reminded me to go listen to it again.

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GitchigumiMiguel74 t1_j1qdi2i wrote

This song is incredible. The drums coming in at the end of the solo are perfection

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E-Fay t1_j1qdxcn wrote

That song is the perfect representation of the dichotomy of The Police. Sting, clinically depressed, and copeland with his proto reggae beats, that combination freed them to properly express dark thoughts in a sunny song. That's why they couldn't stay around for too long, that balance of geniosa is hard to maintain when ego gets involved. It's like Waters and Gilmore, eventually someone's gonna get fed up.

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ItDoesntMatter59 t1_j1qkn4k wrote

Known in the UK as “Sue Lawley”. A tv presenter here.

“ i feel Sue Lawley”

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FarFuckingOut t1_j1r26m7 wrote

I used to work at a ski hill overlooking Vancouver. I would be up there an hour or two earlier than most of the staff, opening lifts in the dark, getting ready for the throngs of people to start filtering in, ferrying other early staff around the mountain.

I had mega loud little speaker, and a banger of a playlist.

So Lonely was the first song that would kick it off, playing it first for myself, working alone in the dark, and then again for the first chair of trail/park crew, then again for the first few guests.

It never got old.

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LupinCANsing t1_j1r5ope wrote

I feel like "Can't Stand Losing You" has that same feel of very depressing lyrics but catchy and upbeat.

That said, my dad and I LOVE "So Lonely". We think it's so funny how he's screaming "LO-LAY-LO!" When he does that little interlude near the end. At one point, on his way to work, dad called me (it wasn't even 8am) and screamed "LO-LAY-LO!" at me because this song was playing on the radio in his truck. Couldn't stay annoyed long 🤣.

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flipping_birds t1_j1r6tjn wrote

This is the “4 chords song” progression. Basically if you want to write a hit song, use these chords. There are a lot of them.

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DJMoneybeats t1_j1t6b1x wrote

Yes. I was going to say it should be disqualified for using the dread 4 chords but it was pretty early so I guess I can give it a pass

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Dadittude182 t1_j1sswhk wrote

I told my wife years ago, that if The Police ever have a reunion, I don't care if we have to fly to England we're going. A few years after that statement, we bought tickets to see their reunion show in Hershey, PA. One of the best concerts I've ever seen. Great band live, and now they're gone. One of the best decisions I ever made.

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DiegoMrProducer t1_j1u55tv wrote

All The Police discography is paradigm changing! Zenyatta Mondatta changed the way we record drums. Especially the snare, bass drum and hi-hats! My favorite band along with The Beatles.

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mookormyth t1_j1q6c1h wrote

Salami, bologni, provoloni.

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eightdx t1_j1q72gd wrote

No surprise, no mystery

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Bizznitchy t1_j1q7cjc wrote

My buddy and I play a drinking game to So Lonely....take a sip every time they sing "So Lonely"..here's a hint,tt takes more than one beer and you hafta try to move away from your lips in between each So Lonely(2nd half of song...) Best played to live versions!

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Its_Beelzebozo_Time t1_j1qlje2 wrote

My friends did the Roxanne Game. Same premise. We'd all end up drinking two whole beers in three minutes hahhaha

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Nightdocks t1_j1qcrqf wrote

The reason why you feel it’s “cheerful” is because the bassline is the same as no woman no cry

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dancingmeadow t1_j1qh1j1 wrote

It's got the fairly rare charm of making me happy to be lonely, when I'm lonely, and happy to be not lonely when I'm not lonely.

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w0mba7 t1_j1qir68 wrote

When that single came out in the late 70’s, there was a famous BBC1 news presenter called “Sue Lawley”. A Radio 1 DJ pointed out that it sounded like Sting was singing her name throughout the chorus, and now that’s all I hear.

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Wewoo3 t1_j1qojvd wrote

This is one of my top pick me up songs. It's so good.

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LowellGeorgeLynott t1_j1qqf7g wrote

Such a great track and nothing like that middle section

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Independent_Mix4789 t1_j1qyzis wrote

bro the police is one of the best rock bands in existence u can’t change my mind

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JackTheDrummerYT t1_j1rb2gb wrote

the Police’s first album is absolutely amazing, glad to see someone appreciating it!

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Jetsagoodboy t1_j1rtfdc wrote

I saw them on the first tour of the states,in Berkeley at the zellerbach,front row,sting threw backstage passes at us,NY friend got one, he said sting refused to come out for the second set until he received his orange juice,what a show.

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skinnyminnesota t1_j1rv25a wrote

Outlandos d'Amour rules, front to back. Years later, a doctor will tell Sting he has an IQ of 48 and he'll start making adult contemporary garbage

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deathkidney t1_j1s5quy wrote

C G Am F ... rinse and repeat, but somehow fantastic

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HoldenVT9C1 t1_j1smjwf wrote

I love the guitar solo in that song! It’s like it’s alive.

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crudedrawer t1_j1tfi6u wrote

I love the live version of this on the Certifiable live album from 2008, Andy Summers' extended solo is great.

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Motor-Caregiver-4617 t1_j1udree wrote

I was lucky enough to see them here in Phoenix for the Ghost and the Machine tour. They were the headliner, the B52’s and the GoGo’s were the opener. It was an amazing show! Still a fan of Copeland’s high hat work!!

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MaggieRose70 t1_j1v0pae wrote

I LOVE that song!! I also love so close to me. It reminds me of my childhood and teens. I’m a genxer 1970 baby

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Stunning_Ayy t1_j1vobj1 wrote

Definitely checking it out, good to know we got quite a number of diehard rock fans!

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