Englishman In New York sung by Sting, lyrics as I hear them in :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d27gTrPPAyk












English Man In New York

I don't drink coffee, I take tea, my
    dear.
I like my toast done on one side.
As you can hear it in my accent
    when I talk,
I'm an Englishman in New York.


See me walking down Fifth Avenue,
a walking cane here at my side :
I take it everywhere I walk.
I'm an Englishman in New York.



Oh-oh, I'm an alien, I'm a legal alien.


I'm an Englishman in New York.
Oh-oh, I'm an alien, I'm a legal alien.


I'm an Englishman in New York.

If "manners maketh man" as
    someone said,
    
    
    
    
[then,] he's the hero of the day.
It takes a man to suffer ignorance
and smile

Be yourself no matter what they
    say

Oh-oh, I'm an alien, I'm a legal alien.


I'm an Englishman in New York.
Oh-oh, I'm an alien, I'm a legal alien.


I'm an Englishman in New York.

Modesty, propriety can lead to
    notoriety.
You could end up as the only one.
Gentleness, sobriety are rare in this
    society.
At night a candle's brighter than the
    sun.

Takes more than combat gear to
    make a man
Takes more than a license for a gun


Confront your enemies, avoid them
    when you can :
A gentleman will walk but never run.


If "manners maketh man" as
    someone said,
    
    
    
    
[then,] he's the hero of the day.
It takes a man to suffer ignorance
and smile.

Be yourself no matter what they
    say

Oh-oh, I'm an alien, I'm a legal alien.


I'm an Englishman in New York.
Oh-oh, I'm an alien, I'm a legal alien.


I'm an Englishman in New York.

Be yourself no matter what they
    say (ad libitum)

=====================================================================
commentaires postés sur le site :
    https://songmeanings.com/songs/view/10431/
avec quelques-uns des miens
    ajoutés seulement ici, précédés
    de la mention :
    commentaire par mg:
J'ai mis en forme les commentaires
et n'ai conservé que ce que j'ai trouvé
vraiment digne d'intérêt.
=====================================================================
32 Comments

Comment by sillybunnyon on
August 28, 2006:
[Sting]: Englishman in New York
(1987) is about Quentin Crisp.
He's one of the most charming,
witty and courageous men I know.
He was openly gay not only when it
was dangerous, but when it was
against the law.
    commentaire par mg:
        Même si cette chanson a été
        écrite à l'origine pour une
        personne qui préfère
        ouvertement les personnes du
        même sexe — ce qui n'ai pas
        mon cas —, le message va bien
        au-delà :
        ‘Be yourself no matter what
        they say’ : j'ai — toujours? —
        pensé que ‘they’ faisait ici
        référence aux forces des
        ténèbres ou à des morts qui
        murmureraient à nos oreilles
        comme dans la série Ghost
        Whisperer avec l'actrice
        Jennifer Love Hewitt. Et je
        pense qu'on peut, en isolant ce
        vers, l'appliquer à toute forme
        d'opposition.

Then he moved to the Bowery, this
tough neighbourhood in New York,
when he was 71.
The song has exactly the same
chords as 'If You Love Somebody
Set Them Free'
If you find a good chord structure
you should use it at least once or
twice.

I tried to capture the multicultural
elements of the music in New York.
You hear jazz on one block and rock
on the next, then someone comes
round the corner with hip-hop
blaring out of their car.

That's why those hip-hop drums
burst in for a few bars.

The record company tried to talk
me out of that; but I said,
    "No; that's what it's about."
I think Quentin rather likes the
song. He calls me Mr Sting.

sillybunnyon August 28, 2006   

== suite des commentaires, page 2 ==

Comment posted by thedouglas, on
    November 22, 2004
    
The song is about all of the above.
It's also specifically about the late
author Quentin Crisp, an openly gay
Englishman who wrote a book
called The Naked Civil Servant.

He and Sting were friends, and
Sting wrote a song of admiration for
him. Crisp appears in the video.

Sting said that that drum machine
was here to give the impression of
someone with a loud boombox
walking through the middle of the
song.

posted by thedouglas, on
    November 22, 2004

Comment posted by sillybunny, on
    July 15, 2006
    
Dedicated to Quentin Crisp, the
song can be called a gay song
because Crisp was. It's a delightful
lively song, one of my favorites, and
I always turn it up if I happen to
come across it     playing somewhere.

I imagine Crisp had a uniquely
positive perspective on life that is
captured in the song.

posted by sillybunny, on July 15,
    2006
 
Comment posted by Durang0, on
    January 10, 2007

"Takes more than combat gear to
make a man" .. at certain age your
hero may be the one who beats the
bad guys in tv and movies.

Someday you realize that it's not
about looks, muscle or these
unbelievable heroic acts. What they
should learn is responsibility &
respect for others

posted by Durang0, on January 10,
    2007

== suite des commentaires, page 3 ==========================

Comment posted by
    doesnotcompute, on February 28,
    2008
    
    I don't really get the part that
    goes :

    "Modesty, propriety can lead to
    notoriety,
    You could end up as the only one
    Gentleness, sobriety are rare in
        this society
    At night a candle's brighter than
    the sun"

    Is he telling us *NOT* to be
    modest and proper?
    commentaire par mg:
        C'est une bonne question. Mais
        l'important est-il ce qu'il nous dit
        ou bien ce à quoi la chanson
        nous fait penser, réfléchir, etc :
        un livre tout simple comme
        Le petit prince de Saint Ex peut
        être un support à réflexion
        philosophique     alors que
        l'auteur aurait pu concevoir le
        livre comme un divertissement
        pour lui ou pour ses enfants.
        
        Pour ma part, j'interprète ce
        vers ainsi: la modestie et la
        bienséance peuvent mener à la
        notoriété mais le dicton "pour
        vivre heureux vivons cachés"
        nous indique déjà que ce
        bonheur-là, quoique très
        séduisant, n'est peut-être
        qu'un     malheur déguisé en
        bonheur en quelque sorte.
        
    Or is he telling us to "ignore
    people who think you're
    notorious because you're modest
    and proper, and it doesn't matter
    if you end up alone as a
    consequence"?

    As for the candle, is it useful only
    at night? What is the message in
    this statement?
    It almost sounds like it has the
    opposite spirit compared to the
    rest of the song,
    namely that you should only
    display your personality (candle)
    privately (at night).
    Am I totally getting this wrong?
    
posted by doesnotcompute, on
    February 28, 2008

    2 Replies
    1st reply by addyb, on March 07,
    2009
    
    @ doesnot compute:

    The lines "Modesty, propriety
    .......brighter than the sun" refer
    to the lack of politeness and
    chivalry that one associates with
    English mannerisms. So modesty,
    propriety could single him out
    and make him notorious,
    although these are things one
    should try and     attain, since these
    "proper" mannerism are rare in
    the New York culture.
    
    The last line alludes to the fact
    that while during day time, we
    don't particularly notice sunlight
    because it's everywhere, at night,
    a candle also grabs our attention.
    So, the while modesty, propriety,
    gentleness, sobriety are visible
    everywhere like sunlight in
    England , in New York, one man
    with these qualities stand out like
    a candle at night.

    hope that helped
        Reply by addyb, on March 07,
        2009

    andrew_m, on August 09, 2009

    People are reading into this song the wrong way. It's about the atypical
    Englishman and his mannerisms and manners, and how they stand out in a
    foreign country - particularly one as brash as the USA.

    Hence the mention to tea, toast done on one side, the walking cane, and
    the approach to manners. The song is about a quintessential englishman
    living in America - gay or not.

    andrew_m, on August 09, 2009