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Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 15:44:47 -0600
From: Casey Shannon
To: guitar@olga.net
Subject: CRD: 'Tea in the Sahara' by The Police
Here is a cool song that I play with an acoustic guitar. It sounds pretty
good. I listenen to it off the Police box set. The recorded song only has
bass guitar, but it still sounds alike.
(Am)
My sisters and I
(C)
Have one wish before we die
(G)
And it may sound strange
(Em)
As if our minds are deranged
Please don't ask why
Under the sheltering sky
We have this strange obsession
You have the means in your possession
CHORUS 1: (CHORUS 2 repeats these lines 4 times instead of two)
(G) (Cadd9)
Tea in the Sahara, with you
(G) (Cadd9)
Tea in the Sahara, with you
A young man agreed
He would satisfy their needs
So they danced for his pleasure
With a joy you could not measure
They'd wait for him here
The same place every year
Beneath the sheltering sky
Across the desert he would fly
CHORUS 2
The sky turned to black
Would he ever come back
They would climb a high dune
They would pray to the moon
But he never returned
So the sisters would burn
As their eyes searched the night
With their cups still full of sand
CHORUS 2
Cadd9
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Tab Discussion, Comments, and Critiques
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No Picture
Sarah McKagan Musical Genius |
#1 by Sarah McKagan (AKA - Lady Rock 'n' Roll) at Jan 7, 1974 at 12:28 AM EST |
| [Stephen Holden—Rolling Stone 1983] "Tea in the Sahara," Synchronicity's moodiest, most tantalizing song, is an aural mirage that brings back the birdcalls and jungle sounds of earlier songs as whispering, ghostly instrumental voices. In this haunting parable of endless, unappeasable desire, Sting tells the story, inspired by the Paul Bowles novel The Sheltering Sky, of a brother and two sisters who develop an insatiable craving for tea in the desert. After sealing a bargain with a mysterious young man, they wait on a dune for his return, but he never appears. The song suggests many interpretations: England dreaming of its lost empire, mankind longing for God, and Sting himself pining for an oasis of romantic peace. And that is where this bleak, brilliant safari into Sting's heart and soul finally deposits us–at the edge of a desert, searching skyward, our cups full of sand. (RS 398) | |
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No Picture
Dylan Average |
#2 by Dylan Ruiz at Apr 20, 1978 at 2:58 AM EST |
| I read that this sing is based on a book called "the sheltering sky" or something | |
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No Picture
Avinash Average |
#3 by Avinash Dutta at Aug 5, 1981 at 10:05 AM EST |
| the live version is UNBELIEVABLE, the feeling they created live had no comparison. it's a shame I'll never see them up on the stage... | |
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No Picture
!Ace Rhythm Player |
#4 by !Ace Youngs at Feb 4, 1982 at 1:24 AM EST |
| 'Tea In The Sahara'. Moody schlock? Hmm, if the entire album were filled with such stuff (see some of the Stingman's solo records), I'd probably be worried. But I'm not, and I'm perfectly happy with Sting's little mystical tale, especially its creepy end. [George Starostin] | |
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No Picture
Justin Average |
#5 by Justin Ruiz at Jun 16, 1985 at 6:43 AM EST |
| Nin, I think this is just one of those little story songs. It is haunting though..i sing it to my self all the time.....does that make me mad????? yep | |
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No Picture
Razor Wanna Be |
#6 by Razor Edge at Jul 28, 1986 at 2:06 PM EST |
| The novel "Sheltering Sky" has a chapter called "Tea in the Sahara". This song is called "Tea in the Sahara" and has a line mentioning "the sheltering sky". The story in these lyrics does not correspond to the major plot arcs of the book, but to a story within the story, taking a small portion of the book. This link explains it quite well: http://users.sisna.com/clio95/teainthesahara.html | |
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No Picture
Nileppezdel Lead Player |
#7 by Nileppezdel at Feb 4, 1988 at 7:48 AM EST |
| What a wickedly brilliant song. Their best, in my opinion. I'm going to get my band to do this one, along with Murder By Numbers. As to what the lyrics mean.... I have always assumed it is about man and nature, in a Stephen Crane/naturalistic sort of way. What I mean is, I think Sting is saying that nature has no obligation to conform to the fickle, meaningless (in the whole scheme of things) needs and wants of man. The things we humans desire in life, if you think about it, are really quite strange when you analyze the world and the universe on the appropriate scale; the things we ask of nature or whatever higher power we believe in are as bizarre as expecting to be granted tea in the Sahara.... And if we do ask, we should not be surprised that we're not always granted tea, that our cups will often fill only with sand.... There are religious implications here as well, as hinted above. The sisters are praying, dancing, looking to the sky... it's a lot like a religious ritual. In this interpretation, the "he" the sisters are waiting for is God. They've prayed and done their part, follwed the rules and the ritual, and they have faith... but too much faith, Sting implies, because they're left stranded in the Desert with (again) cups full of sand, not tea. "He" didn't come through for them. Those are my thoughts anyway. As to the live version Tepes mentions... yes, it has a completely different feel to it. Stewart lays the emphasis on an off beat eighth note, not on four as in the studio version, and it completely changes the character of the music. The studio version feels more spacious and settled, while the live version has more of a quirky kind of forward momentum to it. | |
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keith Wanna Be |
#8 by keith mckinlay at Sep 17, 1996 at 7:09 PM EST |
| haunting but mad song! but what does it mean??? | |
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