Rock and roll music
| "Fortress Around Your Heart" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 UK 12-inch vinyl single | ||||
| Single by Sting | ||||
| from the album The Dream of the Blue Turtles | ||||
| B-side |
| |||
| Released | August 1985 (US)[1] 4 October 1985 (UK)[2] | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:48 | |||
| Label | A&M | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Sting | |||
| Producer(s) |
| |||
| Sting singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Sting - Fortress Around Your Heart (Option Two)" on YouTube | ||||
No videos available
Singles chronology
Fortress Around Your Heart
Sting
Discográfica: A&M · · Productor: Sting , Peter Smith
1985 single by Sting
"Fortress Around Your Heart" is a hit single released from Sting`s 1985 debut solo album The Dream of the Blue Turtles. It was released as the album`s third single in the UK, and the second single in the US.
Leer másReview
1985 single by Sting
"Fortress Around Your Heart" is a hit single released from Sting`s 1985 debut solo album The Dream of the Blue Turtles. It was released as the album`s third single in the UK, and the second single in the US.
Leer másThe song was later included on the U.S. release of the Fields of Gold: The Best of Sting 1984–1994 compilation album.
Song information
"Fortress Around Your Heart" was inspired by Sting`s divorce. The pain he felt at the collapse of his first marriage led him to write some of his biggest hits, including "Every Breath You Take" and "Wrapped Around Your Finger".[3] Sting wrote the song in the studio in Barbados in 1985. The song features a Branford Marsalis sax solo.[4] In a Musician magazine interview later that year, Sting said:
"Fortress" is about appeasement, about trying to bridge the gaps between individuals. The central image is a minefield that you`ve laid around this other person to try and protect them. Then you realize that you have to walk back through it. I think it`s one of the best choruses I`ve ever written.[3]
During one of Sting`s first performances of the song in concert in Paris, his crew lowered a tiny fortress onto the stage in a parody of the similar Stonehenge scene from the film This Is Spinal Tap.[5]
Reception
Billboard said that the single is "challenging, complex and rather difficult," with "mysterious poetic imagery" and a melody that is "more recitative than hook."[6] Cash Box said that the song illustrated Sting`s "genius as songwriter," although it is "tinged with melancholy" and "less jazzy and more Police-like than Sting`s previous US single, "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free."[7]
Single release
The song was also released as a single, and reached #8 and #49 on the U.S. and U.K. singles charts, respectively. It also reached #1 for two weeks on the Billboard Top Rock Tracks chart, becoming his second consecutive #1 hit on this chart.[8]
Charts
Weekly charts
| Chart (1985) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[9] | 72 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[10] | 40 |
| Canada Top Singles (RPM)[11] | 20 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[12] | 26 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[13] | 13 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[14] | 49 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[15] | 8 |
| US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[16] | 1 |
Year-end
| Year-end chart (1985) | Rank |
|---|---|
| US Top Pop Singles (Billboard)[17] | 95 |
1985 single by Sting
"Fortress Around Your Heart" is a hit single released from Sting`s 1985 debut solo album The Dream of the Blue Turtles. It was released as the album`s third single in the UK, and the second single in the US.
The song was later included on the U.S. release of the Fields of Gold: The Best of Sting 1984–1994 compilation album.
Song information
"Fortress Around Your Heart" was inspired by Sting`s divorce. The pain he felt at the collapse of his first marriage led him to write some of his biggest hits, including "Every Breath You Take" and "Wrapped Around Your Finger".[3] Sting wrote the song in the studio in Barbados in 1985. The song features a Branford Marsalis sax solo.[4] In a Musician magazine interview later that year, Sting said:
"Fortress" is about appeasement, about trying to bridge the gaps between individuals. The central image is a minefield that you`ve laid around this other person to try and protect them. Then you realize that you have to walk back through it. I think it`s one of the best choruses I`ve ever written.[3]
During one of Sting`s first performances of the song in concert in Paris, his crew lowered a tiny fortress onto the stage in a parody of the similar Stonehenge scene from the film This Is Spinal Tap.[5]
Reception
Billboard said that the single is "challenging, complex and rather difficult," with "mysterious poetic imagery" and a melody that is "more recitative than hook."[6] Cash Box said that the song illustrated Sting`s "genius as songwriter," although it is "tinged with melancholy" and "less jazzy and more Police-like than Sting`s previous US single, "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free."[7]
Single release
The song was also released as a single, and reached #8 and #49 on the U.S. and U.K. singles charts, respectively. It also reached #1 for two weeks on the Billboard Top Rock Tracks chart, becoming his second consecutive #1 hit on this chart.[8]
Charts
Weekly charts
| Chart (1985) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[9] | 72 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[10] | 40 |
| Canada Top Singles (RPM)[11] | 20 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[12] | 26 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[13] | 13 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[14] | 49 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[15] | 8 |
| US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[16] | 1 |
Year-end
| Year-end chart (1985) | Rank |
|---|---|
| US Top Pop Singles (Billboard)[17] | 95 |
