“Fields of Gold” is a song written and recorded by Sting. It first appeared on his 1993 album Ten Summoner’s Tales.
This is such a beautiful poem that I’ll just show it to you right here. Notice that it works perfectly as a poem. You can get a sense of the rhythm of the lyrics just by saying them to yourself. You can even see the rhythm of the words – you don’t even need to read the words themselves to imagine waving fields of golden grain by seeing the shape of the lines on the page.
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 awhile
upon the fields of barley
In his arms she fell as her hair came down
among the fields of gold
Will you stay with me, will you be my love
among 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
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
You’ll remember me when the west wind moves
upon the fields of barley
You can tell the sun in his jealous sky
when we walked in fields of gold
When we walked in fields of gold
when we walked in fields of gold
Then Sting adds the constantly ebbing and flowing melody, and the repeating chord structure – creating one of his masterpieces! That’s why he’s the one with only one name!
As Sting has described: “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. There’s something inherently sexy about the sight, something primal, as if the wind were making love to the barley. Lovers have made promises here, I’m sure, their bonds strengthened by the comforting cycle of the seasons.” I think he was pretty successful at evoking his feelings in this song!
Eva Cassidy recorded a great version that first appeared on her 1996 live album Live at Blues Alley.
This performance is dedicated to Kevin G. and Gordon S.
Enjoy,
Dr. Weiss
Some information from Wikipedia
Bosendorfer piano sound – For this recording I’m playing a Yamaha Clavinova – which has the same keyboard action as a traditional acoustic piano, but there are no strings. Pressing a key activates (in this case) a sound which was sampled from a Bösendorfer Imperial Concert Grand piano. Try listening to it with a good set of headphones! It sounds better than any piano I’ve ever owned!!
Comments are closed.