"So Lonely" was written by Sting and is the second track on The Police's debut album Outlandos d'Amour. This song is a straightforward broken-hearts theme with a reggae flavor. The whole Outlandos d'Amour album is a mix of different styles from punk to hard rock. But the album was ill-fated, being a commercial flop initially but eventually being pulled up to popularity once the iconic "Roxanne" single gained a popularity with a vengeance that still stings today. Pun intended. Please note that Outlandos d'Amour was re-released by A&;M Records in 1979, and singles from this album then began to chart, now that DJs had been playing them on repeat and the fans were paying attention. Sting wrote the lyrics while he was in his previous band, Last Exit, then "grafted them shamelessly onto the chords from Bob Marley's 'No Woman No Cry,'" he explained in Lyrics By Sting. "This kind of musical juxtaposition - the lilting rhythm of the verses separated by monolithic slabs of straight rock and roll - pleased the hell out of me. That we could achieve it effortlessly just added to the irony of a song about misery being sung so joyously."
Some listeners didn't hear the words "So Lonely," and thought Sting was singing "Sue Lawley," the name of a popular BBC TV presenter. "It was played on national television as an homage to Sue, but we didn't complain. Blessings are often unexpected," Sting recalled. The music video, directed by Derek Burbidge, follows the band through the streets of Hong Kong and on the subway trains of Tokyo. Sting explained that the songs for Outlandos d'Amour were recorded during late-night sessions in a studio above a dairy in Leatherhead, Surrey, England, before the band was signed to a record label.
That when you throw your love away
You act as if you don't care
You look as if you're going somewhere
But I just can't convince myself
I couldn't live with no one else
And I can only play that part
And sit and nurse my broken heart
So lonely
So lonely
So lonely
So lonely
So lonely
So lonely
So lonely
So lonely
So lonely
So lonely
So lonely
So lonely
Now no one's knocked upon my door
For a thousand years or more
All made up and nowhere to go
Welcome to this one man show
Just take a seat they're always free
No surprise no mystery
In this theatre that I call my soul
I always play the starring role
So lonely
So lonely
So lonely
So lonely
So lonely
So lonely
So lonely
So lonely
So lonely
So lonely
So lonely
So lonely
(guitar solo)
So lonely
So lonely
So lonely
So lonely
So lonely
So lonely
So lonely
Lonely, I'm so lonely
I feel so alone
I feel low
I feel so
Feel so low
I feel low, low
I feel low, low, low
I feel low, low, low
I feel low, low, low
I feel low, low, low
I feel low, low, low
Low, I feel low
I feel low
I feel low
I feel so lonely
I feel so lonely
I feel so lonely, lonely, lonely, lone
Lonely, lone
I feel so alone, yeah
So lonely...
Almost half of all adults in England say they experience feelings of loneliness, according to a BBC poll. Commissioned as part of the Faith In The World Week, the survey showed that 48% of adults feel varying degrees of loneliness. It also showed that people who practise a religion feel lonelier than those who do not. London is said to be the loneliest place with a figure of 52% compared to 45% in the South West of England. The survey, which was carried out by polling company ComRes on behalf of Radio 2 and BBC Local Radio, also showed Loneliness is an emotional state, but one which experts say can have a adverse effect on our physical health. Nor is feeling lonely confined to the elderly.
According to the BBC poll, 18 to 24 year olds experience it just as much as those who are in their 60s and older. If you're in your 30s, 40s or 50s, you're less likely to be lonely, probably because you've got a houseful of children or teenagers and are busy working.But experts say it is those decades when you should start getting healthy and building up your friendships and contacts outside work.Having a hobby or joining in a community activity could create a long-lasting social network and make all the difference when your children leave home or if you lose a partner.
Interestingly, people who practise a religion are more likely to feel lonelier now than they did ten years ago.That could be because older people are both more likely to be lonely and more likely to belong to a religion.Equally it could be that more people who feel lonely are turning to faith groups for support.One in five people say they are more lonely now than they were 10 years ago People who live alone suffer from loneliness more frequently than people who share their homes with others And the highest number of people who live alone are those aged 65 and above. On Friday, the Health Secretary said society had "utterly failed" to confront the problem of loneliness. Quoted was figures from the Campaign to End Loneliness that suggested 800,000 people were chronically lonely in England.
Mervyn Kohler, a special adviser for Age UK, said he was not surprised by the results and believed that loneliness was a "serious problem". "We find fairly horrifying the number of elderly people who feel the TV is their best friend," he said. "Loneliness is on the increase for a variety of reasons, mostly because of the changing nature of society with families becoming split up as children move away." So-called befriending schemes have become one way in which those experiencing loneliness try to meet others. Liliane Mitchell said she suffered from loneliness when she moved to a new town, split up with her husband and was diagnosed with cancer all in a relatively short period of time.
She said: "Post-treatment we had a very severe winter and I was very poorly and housebound for three days. An adventure "I thought, 'I don't believe this is happening to me, I'm on my own - totally on my own'." She then joined a befriending scheme. "They become friends, but it's different I think, because they want to be there and they want to help you," she said. Homelessness can also lead to people feeling lonely and detached from society. Matthew Fowler, 26, lives and works at the Emmaus Community, in Brighton, which helps homeless people. "The loneliest I've felt would have been in the daytime when people are going about their business on their lunch breaks and work - going on living their lives - and I'm basically strolling the streets. "That makes me feel really lonely and really detached from society."
Mr Kohler, from Age UK, said schemes which aim to help tackle loneliness have come under financial pressure in the current economic climate. He said."Austerity undoubtedly has had an effect. "In the context of public sector cuts, community centres and other publicly-owned meeting places are struggling to exist." He said the problem needed to be tackled by "rekindling some of the local community glue that we can see operating in rural areas". "However, I think the elderly population also have to change their attitudes and approach to this," he said. "They have to make sure that they are joining in with local community activities and have a grip of modern technology to be able to communicate."
Being alone and being lonely are two different things. One can be alone without being lonely, and one can be lonely in a crowded room. Loneliness is, therefore, a state of mind, an emotion brought on by feelings of separation from other human beings. The sense of isolation is very deeply felt by those who are lonely. The Hebrew word translated “desolate” or “lonely” in the Old Testament means “one alone, only; one who is solitary, forsaken, wretched.” There is no deeper sadness that ever comes over the mind than the idea that we are alone in the world, that we do not have a friend, that no one cares for us, that no one is concerned about anything that might happen to us, that no one would care if we were to die or shed a tear over our grave.
No one felt loneliness more keenly than David. In a series of earnest, heartfelt appeals to God, David cried out in his loneliness and despair. His own son was risen up against him, the men of Israel went after him, and he was forced to flee from the city, and leave his house and family. Lonely and afflicted (Psalm 25:16), his only recourse was to turn to God and plead for mercy and God’s intervention (Psalm 25:21) because his only hope was in God. It is interesting to note that the word “lonely” is never used in the New Testament to describe people. In the New Testament, the word “lonely” only occurs twice and both times refers to desolate places (Mark 1:45;Luke 5:16), where Jesus moved off into the wilderness to be alone.
Whatever the cause of loneliness, for the follower of Jesus the cure is always the same—the comforting fellowship of Christ. That loving relationship with our Master and freind has reassured and encouraged countless thousands who languished in prisons and even went to their deaths for His sake. He is the friend who “sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24), who lays down His life for His friends (John 15:13-15), and who has promised never to leave us or forsake us but to be with us until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). We can take comfort in the words of the old hymn that says it best: “Friends may fail me, foes assail me, He is with me to the end. Hallelujah, what a Saviour!”
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